“It was a great time and an honour for me to be able to wear the national-team jersey. I collected many experiences that helped me a lot throughout my career,” the 32-year-old said.

Between 2004 and 2014 Barta represented his country in eight IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships (seven in the top division) and in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin.

His most successful moment came when Germany hosted the 2010 Worlds in Cologne, Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen and the host nation reached the semi-finals with three goals and assist in nine games from Barta.

Germany was close from eliminating Russia in the semis before losing 2-1 due to Pavel Datsyuk’s game-winning goal with 110 seconds left in regulation time. In the bronze-medal game it was Barta, who scored the game-tying goal but Sweden won 3-1 and Germany finished in fourth place, the best result for the country in 57 years at World Championships.

The centre, who was born in West Berlin, also played in the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship. He’s currently under contract with EHC Red Bull Munich, the second-ranked team of the German DEL.