IIHF deci­sion: Austria promoted to the top divi­sion

Image information: Austria will compete among the elite at the World Championship in Finland in May - Photo: GEPA pictures/Andreas Pranter

Following the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from all IIHF competitions, Austria and France being promoted to this year's top-division World Championship in Finland had been widely reported. On Friday, the international federation made it official: Austria and France will replace the two banned nations and compete at the 85 IIHF World Championship in May.

"In recent days, it had become increasingly clear and apparent that we would be playing at the top-division World Championship. We are very pleased about this opportunity, although the circumstances are very regrettable," says men's sporting director and head coach Roger Bader referring to the Ukraine crisis, which led to the exclusion of Russia and Belarus. 

The objective for the top-division World Championship is clear, according to Roger Bader: "We want to show and prove that we belong in the top division."

World Championship preparations will therefore be extended by two weeks, as the Top Division World Championship takes place from 13 to 29 May 2022, while Division IA, where Austria had originally been due to play for promotion to the top division, will be held in Ljubljana (SLO) from 2 to 8 May 2022.

Two weeks, which are also needed to prepare for this intensive tournament. "A top-division World Championship is a completely different proposition from a Division I World Championship in many respects. In Slovenia, we would have had five games in seven days; at the top-division World Championship, we have seven games in ten to twelve days. And that is at a completely different level. The workload is enormous," explains Bader. 

Aside from the top-division World Championship itself, further doors have opened for Austria. In addition to the already confirmed warm-up games against Czechia on 6 and 8 April, Poland on 14 and 16 April, and Italy on 24 and 25 April, Austria have been invited to the Four Nations Tournament in Ostrava, from 28 April to 1 May, with Sweden, Finland and Czechia, as Russia's replacement. They will even have a home game against Sweden!

"That is sensational. You do not otherwise get an opportunity like that," enthuses head coach Roger Bader. The final week of preparations will be held in Schwenningen (GER), where Austria will face the German national team on 9 May. They will then travel to Finland on 10 May. 

"The later a World Championship takes place, the greater the chances that players competing in North America will join us," Roger Bader notes, before qualifying this in the same breath: "If Michael Raffl reaches the play-offs with the Dallas Stars, he will not be an option. If he does not make the play-offs, it will probably depend on whether he has a new contract or not. Marco Rossi is currently not in a play-off spot in the AHL, but Minnesota Wild could call him up for the NHL play-offs. I will consult Minnesota's general manager on whether playing for Austria at the top-division World Championship might be beneficial for his development."

Austria's red-white-red players will replace Belarus at the top-division World Championship and will therefore take to the ice in Tampere. The brand-new Nokia Arena is considered the world's most modern ice hockey venue. Tampere is also the main host city for the World Championship. More than 280.000 fans are expected during the preliminary round in the city alone, which is located around 180 kilometres north of Helsinki. Around 100 TV stations and hundreds of journalists will ensure worldwide media coverage.

Alongside hosts Finland Austria will also face the USA, Czechia, Sweden, Latvia, Norway and Great Britain. “A very difficult group,” as Bader adds.

France will join Austria at the top-level World Championship. The French will play Canada, Slovakia, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Germany and Italy in Helsinki.

As France and Austria are moving up to the top division, there will be changes to Divisions IA and IB. Both tournaments will now be played with five teams each. In Division I Group A in Ljubljana, hosts Slovenia will be joined by South Korea, Hungary, Romania and Lithuania. The group winners and runners-up will be promoted, while the bottom-placed team will be relegated.

Poland, Japan, Estonia, Ukraine and Serbia will play in Group IB in Poland. The group winners will be promoted to Division IA, while the bottom-placed team will be relegated. All information on the implications of the IIHF decision is available here on the official IIHF website.

On 2 April, Austria will begin its major World Championship preparations with its first camp in Linz. Tickets for the first test on 8 April in Linz against Czechia in Linz on __OEHV_NUM_AH_B__ April are already available via oeticket.com. All information on ticket sales is available at eishockey.at. This will be followed by warm-up matches against Poland in Graz on 14 April and 16 April. Team Austria will face Italy in Innsbruck on 24 April. Advance ticket sales for these matches will begin shortly.

Camp I, Linz, from 2 to 8 April 2022
6 April 2022, 17.30 hrs, AUT – CZE in CZE, live on ORF Sport+
8 April 2022, 17.30 hrs, AUT – CZE in Linz, live on ORF Sport+
Ticket prices:
Standing ticket, standard price € 15
Standing ticket, reduced price € 10
Seated ticket, standard price € 25
Seated ticket, reduced price € 15
VIP tickets € 110

Camp II, Graz, from 11 to 16 April 2022
14 April 2022, 19:00, AUT – POL in Graz, live on ORF Sport+
16 April 2022, 16:00, AUT – POL in Graz

Camp III, Innsbruck, from 20 to 25 April 2022
24 April 2022, 14:30, AUT – ITA in Innsbruck, live on ORF Sport+
25 April 2022, 18:00, AUT – ITA in Bruneck, ITA

Four Nations Tournament, Ostrava, from 28 April to 1 May
Opponents: Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic

Camp IV, Schwenningen
9 May 2022, GER - AUT in Schwenningen