U18 World Championship Division IA: Tests against Denmark, Slovenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Hungary

From 20 to 26 April, Szekesfehervar in Hungary will host the men's U18 World Championship Division IA. A year ago, the charges of Head Coach Florian Mühlstein won bronze. A medal is once again the objective this year, but the team has been warned!

19 April 20253 min read

“This is a very tough group. We always take to the ice to win, but anything can happen at this World Championship. It can go either way,” warns Mühlstein. In their final preparations, the team narrowly lost 3:4 to Slovenia before recording a 6:4 win over Kazakhstan in their final warm-up game. The lessons learned? “We have to make sure we play our simple hockey. If we can do that and get into that flow, we can compete. There were some very good shifts in the win over Kazakhstan, and it also created a good atmosphere in the dressing room,” explains the Head Coach.

The squad includes players who already caused a stir at the U20 World Championship Division IA in December. At U18, they are set to take the next step, Florian Mühlstein says: “At U20, they were involved as younger players. At U18, they are expected to take responsibility. That is, of course, something different. The experience they gained at the U20 World Championship should also have a very positive effect on our team. They know how a World Championship works and what it takes to be successful.”

And that is what the team wants in Hungary. In 2024, they recorded wins over Japan, Hungary and Denmark, while suffering narrow defeats to Germany and Ukraine. They will now face Denmark, Hungary and Ukraine again. Kazakhstan, relegated from the Top Division, and Slovenia, promoted from Division IB, are the new additions.

“The group is extremely interesting. Every nation has its talents. As hosts, Hungary have home advantage,” says Mühlstein.

The 34-year-old is certainly convinced by his own team: “In terms of skill, we are well equipped. We have good ice hockey players. Now it is up to us coaches to show the boys what it takes and how we want to play. We have seen in the past how much depends on the players being fit. This World Championship will be hard work, but we will be ready.”

U18 World Championship Division IA squad

No.	Surname	First name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Date of birth	R/L	Club
25	DJURIC	Leandro	GK	183	78	25.11.07	L	Ice Hockey Academy Upper Austria
20	HAIM	Martin	GK	178	73	29.12.08	R	EC Red Bull Salzburg
1	HAITZMANN	Luca	GK	186	80	10.04.07	R	EC Red Bull Salzburg
3	BÖHS	Gerrit	D	188	88	25.11.07	L	EC-KAC
2	BRAUN	Lennart	D	185	80	15.02.07	R	Prairie Hockey Academy (CAN)
5	KOLLER	Tobias	F	180	78	08.02.07	R	EC Red Bull Salzburg
10	PETRITSCH	Maximilian	D	189	83	09.03.08	L	EC-KAC
6	SCHNABL "A"	Jakob	D	176	70	05.03.07	L	EC Red Bull Salzburg
18	USCHAN	Nico Massimo	D	186	84	17.06.07	L	Eishockeyclub EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
4	VASCHAUNER	Paul Loui	D	185	90	08.10.08	R	Eishockeyclub EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
13	BUZEK	Leon	F	185	87	02.04.07	L	Sioux Falls (USA)
14	HUTZINGER	Konstantin	F	173	76	03.06.07	L	Cranbrook Bucks (CAN)
8	KOLARIK "A"	Leon	F	180	77	23.09.07	L	EC Red Bull Salzburg
15	MANDL	Kevin	F	182	78	09.08.07	L	Eishockeyclub EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
17	MICELLI	Niclas	F	184	83	30.04.10	L	EC-KAC
11	OBERHAUSER	Paul	F	175	72	07.07.07	L	EC Red Bull Salzburg
23	ÖFNER	Ben	F	182	77	13.05.08	L	EC-KAC
12	OSCHGAN	Jonathan	F	183	81	18.05.08	R	Eishockey Akademie Oberösterreich
22	SINTSCHNIG	Jakob	F	192	98	11.01.07	L	Eishockeyclub EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
16	SINTSCHNIG	Paul	F	183	75	11.03.09	L	Eishockeyclub EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
19	VAN EE	Luc	F	180	80	18.06.08	L	EC-KAC
24	WADEL	Manuel	F	180	82	12.06.07	L	EC-KAC
9	WASCHNIG "C"	David	F	182	80	24.04.07	L	EC-KAC