Thomas Vanek, Michael Grabner highlight Austrian Olympic men's ice hockey roster
The Austrian men's Olympic ice hockey team has been revealed!
Leading the way for the Austrian side are a pair of top-line scorers in New York Islanders forwards Michael Grabner and Thomas Vanek. Much of the rest of the Austrian side is made up of players from the Austrian professional league although Philadelphia Flyers forward Michael Raffl will also dress for Austria and there are an additional handful of players who ply their trade in the NLA (the top Swiss league) or the SHL.
One of those players is goaltender Bernhard Starkbaum, who has excelled for Brynäs of the SHL for the past several seasons. A quality performance at the Olympic tournament for Starkbaum could conceivably net the 27-year-old netminder an NHL contract.
Here's the full Austrian men's Olympic ice hockey rsoter roster per the IIHF:
Goaltenders: Bernhard Starkbaum, René Swette, Fabian Weinhandl
Defencemen: Mario Altmann, Florian Iberer, Andre Lakos, Robert Lukas, Thomas Pöck, Matthias Trattnig, Stefan Ulmer, Gerhard Unterluggauer
Forwards: Michael Grabner, Raphael Herburger, Thomas Hundertpfund, Matthias Iberer, Thomas Koch, Andreas Kristler, Manuel Latusa, Brian Lebler, Daniel Oberkofler, Michael Raffl, Thomas Raffl, Oliver Setzinger, Thomas Vanek, Daniel Welser
HEADLINES
- Canadiens win 8th straight, hit 100-point mark for 1st time in 9 years
- Schaefer breaks NHL record for points by 18-year-old defenseman
- Sabres clinch playoff berth to end NHL-record 14-year drought
- Panthers miss playoffs after winning back-to-back Stanley Cups
- Crosby climbs all-time scoring list as Malkin notches 1,400th point