World Championship Preview: Austria Looks To Make An Impression

Austria is making their first ever appearance in the top division at the IIHF World Championships, and they'll be seeking not just to show up and be relegated, but to impress and stay.

Their appearance coincides with the IIHF removing the antiquated and paternalistic tiered structure for the women's World Championship, instead returning the competition to two balanced groups.

For Austria, this means they'll face USA, Switzerland, Czechia, and Germany in round robin play.

It's also Austria's first competition after an ugly dispute between their national federation and the women's national team over inequitable treatment, poor conditions, and lack of compensation for players. The dispute impacted Austria's ability to prepare for the World Championships as the federation allowed the process to drag on forcing players to boycott pre-tournament training and competitions. It was the worst possible timing for a program that is set to face the toughest competition they've ever encountered.

Leading the way for Austria at the tournament will be Seattle Torrent forward Theresa Schafzahl who is now Austria's lone PWHL player, as well as former PWHL player Anna Meixner, who will captain Austria and is currently playing in the SDHL. 

The remainder of Austria's roster is a mix of players coming from the EWHL and other lower tier European league's as well as a spattering of NCAA players.

Austria is entering the tournament under the guidance of new general manager Gina Kingsbury, who was Team Canada's GM until this summer when Hockey Canada cleaned house looking to go a new direction. The Toronto Sceptres' GM will look to put her own mark on Austria's national team, and will look to help them stave relegation.

Beyond the obvious names in Theresa Schafzahl and Anna Meixner, there are a handful of notable players on Austria's roster. Veterans Annika Fazokas, Antonia Matzka, and Charlotte Wittich will line Austria's blueline making it a strength of their program, but it will still be challenged by the offensive attack of more developed hockey nations. Behind their blueline, Mercyhurst netminder Magdalena Luggin and older sister Selma Luggin are a pair of highly capable netminders. If Selma Luggin performs well, she could become a PWHL target as she's eligible for free agency. Both have been stellar in the last year, although the younger Luggin, Magdalena is the future of this program having faced better competition in North America in the NCAA.

Up front, scoring will be a difficult task for Austria. Schafzahl, Meixner, and Fazokas are Austria's best three scorers, althoguh Fazokas may be deployed on the blueline. Young forwards including Emma Lintner and Emma Hofbauer will need to step forward, and the nation will hope others like Lena Dauböck, who is their top scorer in the EWHL, will finally be able to step forward internationally.

Unless Austria can shock Germany, their hopes of staying out of relegation are slim. The nation could face a pummelling from USA, but with tune up games against Czechia and Germany before facing the reigning Olympic and World gold medalists who last season put up 10 goals for the first time ever against Canada. They'll then close their tournament round robin against the Olympic bronze medalists, Switzerland.

No one is expecting Austria to win a game at this tournament in round robin, which means that if USA, Switzerland, Czechia, and Germany advance as expected, Austria will be playing to avoid relegation. The top four finishers in each group advance to the quarterfinals, meaning Austria needs one upset to avoid a relegation game. If they finish at the bottom of their group as expected, the Austrian's will face either Japan or Denmark in a relegation game. If it ends up being Denmark as expected, Austria will have a good chance to stay as they beat Denmark at the 2025 World Championships. France has already punched their ticket up, and Austria looks favored to not be the nation heading down. Still, anything can happen in a one game relegation match up.

Goaltenders (3): Anja Adamitsch, Magdalena Luggin, Selma Luggin

Defenders (8): Anna Billa, Annika Fazokas, Antonia Matzka, Emma Mörtl, Laura Nagy, Lisa Schröfl, Artemis Terkin, Charlotte Wittich.

Forwards (14): Eva Beiter, Lena Dauböck, Tamara Grascher, Emma Hofbauer, Leonie Kutzer, Emma Lintner, Marja Linzbichler, Anna Meixner, Hanna Obermayr, Emma Pfeffer, Vanessa Picka, Theresa Schafzahl, Amelie Suppan, Anja Trummer