U20: Slovenia and Norway fixtures to determine World Championship squad
The U20 men's national team will play two warm-up games against Slovenia and Norway in Ferlach on Wednesday and Thursday before opening their World Championship campaign against hosts Slovenia in Bled (SLO) on Sunday. All players will have the opportunity to earn a place in the World Championship squad. 16-year-old Paul Schuster of the Red Bull Hockey Juniors has also been called up for the two warm-up games.
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“We still have around ten too many players on the roster. In the two warm-up games, we will give the players competing for a World Championship jersey potential roles in the line-up and see how they prove themselves in international hockey, how they implement tactical instructions and how well they stick to the structure. There is also a strong focus on play without the puck,” reveals Head Coach Philipp Pinter, who is pleased with the commitment and fighting spirit shown in the training sessions so far.
Slovenia and Norway will also be opponents at the upcoming World Championship Division IA. It is difficult to say how much these two warm-up games will reveal. In addition, the coaching staff are focused on selecting the World Championship squad, Philipp Pinter: “I cannot say whether our opponents will already be playing with their World Championship squads. In our case, there will definitely be players involved in both games who will not travel to the World Championship. We are focusing on ourselves and will analyse our opponents closely after these two games. The warm-up games may already provide an indication of their tactical approach and style of play.”
Paul Schuster, another emerging talent, has been called up for the games against Slovenia and Norway. This is also due to flight delays affecting players travelling to the camp, as well as one or two cases of illness.
“Paul Schuster has developed superbly over the past few weeks, which is why we wanted to see him now. He is a promising player who has earned this opportunity,” said Pinter.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION
01–05 December 2025, Ferlach
Austria vs Slovenia
Wed, 3 December 2025, 17:00, Ferlach
Austria vs Norway
Thu, 4 December 2025, 16:30, Ferlach
2026 IIHF U20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION IA
7–13 December 2025, Bled (SLO)
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
