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Germany's Franz Reindl was elected IIHF president by a 60-57 runoff vote over Petr Bříza, while Hockey Canada CEO Katherine Henderson failed to win a council seat, leaving Canada unrepresented for the first time since 1998.
Germany's Franz Reindl was elected president of the International Ice Hockey Federation on Friday, defeating Petr Bříza 60-57 in a runoff vote at the IIHF semi-annual congress in Tenerife, Spain.
IIHF Council Representation Reshuffled
Reindl replaces outgoing president Luc Tardif, who represents France but was born and raised in Quebec. The vote also left Canada without a seat on the IIHF council, a surprising result for a nation considered one of the sport's powerhouses. Hockey Canada president and chief executive officer Katherine Henderson was up for one of the minimum three female spots on council. She was eliminated in the second of three rounds of voting.
Hungary's Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer, Turkey's Merve Tunali and Poland's Marta Zawadzka won the council seats. Canada will be represented regionally on the council by American Mike Trimboli, elected vice-president for the Americas and Oceania after running unopposed. He replaces former Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson, who held the role since 2012 but did not seek re-election. Former Hockey Canada president Murray Costello served as vice-president for five years before Nicholson took over.
Canada had been represented on the IIHF Council since 1978, apart from a four-year gap from 1994-98, when American Walter Bush Jr. held the Americas vice-president position. While Canada will not have a member on council, the IIHF will have representation from non-traditional hockey nations, including Tunali, Andy Mills of New Zealand and Aivaz Omorkanov of Kyrgyzstan. Petr Briza of Czechia was re-elected senior vice-president.
Reindl's Victory and Leadership Transition
Reindl had been behind Bříza 48-36 in the first round but picked up crucial votes after Aivaz Omorkanov of Kyrgyzstan was eliminated. The runoff pitted two former players who both won Olympic medals on the ice. Reindl was a forward on the West Germany team which beat the United States and Finland to the bronze medal in 1976, while Bříza was a goaltender when Czechoslovakia won bronze in 1992.
Reindl becomes IIHF president five years after he was runner-up to Tardif. He has worked closely with the NHL in the past and was president of Team Europe for the NHL-run World Cup of Hockey in 2016. Tardif's tenure was dominated by the NHL's return to Olympic hockey for the Milan Cortina Games this year and the IIHF's exclusion of Russian teams after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Tardif announced he would not run again in March, saying it was time for a younger leader. At 71, Reindl is only two years younger than his French predecessor.
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CP24:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Franz Reindl International Ice Hockey Federation Luc Tardif Hockey Petr Bříza IIHF Presidency Katherine Henderson IIHF Council Election Hockey Canada
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