US trip: Roger Bader visits Rossi and Kasper
In his role as sporting director, Roger Bader visited North American exports Marco Rossi and Marco Kasper in recent days, watched a total of five games involving the two ÖEHV figureheads and returned to Vienna full of confidence.
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“If they are available, both are ready to play for Austria,” says Roger Bader following his trip to the USA. This applies both to the World Championship and Olympic qualification at the end of August and beginning of September. In general, the sporting director is pleased with the development of both players: “Both fulfil important roles for their teams and have settled in.”
Marco Rossi has done so in the NHL, while Kasper is, in Bader’s assessment, well on his way there: “Generally speaking, it must be said that it is completely normal for him to start in the AHL, whose standard has risen in my view. Very few players go straight into the NHL. We can now say that Marco Rossi is an NHL player, and I am confident that we will be able to say the same about Marco Kasper in the near future.”
He spoke to both of them about possible participation in the World Championship and Olympic qualification. “If they are healthy and no longer in contention with their teams, both are ready. We will probably soon see whether Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild still make the playoffs. Marco Kasper is very likely to contest the playoffs with the Grand Rapids Griffins. In addition, there is the possibility that the Detroit Red Wings may want to keep him in North America for the NHL playoffs,” analyses Roger Bader.
In addition to a potential national team call-up, the personal discussions also covered personal matters, their development, training and the overall environment. “Fundamentally, it should be noted that this US trip is a completely normal procedure for a sporting director when you have players in the NHL or AHL. In the past, I also regularly travelled to North America to meet Thomas Vanek, Michael Grabner and Michael Raffl. I always take the players out for dinner. There, we can talk openly about all kinds of topics and exchange views,” explains Roger Bader.
World Championship preparation begins in four weeks’ time with two friendly matches against Latvia in Riga. The following week, the first home game against Slovenia will be played in Villach. The other opponents are Czechia, Germany and Canada.
Tickets for all home games are available HIER now.
The 2024 World Championship begins for the red-white-red skaters on 11 May against Denmark. The other opponents are Switzerland, 12 May, Canada, 14 May, Finland, 16 May, Czechia, 17 May, Norway, 19 May, and Great Britain on 21 May. Fan trips to Prague for the Austrian national team’s games with ÖEHV partner G&K-Reisen can be booked HIER .
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION
Latvia vs. Austria
Thu, 4 April 2024, 18:00 (CEST), Riga (LAT)
Latvia vs. Austria
Fri, 5 April 2024, 18:00 (CEST), Riga (LAT)
Slovenia vs Austria
Thu, 11 April 2024, 19:00, Bled (SLO)
Austria vs Slovenia
Fri, 12 April 2024, 18:00, Villach
Czechia vs Austria
Thu, 18 April 2024, 17:10, České Budějovice (CZE)
Austria vs Czechia
Sat, 20 April 2024, 18:00, Linz
Germany vs Austria
Thu, 25 April 2024, 19:00, Garmisch (GER)
Austria vs Germany
Sat, 27 April 2024, 16:15, Zell am See
Austria vs Canada
Sun, 5 May 2024, 19:00, Vienna
2024 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
10 - 26 May 2024
Hosts: Czechia
Venues: Prague and Ostrava
Group A – Prague: Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Czechia, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Great Britain
Group B – Ostrava: USA, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia, Latvia, France, Kazakhstan, Poland
Schedule
Austria vs. Denmark
Sat., 11 May 2024, 16:20
Austria vs. Switzerland
Sun., 12 May 2024, 20:20
Canada vs. Austria
Tue., 14 May 2024, 20:20
Finland vs. Austria
Thu., 16 May 2024, 16:20
Czechia vs. Austria
Fri., 17 May 2024, 20:20
Norway vs. Austria
Sun., 19 May 2024, 16:20
Austria vs. Great Britain
Tue., 21 May 2024, 12:20
