First appear­ance in St. Pölten

A month ago, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) decided to hold the U20 World Championship Top Division in Canada this year, while cancelling all other World Championship competitions in this age group. Hockey Canada has made great efforts in recent weeks to guarantee the safe staging of this World Championship tournament in Edmonton.

Due to the current Covid-19 situation, several measures are required to ensure a safe World Championship. Firstly, there will be only one venue, Rogers Place in Edmonton; secondly, no spectators will be admitted; and thirdly, all participants (teams, officials, TV personnel etc.), who must record their movements in an app every day and are tested daily at the World Championship venue, will remain in a bubble.

"Hockey Canada and the IIHF have kept us up to date on the plans for this World Championship every two weeks. So far, we have gained a very clear picture of how we can prepare for this World Championship and how we should conduct ourselves," says Austria's sporting director Roger Bader. "Everyone will need to be aware of their responsibility and make their contribution so that this World Championship can go ahead."

For Austria's U20 national team, which will take part in an U20 World Championship Top Division for the fourth time, this means that the team will come together in Austria at the beginning of December and must form its own bubble (hotel – training – hotel). Three negative tests within one week will be required in order to take the charter flight to Edmonton on 13 December.

Following a short quarantine, the first training sessions are scheduled in the Canadian province of Alberta from 18 December, followed by two warm-up games against Germany and Slovakia. Austria will begin the World Championship tournament against the USA on 26 December, before facing Sweden, Russia and the Czech Republic later in the preliminary round. The final round follows, while relegation games will not take place due to the cancellation of all other U20 tournaments.

"The other participants are a long way ahead of us in terms of standard. We are underdogs in every game. For us, it is about matching the high tempo and performing as well as possible," says sporting director Bader. The U20 national team will complete its first training camp of the season in two weeks' time at the U20 Cup in St. Pölten against Belarus, Latvia and Denmark. "We beat these opponents last year and won World Championship gold. It will be an important tournament for us with a view to the World Championship in Canada," says Bader.

U20 NATIONAL TEAM FIXTURES 2020/21

02 - 07.11.2020: U20 Cup
Venue: St. Pölten
Participants: Austria, Belarus, Latvia, Denmark

Schedule
05.11.2020, 20:00: Austria – Belarus
06.11.2020, 20:00: Denmark – Austria
07.11.2020, 13:00: Austria – Latvia

05 - 12.12.2020: Preparation for the U20 World Championship
Venue: Austria
Meetings, discussions, team building, ice training, PCR tests

13 - 24.12.2020: Preparation for the U20 World Championship
Location: Edmonton/Canada
13.12.2020: Flight to Canada
18.12.2020: Start of on-ice training

Warm-up matches
21.12.2020, 12:00 (CET: 21.12.2020, 20:00): Germany – Austria
23.12.2020, 12:00 (CET: 23.12.2020, 20:00): Austria – Slovakia

25.12.2020 - 05.01.2021: 2021 IIHF U20 Men's World Championship Top Division
Location: Rogers Place in Edmonton/Canada
Group A: Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany
Group B: Russia, Sweden, USA, Czech Republic, Austria

Schedule
26.12.2020, 19:30 (CET: 27.12.2020, 03:30): USA – Austria
28.12.2020, 16:00 (CET: 29.12.2020, 00:00): Austria – Sweden
29.12.2020, 19:30 (CET: 30.12.2020, 03:30): Austria – Russia
31.12.2020, 12:00 (CET: 31.12.2020, 20:00): Czech Republic – Austria
02.01.2021: Quarter-finals
04.01.2021: Semi-finals
05.01.2021: Finals

As all other U20 World Championship tournaments for the 2020/21 season have been cancelled, there will be no promotion or relegation this year. Therefore, no relegation matches between the fifth-placed teams in the groups will be held in Edmonton either. All participants will also compete in the IIHF Top Division of the U20 in Canada in the 2021/22 season.