World Cham­pi­onship team taking shape

Joining the national team tomorrow: Marco Kasper - Copyright: GEPA pictures/Matic Klansek

“It was very difficult to define this squad. Every player who is now on standby would equally have deserved to travel to Germany. But these decisions, however unpleasant they may be, are part of the job,” insists Head Coach Roger Bader.

The squad comprises three goaltenders, nine defencemen and 14 forwards. 25 of the 26 players will ultimately travel to Tampere (FIN), where Austria will face Sweden, the USA, the Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia, Finland and Great Britain in Group B. All games will be broadcast live on ORF Sport+.

Roger Bader: “The most difficult task will be defining the final World Championship squad. We have the option of going to the World Championship with nine defencemen and 13 forwards, or eight defencemen and 14 forwards. We will make this decision after the game against Germany.”

Marco Kasper, a highly rated prospect for the NHL Draft, will join the team tomorrow. Integrating him quickly will not be a problem, Roger Bader: “Of course, the earlier a player is involved, the better. It is enormously valuable that he already got to know the national team routines during the November break. Overall, it is good that we only have one more player to integrate.”

The two North America-based players Michael Raffl and Marco Rossi have definitively withdrawn. Raffl is in the NHL playoffs with the Dallas Stars, while Rossi has suffered an injury recently. “I knew early on that the two would not be available to the national team for the World Championship,” explains Bader.

At last week's Euro Hockey Tour against medal contenders Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, the red-white-red side's performances left fans wanting more. Austria lost only 0:1 to Sweden in Vienna, won the middle period 2:1 despite the 2:4 defeat against Finland, while the 1:4 loss to the Czech Republic flatters the hosts.

“We have a good team, and we showed that in this tournament. At the same time, we have to keep our feet on the ground. The good games in Ostrava should not raise false hopes. These nations will add several NHL players before the World Championship. Nothing has changed in terms of our starting position. Great Britain is the key game, but we certainly believe we have chances against Norway and Latvia too. Although Latvia's squad will also be bolstered by NHL players. Overall, we had excellent preparation and are going into the World Championship with confidence,” says Roger Bader of the past few weeks.

However, right at the end of the camp, as many as eight players and four staff members came down with food poisoning. It is believed to have been caused by spoiled food at the hotel in Ostrava (CZE). A few members of the Swedish team were also affected.

In addition to the known symptoms, some players even required an IV drip (note: ÖEHV will not name any of the people affected).

The warm-up game series ahead of the World Championship concludes against Germany on 8 May. After a day off in Germany following the game, the team will travel via Zurich to Helsinki and then on to Tampere, where it faces Sweden in the opener on 14 May.

Both the game against Germany and all of Austria's World Championship fixtures will be broadcast live on ORF Sport+.

Camp V, Schwenningen

8 May 2022, 17:00, GER vs. AUT in Schwenningen, live on ORF Sport+

Sweden vs. Austria
Sat, 14 May 2022, 11:20, live on ORF Sport+

Austria vs. USA
Sun, 15 May 2022, 15:20, live on ORF Sport+

Czechia vs. Austria
Tue, 17 May 2022, 15:20, live on ORF Sport+

Norway vs. Austria
Wed, 18 May 2022, 15:20, live on ORF Sport+

Latvia vs. Austria
Fri, 20 May 2022, 19:20, live on ORF Sport+

Austria vs. Finland
Sat, 21 May 2022, 15:20, live on ORF Sport+

Austria vs. Great Britain
Mon, 23 May 2022, 19:20, live on ORF Sport+