Squad confirmed for the U20 World Cham­pi­onship

The decision as to which players will now travel to the World Championship was not an easy one for the coaching staff led by Head Coach Philipp Pinter . The two warm-up games against Slovenia and Norway provided further important insights and confirmed that the team currently has the luxury of plenty of options, as the Villach native explains: "The boys made it very difficult for us because everyone gave their best, put themselves forward well and repeatedly showed why they ultimately deserved to be included. For us coaches, that is naturally better than having to think about where to find players."

As usual, the main task was not only to identify the best players, but above all the right players for the challenges ahead and to deploy them in the right positions. "So that they can make the most of their potential," explains Philipp Pinter. Overall, the Head Coach also speaks of a certain level of experience already within the team, as some players have already gained World Championship experience.

To be precise, there are 14. And they have only one thing in mind: revenge. Johannes Neumann: "Every one of us has just one goal: promotion. The gold medal was snatched away from us right in front of our eyes last year. We cannot wait to get to Bled and take our revenge."

Austria open the World Championship against hosts Slovenia on Sunday at 16:00, followed directly by the clash with France on Monday. The remaining opponents are Norway, Ukraine and, to conclude, Kazakhstan, who were relegated from the Top Division.

Head Coach Philipp Pinter: "The boys know what matters and that small things and details can decide games. We are well set up and have faith in our boys. We have been warned about Slovenia. We saw in the warm-up game that they have a dangerous team that plays with heart and passion. We must not and will not take any opponent lightly. We will equip the boys with the right game plan against Slovenia so that they start the tournament hungry. Three points straight away in the opener would be important for the rest of the tournament."

2026 IIHF U20 World Championship Division IA

7–13 December 2025, Bled (SLO)
All Austria games will be streamed live on streaming.krone.at.

Slovenia vs. Austria
Sun, 7 December 2025, 16:00

Austria vs. France
Mon, 8 December 2025, 12:30

Austria vs. Norway
Wed, 10 December 2025, 12:30

Austria vs. Ukraine
Thu, 11 December 2025, 12:30

Kazakhstan vs. Austria
Sat, 13 December 2025, 16:00

U20 World Championship Division IA squad