Originally this tournament was supposed to be four countries at the Division 1A level not only see what they have before the world championships but also an opportunity to scout the other teams as well. Unfortunately because of financial reasons Kazakhstan had to drop out and they have been replaced by Romania.

Hungarian goalie coach Gary Clark and top assistant Gergely Majoross gave some insite on what to expect this weekend.

The goaltending situation has changed somewhat compared to what was expected at teh start of the season. It has been well documented that the top keeper Zoltán Hetényi has been out all season with an illness, last years backup Peter Sevela is coming off an injury and had some person issue come up right before camp. Coach Clark talked about the remaining two goalies, Miklós Rajna and Bence Bálizs who will be in battle for the top spot for the national team.

“The original plan was to take three players but now we have to just see where each gus is at and look at them individually. Miklos has been playing a little less in fehérvár and bence has been great in miskolc and played more, sevela has also played less. we hope that this camp can give them a spurt for the playoffs. I feel that the players always get rejuvenated after they play in the national team camp. Regardless of if a goalie is playing a lot or somewhat less they still need to be mentally ready to jump in when needed. There are always stories about goalies having to come in, right now we want them to be mentally ready.” Gary Clark

Majoross talked about as the tactics to expect as the 1-3-1 will be making a comeback, also the intricacies of the system were mentioned as well. He also give a breakdown of what to expect from all three teams this weekend.

“We gave them some structure on the forecheck and on the neutral zone play on video and the board, it also affects our breakouts, they did it pretty well considering that its different who they are playing this in their club team, they adjusted well to it. We will be using the 1-3-1 which our players don't play in but it is a known system throughout hockey, we feel that it can fit our roster better. This helds our defencemen to break the puck out of the zone and it is a key factor to moving the puck out and spend more time in the attacking zone.” Gergely Majoross

Romania

They are a young team, individually our players are better and most of them are playing at a higher level than the romanian. However they always play hard and the Hungary-Romania matches always have a special meaning.

Poland

They have a big team size wise, they like to plays physical and they like to come hard, this is what we will have to face at the at the world championships and now as well. We want to get to the puck first against them and break it out.

Ukraine

Last year I felt that they were the best team in the tournament, it was unfortunate that  mentally they might not have been at the level they should have been at because of the political situation back home. They have a number of players playing in the KHL and other high level leagues, we expect them to have a real strong team.

The Hungarian Squad

Goalies (2): BÁLIZS Bence (Miskolci Jegesmedvék), RAJNA Miklós (Fehérvár AV19)

Defensmen (10): KISS Dániel (Újpest) ORBÁN Attila, REITER Attila, SZIRÁNYI Bence, VARGA Arnold (Fehérvár AV19), GRÖSCHL Tamás, HÜFFNER Adrián, POZSGAI Tamás, MESTYÁN Tamás (Dab.Docler), GŐZ Balázs (Miskolci Jegesmedvék),

Forwards (16): AZARI Zsolt (Dab.Docler), BENK András, KOVÁCS Csaba, KÓGER Dániel, MAGOSI Bálint, SÁRPÁTKI Tamás, SIKORCIN Ladislav, EREDÉLY Csanád, VINCZE Péter, SARAUER Andrew (Fehérvár AV19), METCALFE Tyler, NAGY Krisztián (Miskolci Jegesmedvék), BERTA Ákos (Debreceni HK), SEBŐK Balázs (Kärpät/Hokki, FIN), SOFRON István (Krefeld Pinguine, GER), VAS János (Slavia Praha, CZE)

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Rich Chernomaz

Assistant Coaches: Gergely Majoross, Tamás Sille, Diego Scandella

Goalie Coach: Gary Clark

EIHC Schedule

Friday 16:00 Romania

Saturday 16:00 Poland

Sunday 16:00 Ukraine

Text: Szabolcs Závodszky