Raffl played his second NHL season and will travel to Europe as soon as the season with his NHL team is over. In 65 games he scored 21 goals and notched 28 points. It will be the fourth IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship participation after 2009, 2011 and 2013 for the Villach native, who also played in the 2014 Olympics.

The Austrians also announced that the final 25-man roster will be named on 30th April after a series of exhibition games without speculating on open roster spots for players still active in the NHL playoffs by that time such as potentially Michael Grabner and Thomas Vanek.

There was also bad news for the Austrians today. Long-time captain Thomas Koch will not be able to play due to an injury. Stefan Ulmer, Stefan Geier, Benjamin Petrik and Fabio Hofer are also injured while Daniel Oberkofler’s participation is questionable. Matthias Iberer decided to end his career and will not play at the Worlds.