Peter Schneider: “It will be a dogfight”

Peter, how proud are you to lead the national team as captain at a World Championship for the first time?
Peter Schneider: “I am incredibly proud to be able to lead the lads at this World Championship. I hope I can pass on my experiences from recent World Championships, especially to the young players who are taking part for the first time. A major tournament is always a little different from warm-up games. We need to be properly prepared.”

Is it a special World Championship for you because you are leading Austria as captain?
Peter Schneider: “I do not measure my career by which letter I wear on my jersey, but by the successes we achieve together.”

In recent years, Thomas Raffl has always worn the C on his chest. As you are also teammates at Red Bull Salzburg, have you spoken to each other about it?
Peter Schneider: “I have had the privilege of learning from him for several years. You have to say that we are different personalities. There are certain elements that he does very well, such as the calm he radiates to the team, which I am trying to take on board, and I hope I can find the right mix to bring the team to the right level.”

The atmosphere within the team is very good. You are doing a good job of bringing the young, in some cases new, players into the group. How much fun is that as well?
Peter Schneider: “A great deal. You also have to give them credit for the fact that everyone has integrated superbly. Everyone is fighting for their place. We have a great atmosphere in the dressing room. We all get on well. Everyone can speak up in the dressing room and say something if it is on their mind. That has always been important to us. We want to maintain that at the World Championship too.”

You joined the preparations unusually early for you. How have you experienced the past few weeks? How ready are you for the World Championship?
Peter Schneider: “We have trained very hard, as we should, so that we are physically ready above all. Physically, we are already in a very good place. Tactically, we have also developed significantly and are implementing the things Roger wants from us better week by week. There are still a few days to go and I am confident that it will all come together well.”

What will be crucial at the World Championship in order to be able to say at the end that it was another successful World Championship?
Peter Schneider: “The most important thing is team unity, regardless of which squad we have on the ice. That we play for each other, that we do the dirty work for each other on the ice. If we play like that, then we can trouble the big nations too. A good start to the World Championship is important now, and that is where our full focus lies.”

You have earned a great deal of respect in recent years. What do you hear from abroad and from outside the team? How is Austria talked about?
Peter Schneider: “A lot of good things. We have developed well over the past few years, and we can be proud of that. However, it is completely irrelevant what we have achieved in the past; everything starts again from zero. You are only as good as your next game, and we have to prove that we have what it takes.”

Do you have a certain level of expectation within the team yourselves?
Peter Schneider: “It is very important to keep the focus narrow, to concentrate on the next shift and the next play. If something good happens, move on from it quickly; equally, if something bad happens, move on from it quickly. That applies to us as a team too. We have to think from game to game if we want to be successful. If you start thinking about what happened last year, that is not good. The focus has to be on what lies ahead, and that is how we will approach it.”

What do you take from the successes of recent years?
Peter Schneider: “We have learned that with a particular style of play, which we have used at recent World Championships, we can achieve something that nobody expects of us. And we have gained an incredible amount of confidence. But we must not rely on the past. Things move very quickly in sport when you think too far ahead, when you think about something that has not happened yet. That is why it is important to keep the focus narrow, take the positives with us and believe that our style of play can lead to success.”

In the first two games, you face Great Britain and Hungary, the opponents against whom you can achieve the primary objective of avoiding relegation at an early stage. Is it a small advantage that the bulk of the national team has been together for so long already?
Peter Schneider: “We want to beat every opponent, regardless of who we play. It is an advantage to have the majority of the team together early, so that certain things can become established and everyone is at the same pace. We train at a high pace, because that is how it will be at the World Championship too, including in the first two games. It will be a dogfight. We will have to fight incredibly hard to win these games. That is what we are already trying to prepare for in training. We train very physically, very quickly and very directly. We have to take that into the World Championship.”

2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship

15 May 2026 - 31 May 2026, Zurich and Fribourg (SUI)
Defending champions: USA
Group A, Zurich: USA, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain
Group B, Fribourg: Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy

Schedule
Great Britain vs. Austria
Sat, 16 May 2026, 12:20, Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1

Austria vs. Hungary
Sun, 17 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF SPORT +, live on ORF 1 from 17:00

Latvia vs. Austria
Tue, 19 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1

Austria vs. Switzerland
Wed, 20 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1

Austria vs. Germany
Sat, 23 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF SPORT +

Finland vs. Austria
Sun, 24 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF SPORT +

USA vs. Austria
Tue, 26 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1

Ticketing
Information on World Championship ticket sales at 2026.iihfworlds.com
Link to World Championship tickets for Zurich and Fribourg 
Link to individual Austria games 
Link to World Championship packages including Austria games