ÖEHV forward Johannes Bischofberger ends his playing career
Forward Johannes Bischofberger ended his playing career on Monday. According to a statement from the Red Jackets, the long-serving KAC forward has decided to hang up his skates for health reasons. The Vorarlberg native most recently represented the ÖEHV team at the Olympic qualification tournament in Bratislava.
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The 31-year-old forward, whose trademarks alongside his goal threat were his lightning-quick acceleration, received his youth training with Dornbirner EC in his home city before playing in Switzerland for SC Rheintal, EHC Uzwil and Pikes Oberthurgau. Bischofberger made his professional debut for Red Bull Salzburg in the EBEL in 2011 at the age of 17, and after spells in Switzerland with HC Davos and Hockey Thurgau, the Vorarlberg native moved to EC KAC in Klagenfurt in 2016.
Bischofberger was highly successful for the ÖEHV at youth level and captained the U20 team at two World Championships: he first played for the Austrian U18 national team at the U18 World Championship in Division IA in 2010, the U18 World Championship in Division IIA in 2011 and the U18 World Championship in Division IB in 2012.
After Austria had been promoted from IIA to IB by winning the gold medal in 2011, Bischofberger was Austria's leading scorer at the World Championship in 2012 and was voted the best forward in IB by the officials. He also had the highest face-off win percentage in the group.
He subsequently also took part in the U20 World Championship in Division IA in 2012 with the U20 national team, where he was named his team's best player in two games. He was also Austria's strongest player on face-offs and became his team's second-highest scorer. At the U20 World Championship in Division IA in 2013, Bischofberger was Austria's leading scorer and Division IA's top goalscorer as team captain, and was again named the best player in a game twice. He also played as captain at the U20 World Championship in Division IA in 2014, where he was once again Austria's strongest player on face-offs.
Bischofberger made his senior national team debut in 2017 as part of the World Championship preparations. In a total of twelve internationals, he scored two goals and provided four assists. The forward most recently took to the ice for the ÖEHV team in two games at the Olympic qualification tournament in Bratislava in August 2024: the narrow 1:2 defeat against hosts Slovakia and the 1:2 defeat against Kazakhstan.
"Having to announce the end of my career at such an early stage is not easy, especially as I am still in very good physical condition. However, the past years, with all the injuries, including the concussions that troubled me for a very long time, have been an enormous challenge. That makes it doubly painful that I cannot make the decision to stop entirely of my own accord, but have to accept the situation as it is. Even if the ending is not a happy one, I can say that I look back on a wonderful career," Johannes Bischofberger said on the EC KAC website.
