BERNE – Austria and Belarus expect two players from North America to arrive on Tuesday.
Philadelphia’s second-round pick Andreas Nödl will play his first World Championship for Austria and could already be in the line-up on Wednesday against Latvia. The 22-year-old forward left his hometown Vienna at 17 to play in the United States and finished his first season as a hockey pro with 38 NHL games (1 goal, 3 assists) and 43 AHL games (6 goals, 15 assists) for the Philadelphia Flyers organization.
The Kostitsyn brothers were not released to play for Belarus but it was confirmed that Vladimir Denisov will fly to Switzerland on Monday night. The 24-year-old defenceman finished his second AHL season. In 64 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack he had 5 goals and 20 assists. It will be his fourth straight World Championship.