German ice hockey leader Franz Reindl pursues IIHF presidency

Scoring on legendary U.S. goaltender Jim Craig at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics is just one of the many accomplishments of Franz Reindl over a long career devoted to hockey both on and off the ice.

The German hockey star skated for West Germany at three Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in Innsbruck 1976. Reindl also competed on eight world championship teams.

As president of the German Ice Hockey Federation since 2014, Reindl aspires to become the next leader of the International Ice Hockey Federation. He is one of five candidates who have declared their intentions to succeed longstanding president René Fasel. A new president will be elected at an IIHF Congress in St. Petersburg, Russia, on September 25, to serve a five-year term.

“René has been there for so long and has been successful – the IIHF is in good condition, but let’s go for the next decades,” Reindl tells Around the Rings.

Considering the left wing’s goal versus the American gold medalists – who upset the heavily favored Soviet Union at Lake Placid 1980 - Reindl noted that the ‘miraculous’ contest came up as an inspirational talking point during Germany’s gold medal final against the Olympic Athletes from Russia, at PyeongChang 2018.

The German players appeared headed towards winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport with one minute remaining, until late heroics by Russia and a 4-3 overtime loss ended their dream. Germany settled for a hard-fought silver medal. Reindl said it was a game-changing moment for German ice hockey.

“It was so up and down and we were so close – it hurts, it was an absolute disappointment for sure, but a couple minutes later you realize you won silver and not lost gold,” Reindl said, noting that he watched the game sitting alongside Fasel and Russian hockey federation president Vladislav Tretiak.

Since Reindl, 66, assumed the leadership of the German Federation in 2014, he has substantially strengthened the organization, overcoming financial instability.

“We created the Power Play 26 Program in Germany, uniting all the stakeholders – professionals, amateurs and regional federations,” says Reindl, also a former sports director and general manager for German hockey. “We united the family and in Germany that is our success.”

Germany is currently fifth in the World Ice Hockey ranking, having recently surpassed traditional powers Sweden and the Czech Republic.

Reindl vows to bring his proven track record and know how, to achieve similar progress on a global scale, if elected as the IIHF’s next president.

“You can do the same worldwide – bring the family together – the stakeholders, the clubs, the leagues. Around the world, we have to get together, our sport, we have to sell it as one,” says the German hockey federation president.

“We have NHL, KHL, the European leagues – there is a big resource for growing the sport if we work together.”

Reindl says that although the worldwide growth and the overall popularity of the sport is moving in the right direction, the fast-paced game can always be improved.

“We are a traditional sport and the way hockey is now played by the athletes – it’s so much faster and stronger.

“This opportunity we have with TV and the cameras – we should always adapt the rules, make it a little bit faster and with less interruptions, but we are on a very good level.”

Best-on-Best in Beijing 2022?

Reindl says getting the National Hockey League stars back on Olympic ice remains a top priority, however details still need to be finalized with the clock ticking and just six months until Beijing 2022.

“There are still questions about the insurance and COVID protocols, and smaller issues, but important ones,” says Reindl, a member of the IIHF coordination committee for Beijing.

“These questions are on the table now, but in a partnership way, so the NHL, IIHF and NHLPA [NHL Players’ Association] are in the same boat and also the IOC is helping a lot,” Reindl says, while noting that the NHL has released two possible schedules for its 2021-22 season

“Mainly, it is René taking care of it day and night – we want to have the best-on-best in Beijing and I’m optimistic that we will finally agree.”

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