After the extremely successful 2025 World Cup in Stockholm and Herning, Austria’s men’s ice hockey national team will receive a great honor: Head coach Roger Bader’s ÖEHV team was awarded the “Team of the Year” category in the NIKI’s Sportsman of the Year. The election was made by the members of Sports Media Austria, the association of Austrian sports journalists.
“Of course, that comes with an incredible amount of pride. An incredible amount of hard work has gone into it over the last few years from the entire team. I’m glad that I can accept this great award here on behalf of the team. There were incredibly beautiful moments that we were able to experience at the World Cup. It’s nice to be able to look back on it again with such an award,” said Dominique Heinrich, who was at the 2025 World Cup sensationally reached the quarter-finals, acted as assistant captain, overjoyed.
Head coach Roger Bader also echoed the same sentiments: “Of course that makes me incredibly proud. The competitors also performed extremely well. There would have been no objection at all if someone else had won the trophy. But of course the fact that we managed to do that makes me incredibly proud.”
In 2007, Thomas Vanek was named Sportsman of the Year; the national team has not yet received this honor to this day. At the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Stockholm (SWE) and Herning (DEN), the ÖEHV selection made it to the quarterfinals with very strong performances and achieved an excellent eighth place in the final table with ten points from four wins – two of them after penalty shootouts – their best placement in 31 years.
Another chapter is added to this success story with the “Team of the Year” award. They were elevated to the throne by Austria’s sports journalists, who voted for the national team in the election.
eishockey.at , Image: ÖEHV-Agentur-DIENER-Eva-Manhart
