2014 Men’s Olympic Hockey Preview: Austria

It’s finally here. With the Olympics getting under way and the hockey starting soon, it’s time to roll out our previews of each team between now and puck drop. May the best team win.

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Austria

The basics

The Austrian men’s national team is ranked 15th by the IIHF. They have three NHL players on the roster, they’re coached by Emanuel Viveiros, and they did not participate in the 2010 Olympics.

Member Since	March 18, 1912
Total Players	11,372
Male Players	5,867
Junior Players	4,853
Female Players	652
Total Referees	435
Indoor Rinks	45
Outdoor Rinks	72
Nation Population	8,221,646
President	Dieter Kalt
Men’s World Ranking	15
Women’s World Ranking	12

Group

B, with Canada, Norway and Finland.

Roster

Goaltenders	NHL Team
Bernhard Starkbaum
René Swette
Fabian Weinhandl
Defensemen
Mario Altmann
Florian Iberer
Andre Lakos
Robert Lukas
Thomas Pöck
Matthias Trattnig
Stefan Ulmer
Gerhard Unterluggauer
Forwards
Michael Grabner	New York Islanders
Raphael Herburger
Thomas Hundertpfund
Matthias Iberer
Thomas Koch
Andreas Kristler
Manuel Latusa
Brian Lebler
Daniel Oberkofler
Michael Raffl	Philadelphia Flyers
Thomas Raffl
Oliver Setzinger
Thomas Vanek	New York Islanders
Daniel Welser

Biggest names

Pretty easy with a team like this: Vanek (team captain), Grabner and Raffl.

Depth

Nope.

Strengths

Thomas Vanek is among the best point producers in hockey, while Michael Grabner is among the fastest. This is a team that needs to get rock-solid goaltending from one of their (hilariously named) goaltenders so if the Vanek/Grabner/Raffl trio can produce some offense they have a chance to steal a game or two. Bernhard Starkbaum will be the starter – he’s posted a 0.931 save percentage with Brynas IF Gavle of the Swedish Hockey League this season.

Weaknesses

Depth, obviously. Some of the defenseman in particular have resumès that make them more likely to ask for Sidney Crosby’s autograph than stop him.

Prediction

I’ve got them pencilled in for second last, 11th, one spot ahead of (SPOILER ALERT) Slovenia. For a team like Austria, making the Olympics is accomplishment enough.