Coaching staff in women's and para ice hockey confirmed for the 2025/2026 season

"We are facing a historic season in Austrian women's ice hockey, as we will play in the highest division for the first time. Every team camp is an opportunity to prepare for what lies ahead, and each camp will also play a decisive role in our eventual performance at the World Championship. We have a plan for how we want to develop over the course of the season, both on the ice and mentally. With a few new elements and adjustments to the way we work, we are looking ahead to the season with great confidence," emphasises Alexander Bröms.

As things stand, Austria will be in a group with the USA, Czechia, Switzerland and Germany at the 2026 IIHF Women's World Championship. The exact dates and venue have yet to be confirmed and are expected to be determined at the IIHF Congress in autumn.

Alexander Bröms took over the women's national team at the end of 2022. At the 2023 World Championship Division IA in Shenzhen (CHN), the team narrowly missed out on promotion to the Top Division. At the home World Championship in Klagenfurt in 2024, the team gained further valuable experience, which it took into the tournament last April. In their third attempt under Head Coach Alexander Bröms, they finally secured historic promotion.

Arto Sieppi takes over U18 women

In front of a home crowd in Radenthein in 2022, the U18 national team earned promotion from Division IB to Division IA. Last January, the team had to return to Division IB. The primary objective is immediate promotion back to Division IA. To achieve this, the team must hold its own against Spain, China, Great Britain, Australia and Poland in Katowice, Poland, in January 2026.

Following the senior national team's promotion to the Top Division, Mario Bellina, the previous Head Coach of the U18 national team, will focus more closely on his role as Assistant Coach of the senior national team. The U18 will now be coached by Finn Arto Sieppi.

ÖEHV General Manager for women's ice hockey Martin Kogler: "With Arto Sieppi, we have been able to appoint an absolute women's ice hockey expert and leader as Head Coach of the women's U18 national team. I have known him for many years and am very confident that he is the right person for our mission of immediate promotion back to Division IA!"

The Finn is considered an absolute expert in women's ice hockey. For many years, he was General Manager of Finland's senior women's national team and has already served as Head Coach of Slovakia's senior women's national team and Japan's U18 women's national team, as well as Assistant Coach of Japan's senior women's national team. Most recently, he worked at the Finnish national performance centre in Kuortane.

"I am very pleased about the opportunity to work with Austria's U18 women's national team in the future. We will have our first international tournament in August, and that will give us an indication of where we currently stand and which areas we need to work on in particular. Our main goal for this season is to qualify for Division IA again, which means we need to be able to play high-intensity, winning international hockey at the upcoming World Championship in Katowice. I also want to help our players fulfil their full potential and reach the next level as players," explains Arto Sieppi.

Tomáš Kala remains Head Coach of the U16 women

As in the past, Tomáš Kala will be behind the bench as Head Coach of the U16. Participation in the European Cup is planned for April/May 2026:

"I am looking forward to a new season full of challenges, in which we will try to get to know as many players as possible and familiarise them with the demands of elite sport. Every camp is an opportunity for us to show what commitment, teamwork and continuous personal development mean. Our focus is on the long-term development of each individual player. Working with a broad squad allows us to support talents from different regions and create a solid foundation for the future of women's ice hockey in Austria. Our goal is not only sporting success, but above all to create an environment in which the players can grow both athletically and personally," says the Czech.

Lucas Herrnegger enters his fourth season

As with the women's national team, the para national team is also relying on continuity. Carinthian Lucas Herrnegger was appointed Head Coach in autumn 2022. He developed through the KAC youth system as both a player and a coach.

"We are already fully planning the next season, with many friendly matches scheduled to help us move closer to the top. In August, we will have our first team camp in Villach. We will start the new season full of enthusiasm and motivation and take another step forward. We have the right characters in the team and we are already looking forward to getting back on the ice," says Herrnegger.