The break is over

On 8 February 2020, the Austrian national team celebrated winning the Österreich Cup in Klagenfurt with a final victory over Denmark. At the time, nobody thought it would be their last appearance for more than a year. However, the team will return to the ice under head coach Roger Bader next Monday.

The next six weeks feature four training camps and a replacement tournament for the cancelled IIHF World Championship 2021. This hockey-intensive spring gets under way on Monday at the Eissportzentrum Kagran in Vienna. "We all – players, coaches and support staff alike – are looking forward to finally bringing the national team together again and representing Austria internationally," says Bader, who has called up a 25-man squad for the first camp and the internationals against Hungary and Belarus in Budapest.

The squad list includes nine debutants and five current U20 national team players, with Luis Lindner, Tim Harnisch and Marco Kasper having featured at the most recent IIHF U20 World Championship in Canada. Among the experienced players, Martin Ulmer, Peter Schneider, Dominic Zwerger, Patrick Spannring and Erik Kirchschläger have World Championship experience. Players eliminated in the ICE Hockey League semi-finals are expected to join from the second week of training onwards.

With an average age of 23,3 years, Bader is continuing on his path of placing trust in young players and giving them a taste of national team hockey. "I am known for giving young players an opportunity. There is a direct path from the U20 team to the senior national team. We will see next week how these players handle it. Even as a young player, you can be an integral part of the national team," says Bader.

The women's national team is already bringing its season to a close in the coming days. Following successful games against Slovakia in December and Kazakhstan in February, a stern test awaits on Wednesday and Thursday. They will play Germany twice in Füssen, with these matches the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund's only warm-up games ahead of the IIHF World Championship in Canada. In November, the final ticket for the Olympic Winter Games 2022 will also be awarded at the same venue between Germany, Austria, Denmark and a qualifier.

The Austrian men's U18 national team will make its only appearance of the season in St. Pölten next week. At the Four Nations tournament against Hungary, Slovenia and Poland, players born in 2003 and 2004 can gain international experience for the first time.