VILLINGEN-SCHWENINGEN – Two former NHL strikers Tom Kuhnhackel and Tobias Ryder are unavailable for the Ice Hockey World Championships in Finland from May 13 to 29.

“They are definitely not there,” national coach Tony Söderholm said on the sidelines of the preparation in Villingen-Schvenningen, without giving reasons for the cancellation of the two pros playing in Sweden.

Two-time Stanley Cup winners Kuhnhackel (Skellefte AIK) and Ridder (Vaxjo Lakers) were in the semi-finals of the 2021 World Cup, along with disappointing Olympic performances in Beijing. Söderholm had previously raised the prospect of calling Ryder and Kuhnhackel “50:50” during World Cup preparations.

It is still unclear how many players from German champion Isberen Berlin and eventual rival EHC Red Bull Munich will join the squad in the coming week. “Some,” Söderholm replied after the initial discussion: “one or the other has been killed. One or the other feels very fit. Hopefully in the next couple of days we’ll find out what’s going on.”

At the arena of Schweiningen Wild Wings, the German national ice hockey team will play a friendly against Austria on the Sunday before the start of the World Cup. The first World Cup preliminary round game is against top nation Canada in Helsinki on 13 May.