# Seven Thousand Kilometres and a Thousand Games: The Private World of Roman Josi

**By Petra Nowak**  \nPublished August 6, 2026  \nUpdated September 9, 2026

> As Roman Josi prepares to skate in his 1,000th NHL game for the Nashville Predators, his mother Doris reflects on the journey spanning seven thousand kilometres from Bern, Switzerland, to Tennessee.

Seven thousand kilometres separate Stettlen from Nashville, a vast geographic expanse that measures the distance between a mother's kitchen table and the high-stakes theater of the National Hockey League. For Doris Josi, that numerical gap is not merely a measurement of geography; it is the emotional toll of watching her son build a legendary career across an ocean. When Roman Josi steps onto the ice for his milestone 1,000th NHL game for the Nashville Predators, the celebration crowns a journey that began in the junior rinks of Switzerland and matured under the intense spotlight of North American professional hockey.

To understand the Predators captain at 35 years old, one must trace the evolution observed closest to home. Long before he was surpassing the points totals of his childhood idol, Scott Niedermayer, or lifting the defensive standards in Tennessee, Roman was a self-described garnement in Bern—a spirited boy who favored gymnastics class, finished his homework with swift efficiency so he could get outside to play, and initially insisted he wanted to become a footballer rather than a hockey player. It took a fateful youth tournament in Austria, where a coach shifted him from the forward line to defense and promptly saw him voted best defenseman of the tournament, to lock in the trajectory that would eventually bring him to the world's premier league.

The mechanics of that transition required immense discipline. Arriving in North America years earlier during a lockout with just 12 percent body fat—a figure that soon plummeted to an austere 8.1 percent under the strict nutritional mandates of the Nashville organization—the young defenseman learned quickly that survival in the majors demanded total adaptation. Back in Stettlen, mother Doris adjusted her kitchen habits to match the team's rigorous demands, swapping out favorite comforts for lean proteins and vegetables while maintaining the warmth of home life alongside brother Yannick and partner Peter Bamert.

## Navigating the Weight of the Captaincy

Yet, the physical demands of elite sport tell only half the story. As Josi grew into the captaincy in Nashville, the psychological pressures mounted alongside his growing fame. Doris recalls a time when the sheer weight of trying to satisfy every supporter's wish drained his energy, a habit of accommodation that made setting personal boundaries an absolute necessity. Resistance to external counsel eventually softened, leading him to incorporate regular work with a mental conditioning coach—a tactical pivot for his mental health that proved just as vital to his longevity as any physical training regimen in the gym.

Even during unprecedented interruptions, such as the sudden shutdown of the 2020 season when downtown Nashville emptied into a ghost town and isolation tested players worldwide, Josi's grounding remained rooted in simple fundamentals: daily meditation, reading, long walks with dogs Bella and Kingsley, and supporting local community efforts like the Nashville Foodbank. Far from the roaring crowds of the Bridgestone Arena, the elite blueliner found equilibrium by returning to the core virtues instilled in him during his youth in Switzerland.

## The Dual Realities of Distance

Today, the relationship between mother and son operates across persistent time zones and screen resolutions. As Doris notes, physical distance amplifies the helpless feeling when she senses something is troubling him from afar, turning routine goodbyes into emotional hurdles that never truly get easier to clear—especially now with grandchildren Luca and Ivy in the picture. Yet, those tensions dissolve the moment he returns home to Switzerland.

> We would love him just as much if he played in Switzerland. Roman is very sensitive. The well-being of his family, here and in Switzerland, is very important to him!

Doris Josi

When the anniversary celebrations conclude in Nashville—bridging a career that weathered early hand injuries, global pandemics, and countless travel miles—the man who once debuted in the National League at 16 remains fundamentally unchanged to those who knew him before the television broadcasts began. The superstar status, the leadership responsibilities, and the global acclaim sit secondary to the simple truths of his evolution: a dedication to honest friendships, daily family life, and a quiet refusal to let the noise of the hockey circus compromise the values of home.

## Sources

- [blick.ch](https://www.blick.ch/fr/sport/hockey/nhl/un-pere-un-fils-un-mari-la-mere-de-roman-josi-parle-de-son-fils-a-loccasion-de-son-1000e-match-de-nhl-id21623757.html) — original
- [2m-abstand.ch](https://2m-abstand.ch/artikel/der-home-boyroman-josi) — original
- [bern-ost.ch](https://www.bern-ost.ch/Eishockey---NHL-Star-Roman-Josi-in-Stettlen-Endlich-wieder-Familie-24577) — original