Austria’s U20 team set for appear­ance on the big ice hockey stage

Image caption: Marco Pewal is looking forward to the upcoming U20 World Championship. The photo was taken in November 2020 with the then U20 team in a friendly against Hungary - Copyright: GEPA pictures/Walter Luger

Preparations are in full swing for Austria’s men’s U20 national ice hockey team ahead of the IIHF World Junior Championships, taking place from 26 December 2021 to 5 January 2022 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Canada. Head coach Marco Pewal sees the World Championship as a major opportunity for Austria to present itself on the big ice hockey stage: "If we deliver good performances, the players can play their way into the international spotlight!" - ÖEHV Sporting Director Roger Bader will lead the Austrian delegation in Canada as Head of Delegation and take on important duties in cooperation with the IIHF.

The Austrian delegation will travel to the home of ice hockey on 15 December to prepare for the tournament. The red-white-red team will initially set up its training camp in Red Deer. With around 100.000 inhabitants, the third-largest city in the province of Alberta is located in the Aspen Parkland Region, precisely halfway between Edmonton to the north and Calgary to the south.

This North American region is not unfamiliar to ÖEHV U20 head coach Marco Pewal and his coaching staff, as Austria also took part in last year’s edition of the U20 World Championship. His anticipation and enthusiasm for once again competing against the top nations are already evident.

The Villach native is particularly looking forward to the World Championship games at the impressive Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers in the day-to-day NHL season: "I very much hope that spectators will continue to be allowed in. There is nothing better for such young players than performing in front of 18.000 fans and representing their country!" Austria will face Finland (27 December), hosts Canada (28 December), Czechia (30 December) and Germany (31 December) in Group B. No easy task for the U20 national team, as the head coach explains: "Top nations Finland and Canada are certainly the favourites in the group, followed by Czechia. Germany, too, must be rated above us on paper."

Although Marco Pewal considers Germany favourites, he sees opportunities in the clash with Austria’s neighbours on the final day of the year: "Our big goal is to beat Germany. On a good day, when everything clicks for us, with a very good goaltending performance and, of course, a little bit of luck, it is possible!"

Fourth place after the preliminary round would mean reaching the quarter-finals, while finishing fifth would send the team into the relegation round to avoid relegation. The draw determined that the presumed decisive game against Germany must be played as the final game of the preliminary round. The head coach sees this positively: "I do not see the draw as a disadvantage; the players can gain experience on the smaller ice surface. Of course, the preceding games take their toll, but they are fit enough to give everything in the final match as well. The players should enjoy the games against Finland, Canada and Czechia. Austria normally takes part in a tournament like this only once every ten to 15 years; in terms of international attention, it is the second-biggest tournament after the Olympic Games."

Pewal is not worried that his young players will be nervous in front of the expected crowd: "Of course, the boys will be nervous at the start, but that will fade with every shift. The longer a match goes on, the more the players will adjust to their surroundings and the crowd." Rather, despite the seriousness of the task of "staying in the top division", enjoyment and the opportunity to showcase themselves to the ice hockey world and the many scouts in an exceptional setting must take centre stage: "First and foremost, it is clear that we can only hold our own as a compact unit, as a team. But this tournament is where you see the future superstars. If we deliver good performances, the players can of course showcase themselves very well and play their way into the international spotlight."

A look at the U20 World Championship All-Star teams since 1977 confirms the head coach’s view: from Vyacheslav Fetisov, Wayne Gretzky and Igor Larionov to Eric Lindros, Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, Roberto Luongo and Marc-André Fleury, right through to Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Connor McDavid, former and current NHL stars have made their first appearance on the big ice hockey stage at every U20 tournament.

Head coach Marco Pewal receives support from Jürgen Penker on the coaching staff, who will use his experience overseas to oversee goaltending training and analyse the goalies’ performances. Philipp Pinter is responsible for the defence and power plays on the bench. Philipp Lukas analyses mistakes and observes how the opposition plays, is responsible for the penalty kill and passes the information directly on to the players: "We are a great team, working together is a lot of fun, we have great trust in one another and everyone knows their role exactly!"

Before things get serious in Edmonton, there will be two friendlies against Slovakia (21 December) and Sweden. After the second friendly against Sweden on 23 December, the final cut will be made and the final World Championship squad named. According to Pewal, 25 players and the entire coaching staff will then move into their World Championship accommodation in Edmonton on Christmas Eve: "Of course, it will not be easy to inform the players concerned that they have been cut from the squad so close to Christmas, but the boys know that and have to be able to deal with it!"

The Head of Delegation at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Canada is ÖEHV Sporting Director Roger Bader. He assumes important organisational responsibilities in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF): "We are in contact with the other participating nations, and regular meetings with the IIHF are held every two days to discuss, for example, penalties, suspensions and other important tournament matters." The Swiss national provides the coaching staff with advice, but, as he makes clear himself, does not interfere in the sporting affairs of the support staff: "Marco Pewal is the head coach and makes the sporting decisions!"

Bader sees Austria's chances similarly to the U20 head coach: "We are underdogs; in fact, we are still a promoted team, as there was an exceptional situation at the last World Championship and no teams were promoted or relegated. Until last year, it had been ten years since we had last taken part in this tournament. We see our best chance as being against Germany, who do not have their strongest players with them because they are playing in the North American leagues."

Should they fail to reach the quarter-finals, they will need to give everything once again in the relegation round in order to stay in the top division: "Anything is possible in a best-of-three against the bottom-placed team from the other group!"

Start of preparations: on 15 December, the red-white-red delegation will relocate to Red Deer, Canada, for World Championship preparations. The final World Championship squad will be named after the second warm-up game against Sweden on 23 December. A 25-man squad, along with the support staff, will then move into the World Championship accommodation in Edmonton on 24 December.

Warm-up games

Austria vs. Slovakia
Tue, 21 December 2021, 19:30 local time (Wed, 22 December, 03:30 CET)

Austria vs. Sweden
Thu, 23 December 2021, 19:30 local time (Fri, 24 December, 03:30 CET)

World Championship schedule

Austria vs. Finland
Mon, 27 December 2021, 12:00 local time (20:00 CET)

Austria vs. Canada
Tue, 28 December 2021, 17:00 local time (Wed, 29 December, 01:00 CET)

Czech Republic vs. Austria
Thu, 30 December 2021, 14:30 local time (22:30 CET)

Germany vs. Austria
Fri, 31 December 2021, 12:00 local time (20:00 CET)

The finals series and relegation follow after New Year.

Group A: USA, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland
Group B: Canada, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria

Format
The top four teams after the preliminary round qualify for the quarter-finals, which, along with the semi-finals and final, are played in a knockout format to determine the world champions. The two fifth-placed nations after the preliminary round contest the relegation series in a best-of-three format to determine which team is relegated to Group A of Division I.

Medal table: Canada (18), Russia (13), Finland (5), USA (5), Sweden (2), Czech Republic (2)