Leo Insam

Leo Insam began his professional ice hockey career with HC Gardena in 1992/93, and stayed for two seasons before going to Canada for the 1994/95 season, then returning to Val Gardena for a year. He then played abroad for three seasons, with Klagenfurter AC (Austria) in 1996/97 and Düsseldorfer EG (Germany) in 1997/98 and 1998/99. Insam played some matches in the West Coast Hockey League, USA, in 1998 /99 before returning to Italy where he played one season (1999/2000) with Asiago Hockey AS. Following a move to Milano where he played for the Vipers, Insam won three League titles, one Italian Cup, and two Italian Super Cups, all within for seasons.

In the 2004/05 season, Insam signed for HC Bolzano and between 2004-09, won an Italian Cup, two Italian Super Cups and a national title. In the spring of 2008 he suffered a back injury which forced him to have an operation which kept him off the ice for five months. Midway through his fifth season, in January 2009, he moved to HC Gherdëina (Second League), where he played just five games before seriously injuring his hand and missed the rest of the season. In November 2010 he withdrew from the squad again due to back problems, which had plagued him for the previous two years.

Internationally, Insam made his Italian début on 31 January 1994 in a match against France, and was a regular member of the National squad thereafter, taking part in six editions of the World Championships and two Winter Olympics (1994 and 1998). After retiring in 2010, Leo Insam worked as a hotelier. He was married with three daughters, and died in his sleep in June 2023, at the young age of 48.