Franz Reindl elected as new IIHF president

Franz Reindl came from behind to narrowly beat Petr Briza of the Czech Republic in a run-off vote to become the International Ice Hockey Federation's new president on Friday.

Reindl had trailed Briza 48-36 in the first round of voting but picked up crucial votes after Aivaz Omorkanov of Kyrgyzstan was eliminated. He then beat Briza 60-57 in the runoff held on the Spanish island of Tenerife. Six of a total of nine candidates had withdrawn prior to the election.

The 71-year-old German, who had been a member of the IIHF Council since 2016, succeeds Canadian-born Frenchman Luc Tardif, who had announced in March that he would not seek a further term in office. Reindl's election comes 5 years after he had finished as runner-up to Tardif. His term runs until 2030.

Wealth of experience

Reindl has done it all in German ice hockey, having been a player and coach, as well as serving as the first CEO of the top-flight professional league, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), from 1994 to 96. He also headed the organizing committees for three World Championships – in 2001, 2010 and 2017. From 2014 to 2022 he served as president of the German Ice Hockey Association (DEB), overseeing an upturn in the fortunes of the men's national team, who won the silver medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018.

"Franz Reindl has shaped German ice hockey for decades—as a player, but above all through the various key roles he has held within our federation," the current DEB chairman, Frank Lutz, said.

"The fact that the international ice hockey family is now entrusting him with the leadership of the IIHF is a great tribute to his work."

Successful playing career

Like Briza, who was a goalie for the Czechoslovakia team that won bronze in Albertville in 1992, Reindl was also an Olympic bronze medalist, having been a member of the 1976 West Germany team who beat the United States and Finland to finish third in Lake Placid.

Domestically, Reindl played 669 games and scored 423 goals for SC Riessersee and SB Rosenheim over 16 seasons in the Eishockey-Bundesliga, the predecessor to the DEL.

Tardif's years as IIHF president were marked by two major events; the return of National Hockey League players to the Olympic tournament in Milan Cortina this year, and the exclusion from international play of Russia in 2022 over the country's full-scale war on neighboring Ukraine.

Reindl is the second German to be elected IIHF president after Günter Sabetzki, who held the post from 1975 to 1994.