December 2014 Volume 18 No. 4 Published by International Ice Hockey Federation Editor-in-Chief Horst Lichtner Editor Martin Merk Design Adam Steiss A nation on their shoulders Photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images Photo: It's gold or bust: The World Junior Championship is a part of the holiday tradition in Canada. Will the Canadian national junior team give the country a gold present in 2015? Pressure, everyone faces it. But the history of the tournament we can say that the World should continue the exciting style of hockey that the for the young men taking to the Juniors is the most balanced and competitive it has ever whole world got to enjoy in Sochi. ice on 26 December, pressure been. takes on a whole new meaning. The U18 women’s tournament will follow the World Jun- For the players, it raises the stakes that much high- iors in North America as the girls compete for gold in RENÉ FASEL EDITORIAL er, and for us hockey fans it makes the games that Buffalo. We had another fantastic World Girls’ Ice Hockey much more exciting to watch. Weekend this year (more on page 12), and I thank all of For a young hockey player, playing the participating nations, the volunteers, and the parents in the IIHF World Junior Champi- n Whatever happens, the 2015 World Juniors will be co- for taking the time to help bring the love of hockey to a onship is the culmination of a life hosted by a pair of great sports towns. Fans travelling to new generation. dedicated to hockey. Of course, some of these players the World Juniors will get to experience two nerve centres we will watch in Toronto and Montreal will move on to of the Canadian hockey universe. Later on this year we have the men's U18s in Switzerland have excellent careers in the NHL and elsewhere. But for and then the big show gets going in Prague and Ostrava, most of them, the World Juniors is the last chance to play Whether taking in the sights at Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Czech Republic, with the 79th edition of the IIHF Ice Hock- hockey at the highest international level. Fame or searching for ghosts of past Canadiens greats at ey World Championship. the Montreal Forum, there will be plenty to see and do in That’s what makes this tournament so intriguing and both cities. I would like to wish everyone a very happy holidays and such a pleasure to watch. These young men leave it all hope you all get some time to spend with your loved ones. out there on the ice, and in the process they produce a n As we close the book on a memorable Olympic year, While we may not have an Olympic tournament to look brand of hockey that is truly special. we look ahead with excitement to what will be another forward to this year, we certainly will not lack for some entertaining season for international hockey. great hockey in 2015, beginning right after Christmas. n Although I’m sure all of Canada is hoping to watch their home team compete for gold on January 5, the road We welcome the return of the Women’s World Champi- to Toronto will not be easy. As we discuss on page 6, the onship top division tournament following the Olympic René Fasel rest of the world has caught up and at this moment in hiatus. Hosted by Malmo this year, the Women's Worlds IIHF President December 2014 December 2014 NEWS & NOTES BELARUS: Igor Rachkovski was unanimously elected as elected as his successor by the Board of Directors. the top Swedish league. During Boustedt’s era Sweden has IIHF 2014 Semi-Annual Congress new President of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association. He won numerous medals including Olympic gold in 2006, the succeeds Yevgeni Vorsin, who didn’t run for re-election after Medvedev was chairing the Russian-based, multi-national IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2006 and 2013 and four years. league since its launch in 2008. He was also an IIHF Council the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2012. Korean ice hockey teams to compete in PyeongChang 2018 member from 2008 to 2012. Rachkovski had previously served as First Vice Presi- IIHF: International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hock- dent of the National Olympic Committee of the Re- Chernyshenko was the President and CEO of the Organizing ey and the International Ice Hockey Federation signed a The 2014 IIHF Semi-Annual operated by the IIHF in July public of Belarus since 2012 and President of the Committee for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Memorandum of Understanding at the 127th IOC Session Congress took place on the 2015 to decide the final 16 Belarusian Sailing Federation since 2008. Yaraslau He will be joined on the KHL’s Executive Board by another in Monaco on 7 December, agreeing on a historic partner- Spanish island of Tenerife male and 16 female partici- Zauharodni will rejoin the BIHA as General Secretary. former Sochi 2014 board member, Alexei Krasnov. ship on the promotion and coordination of sledge hockey. last September. The major pants that will be qualified announcement was the au- and seeded by the end of SPAIN: The assembly of the Spanish Ice Sports Federation SWEDEN: Tommy Boustedt was named as new General The MOU includes an agreement to create an ongoing tomatic qualification of the July 2015. (FEDH) elected Frank Gonzalez as its new President. Gon- Secretary of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. He has awareness campaign for ice sledge hockey and to partner Korean men's and women's zalez had been the Vice President for the last two terms previously served as the Director of Development and Na- on digital and print communications initiatives. Refereeing national teams for the next Norway’s men’s and wom- and was responsible for ice hockey within the organization. tional Teams at the Swedish Ice Hockey Association for the and coaching of the sport will also be incorporated into the Olympic ice hockey tourna- en’s team will be auto- He was elected to the IIHF Council in 2003 and is currently last 13 years. syllabus of IIHF annual programs and ongoing training op- ment. matically qualified for both serving his third term. portunities. hockey tournaments. The Before 2001 the 55-year-old was coaching the Swedish The Korean men’s and wom- rest of teams will be selected RUSSIA: Alexander Medvedev, the founder of the Kon- national team at several tournaments during the hockey In addition, IPC Ice Sledge Hockey will work with the IIHF to en’s national teams will be from a combined men’s and tinental Hockey League, resigned as the league President season and several club teams including Hammarby Stock- publish guidelines for venue owners and operators on how competing on home ice at the women’s Under-18 ranking on 1 December. Dmitri Chernyshenko was unanimously holm, Djurgarden Stockholm and Frolunda Gothenburg in to make ice rinks more accessible. 2018 Olympic Winter Games from the 2014 and 2015 IIHF in PyeongChang, following a Championship Program. A OBITUARIES decision by the IIHF Congress total of 10 national teams to grant the country auto- from 9 nations will contend Viktor Tikhonov – died on 24 Novem- Pat Quinn – Canadian coaching great Georgi Milanov – Former Bulgarian national team matic entry into the ice hockey in a single round robin pre- ber in a hospital in Moscow after long died at the age of 71 on 23 November goalkeeper and head coach passed away 2 November events. liminary round of 10 games, illness. He was 84. after a lengthy illness. after a long illness. He was 62. followed by two semi-final “After careful deliberation and and two medal games. With Tikhonov the international hockey Quinn was a hugely influential pres- Milanov won the best goalkeeper award in the Bulgar- discussions with the IOC and family lost its most decorated coach ence in all levels of the game, spend- ian Championships in 1984-1985 with Slavia Sofia. He the Korea Ice Hockey Associa- Adam Photo: Steiss Krakow steps up to host The 2014 Semi-Annual Congress took place in Tenerife with 54 member national associations in attendance. ever. As the head coach of the Soviet ing four decades in the NHL as a player, played for the Bulgarian national team too, one time in tion (KIHA), we have decided Division IA Worlds Union and Russia, the Moscow-born head coach and general manager. Not the World Championship B-Pool (1976) and afterwards to grant an automatic quali- Now that they have a ticket to PyeongChang, the real coach led the national team to three only was Quinn successful in the NHL five times in the C-Pool, but his main success was in the fication to the men’s and women’s national teams for work begins for Paek and the rest of the Korean national Krakow, Poland has been confirmed as the new host Olympic gold medals and eight World where he won the Jack Adams Awards coaching ranks. PyeongChang 2018,” said IIHF President René Fasel. team. When asked about the next step, the former NHLer of the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey Division I Group A World Championship titles between 1979 and 1992 and the 1981 as the Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1992, he left an endur- had one word: Championship. Canada Cup. He also won one Olympic silver medal, one ing legacy for Canada on the international stage. As head coach for Slavia, the team won 17 titles (last 5 The decision came following meetings held during Con- World Championship silver medal and two World Champi- in a row) and 11 national cups in 25 years (1988-2012).