Austria Doesn't Just Want To Be At The World Championships, They Plan To Win Games

For Austria, puck drop at the IIHF women's 2026 World Championships in Denmark will be historic. It will mark the nation's first ever trip to the top division of the World Championships in women's hockey.

Now that Austria is there, they intend to stay. And to stay, they need to win at least one game.

"We got there through hard work. Now we want to show that we belong on the ice with the best teams in the world," Austria head coach Alexander Bröms said in a translated OEHV interview. "And one thing is clear: we're going to Denmark to win games."

Austria's women's national team first appeared in the World Championships in 2004 playing in Division III. They immediately earned promotion before earning another bump in 2008 to Division 1A. That's where Austria, three times finishing second in single promotion years. That all changed in 2025 when Austria won the Division 1A championship finishing ahead of nations like Denmark, France, Slovakia, and China. 

This year, they'll make the monumental step to the top division at the World Championships, and face significantly stiffer competition being placed in a pool amongst Czechia, USA, Germany, and Switzerland. 

"Czechia has a good team that builds its game around puck possession. They've been knocking on the door of a bronze medal for the past few years, so it'll be interesting to see whether they've taken the next step," said Bröms. "I don't think the USA needs much of an introduction – they won Olympic gold in Milan this year. Against them, the key will be keeping up with their speed. We've played Germany quite a bit recently and have pretty much always been on an even level with them. In games like that, you have to be fully switched on as a team and be clinical with your chances. Although we've never played against Switzerland before, we know what they're good at. In the end, whether we achieve our goals comes down to us."

Austria will lean heavily on the sister-tandem of Magdalena Luggin and Selma Luggin in net, as well as notable forwards such as Theresa Schafzahl and Anna Meixner, who both played in the PWHL last season.

To avoid facing relegation, Austria will likely need to beat Germany in round robin play. If they sink to the bottom of their pool, they'll face the last place team from the opposite group, which will likely be Denmark or Japan.

Ultimately, Austria wants to earn their way into the quarterfinals to avoid fighting for a spot in the top division again, but they won't look too far into the future.

"For now, our full focus is on the group stage," Bröms said. "We want to find a way to the quarterfinal. We'll think about everything else once we get there."