Six new call-ups for Four Nations Tour­na­ment

"Over the years, I have developed the reflex of looking straight ahead after withdrawals," assesses Head Coach Roger Bader the situation with his customary positivity. Six replacements have been called up due to illness- and injury-related withdrawals. The team is still waiting on the ill Lukas Haudum, who could possibly join the squad at short notice.

"It happens time and again that players fall ill or get injured, and it affects the other nations just as much as it affects us. We have a call-up list for this situation, which allows us to give new players an opportunity," explains Roger Bader. 

The Swiss coach is extremely pleased with the mix: "We have an interesting squad featuring players with more than 100 international appearances, such as Thomas Raffl and Manuel Ganahl, players who took part in the past two World Championships, and a newcomer in Julian Metzler. That is good; that is what international breaks and tournaments are for."

Vinzenz Rohrer will receive another opportunity after the Deutschland Cup last autumn and, according to Bader, has developed very well over the past few months: "Vinzenz is a strong candidate for the World Championship. He has established himself with the ZSC Lions in Switzerland and plays on the second powerplay unit. I hope he shows us how good he is this week. He is certainly a candidate for a World Championship spot."

For the first time since 2018, goaltender Thomas Höneckl has also been called up. With the Steinbach Black Wings Linz, the 34-year-old is currently in 5th place in the win2day ICE Hockey League and has played a major part in the team's 22 wins this season so far: "It is always an honour to be in the national team. After such a long break, I am all the more pleased. I want to continue with the national team in the same way things have gone in the league so far. Now it is about coming together quickly."

The team camp started in Vienna on 5 February. The national team will travel to France on 8 February, where they will face the hosts on Friday, 9 February, and the winner/loser of Denmark vs. Norway on Saturday.

February Break

Team camp 05–11 February 2024
Four Nations Tournament, 09–10 February 2024, Epinal (FRA)

Schedule

France vs. Austria
Fri., 09 February 2024, 20:00, live on ORF SPORT +

Austria vs. Denmark/Norway
Sat., 10 February 2024, 16:00, live on ORF SPORT +

Squad