Men’s national team begins preparations for the Deutschland Cup

The countdown to the Deutschland Cup is on. Austria’s men’s national team convened in Salzburg on Monday (2nd November). The team, led by sporting director and head coach Roger Bader, will prepare for the tournament in Düsseldorf (5th to 8th November) there until Wednesday, training at Eisarena Salzburg.

There has been one change to the squad. Defenceman Bernd Wolf (EHC Kloten) has withdrawn through injury. Patrick Söllinger (Steinbach Black Wings Linz) has been called up as his replacement. With Söllinger, Linz now have five players in the squad, matching Moser Medical Graz99ers for the joint-largest contingent. The squad’s average age is 27.

Roger Bader, sporting director of the men’s national teams and head coach of the senior men’s team:"It is a typical start. The first day is always ice-free because most of the players were still playing on Sunday. In the evening, we will discuss how we want to approach things tactically this week. The players come from different teams, different coaches and different systems of play. The first training session is about getting everyone on the same page. We have two training sessions before the first game to get the team ready."

Patrick Söllinger, ÖEHV defenceman:"I am delighted to have been called up. I will simply give it everything and show my best side. It is always something special to represent your country. Ultimately, it is the international stage where you can prove yourself. It brings an enormous amount, and I look forward to it every time."

The team will travel to Düsseldorf on Wednesday. Austria will face hosts Germany in their opening game on Thursday, 5th November (19:45). Following a game-free Friday, they will take on Slovakia (Saturday, 7th November, 15:00) and Latvia (Sunday, 8th November, 11:00).

ORF will broadcast two of the three games live. The match against Germany will be shown on ORF SPORT + on Thursday. ORF ON will show the game against Latvia in full via live stream from 10:55 on Sunday, with ORF SPORT + joining the live coverage from 11:55.

The squad at a glance:

GOALTENDERS

KICKERT David | aged 32 | EC Red Bull Salzburg

VORAUER Florian | aged 26 | EC-KAC

WIESER Nicolas | aged 29 | Moser Medical Graz99ers

DEFENCE

HACKL Dominic | aged 29 | EV Vienna Capitals

LINDNER Luis | aged 25 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz

MAIER David | aged 26 | Moser Medical Graz99ers

NICKL Thimo | aged 24 | EC-KAC

SÖLLINGER Patrick | aged 22 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz

STAPELFELDT Paul | aged 28 | Moser Medical Graz99ers

UNTERWEGER Clemens | 34 | EC-KAC

WIMMER Philipp | 24 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz

WÜRSCHL Niklas | 27 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz

FORWARDS

ACHERMANN Oliver | 32 | HC La Chaux-de-Fonds (SUI)

BAUMGARTNER Benjamin | 26 | SC Bern (SUI)

HARNISCH Tim | 25 | Moser Medical Graz99ers

HAUDUM Lukas | 29 | HC TPS Turku (FIN)

HUBER Paul | 26 | Moser Medical Graz99ers

NEUBAUER Henrik | 29 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz

NISSNER Benjamin | 28 | EC Red Bull Salzburg

REBERNIG Maximilian | 26 | EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV

ROHRER Vinzenz | 22 | EV Zug (SUI)

SCHWINGER Simeon | 29 | EC-KAC

THALER Lucas | 24 | EHC Red Bull München (GER)

WALLNER Leon | 24 | EV Vienna Capitals

WUKOVITS Ali | 30 | EC Red Bull Salzburg