Austrian debut at the Deutschland Cup

It is the 33rd edition of this traditional tournament hosted by our neighbours, and Austria’s national team will take on hosts Germany, Slovakia and Denmark for the first time. The four-nation tournament will be held in Krefeld from 10 to 13 November. Tickets are already available.

22 September 20222 min read

The Deutschland Cup was first held in 1987. The venue at the time was Stuttgart. Over its more than 30-year history, leading nations such as Canada, Russia, the USA, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Finland, Latvia, Italy, Poland, Denmark and Japan have accepted invitations from the German Ice Hockey Federation. A DEL All-Star Team in 1993 and Top Team Peking in 2020 also took to the ice.

Krefeld has hosted the Deutschland Cup since 2018, and an Austrian selection will now take to the ice in this four-nation tournament for the first time.

Head Coach Roger Bader: “We are delighted to be part of the Deutschland Cup this year and next year. This invitation is both recognition of and a reward for our performances in recent years. Initial discussions about taking part had already been held before the World Championship. With our performance in the final warm-up game against Germany in Schwenningen before the World Championship and our results at the World Championship itself, we did more than just put ourselves forward. Slovakia, Germany and Denmark are ranked eighth, ninth and tenth in the world rankings. These are extremely valuable games for us at the highest level.”

Austria open the international contest on Thursday, 10 November at 16:15 against Slovakia, who are taking part in the Deutschland Cup for the 23rd time. The traditional clash with Germany follows on Saturday at 18:00, while the final game against Denmark begins as early as 11:00 on Sunday.

DEB Sporting Director Christian Künast: “The Deutschland Cup has always been an established and important part of international ice hockey competition in Europe. With the Olympic bronze medallists from Beijing, an established participant in Slovakia, Denmark making their second appearance, and Austria making their Deutschland Cup debut, four teams from the current IIHF Top Division will take part in this year’s four-nation tournament. I am particularly looking forward to the derby against our friends from Austria and hope that numerous spectators will come to Krefeld for the Deutschland Cup.”