The 84 Member National Associations of the IIHF have elected a new Council, and while there are several returning members, there are also a number of new faces.
Returning are Petr Briza as Senior Vice-President as well as Council members Heikki Hietanen, Viesturs Koziols, Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer, Marta Zawadzka, Anders Larsson, and Aivaz Omorkanov.
New members include Susie Jo (KOR), who is the new Regional Vice-President--Asia. Joining her are Mike Trimboli (USA) as Regional Vice-President--Americas & Oceania, Igor Nemecek, Regional Vice-President--Europe & Africa, and Council members Merve Tunali (TUR), Andy Mills (NZL), Stoian Batchvarov (BUL), and Sergey Goncharov (BLR).
Leading the way, of course, is new President Franz Reindl, who was a Council member this past term (2021-26).
For details about the presidential election, please click HERE
The 2026 IIHF Semi-Annual Congress: All Council voting results
Senior Vice-President
Petr Briza (CZE) has been re-elected Senior Vice-President. Briza is former professional goalie at the highest level. He won a bronze medal with the Czechs at the 1992 Olympics. He also played in 1994 as well as six World Championships, 1990-95, during which time he won three more bronze medals (1990, 1992, 1993). In 2012, he was named the vide-president of the Czech Ice Hockey Association, a position he continues to hold, and in 2016 he was elected to the IIHF Council during which time he was the Chairperson of the Youth and Development Committee. In 2021, he was elected Senior Vice-President of the IIHF, serving as Treasurer and as Chairperson of three committees.
Regional Vice-President--Americas and Oceania
Mike Trimboli (USA) was elected Regional Vice-President--Americas and Oceania. He was the only candidate and received 93.10 per cent of "yes" votes for election.
After four years as Vice-President, Trimboli has been the president of USA Hockey since 2021. A former player and official, he has had an extensive career in coaching and has been on the USA Hockey Board of Directors since 2005. Indeed, Trimboli has been coaching for more than 40 years and was a member of USA Hockey’s task force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Regional Vice-President--Asia
Susie Jo (KOR) has been elected Regional Vice-President--Asia. A Board member of the Korea Ice Hockey Association, Susie Jo played hockey for over 20 years and played for the Korean National Team for a decade. Her career culminated with participation in the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. More recently, she has turned to coaching in Korea, and she is currently an assistant coach with the men’s national team.
Regional Vice-President--Europe & Africa
Igor Nemecek (SVK) has been elected Regional Vice-President--Europe & Africa. Nemecek has extensive national and international experience. He was the president of the Slovakia Ice Hockey Federation for five years (2011-16) and has been a member of at least one IIHF committee since 2003. He was the CEO of the Organizing Committee for the 2011 World Championship, the first time Slovakia hosted the WM, and in 2019, the only other time Slovakia has hosted. Most recently, he was Sport Manager of ice hockey at the 2026 Olympics.
Female Candidates
Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer (HUN) and Merve Tunali (TUR) have been elected to Council as part of the female candidate requirements (at least three of 15 total Council members).
Kolbenheyer has been the president of the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation since 2024 and a member of the IIHF’s Historical Committee since 2012. A lawyer by education, she is now in her fourth term as a Council member after having been first elected in 2012.
Tunali has been active in ice hockey in Turkiye for more than a decade. Currently a Board member, she has coached at the junior level and enriched the development of the game throughout the country. In 2015, she established the Istanbul Skating Sports Club.
Remaining Council Members
Heikki Hietanen (FIN), Aivaz Omorkanov (KGZ), Viesturs Koziols (LAT), Anders Larsson (SWE), Marta Zawadzka (POL), Sergey Goncharov (BLR), Stoian Batchvarov (BUL), and Andy Mills (NZL) have been elected Council members.
The president of the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation, Hietanen is a returning Council member. He was Secretary General of the 2022 and 2023 World Championships in Finland. He has been the Chairperson of the IIHF’s Marketing Committee since 2021 and has been a member of several IIHF committees since 2008. Hietanen has also been part of several Organizing Committees and in 2023 was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame.
Omorkanov is the President of the National Olympic Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic and Vice President of the IIHF. He is also an Honourary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia in the Kyrgyz Republic. Omorkanov helped establish the IIHF Asia Office and implement commercial cooperation with the Chinese Ice Hockey Association related to the hosting of the IIHF Women’s World Championship Division I-A.
A returning Council member, Koziols has been active with the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation since 2016, serving as a Board member and Vice-President. He was part of the Organizing Committees for the 2021 and 2023 World Championships in Riga and was the founder and organizer of two conferences on “New Energy for Arenas.” Additionally, he consulted and worked on the early development of the IIHF’s 3x3 initiative.
Anders Larsson is a returning Council member. He is the president of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and the Vice-President of the Swedish Olympic Committee. He has been on the Competition and Coordination Committee since 2016.
Andy Mills was the President of Ice Hockey New Zealand for nine years. For 25 years he has been a passionate volunteer at the grassroots level but has also been active in everything from governance to coaching to player development and strategic leadership.
Marta Zawadzka has been an IIHF Council member since 2016 and a Vice-President of the Polish Ice Hockey Federation since 2018. She has helped organize many events in Poland over more than a quarter of a century, not only IIHF tournaments but events for football, basketball, and tennis. She is coucil member of Polish Ice Hockey Federation since 2012 and vice-president since 2018
Stoian Batchvarov has been the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Ice Hockey Federation since 2015, during which time he has organized 15 World Championships at all five levels of IIHF competition. He has been a member of the IIHF’s Development Committee since 2016 and has implemented six projects under the IIHF’s “Grow the Game” program, including the first-ever mixed 3x3 event.
Sergey Goncharov is a former Council member and General Secretary of the Belarus Ice Hockey Federation. He was also CEO of the Lviv-2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee.
More information about Council you will find HERE.
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