Referees Piechaczek and Kohlmüller nominated for the World Cup

16 referees and 16 linesmen made it to the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in Cologne and Paris. They were able to prevail from a field of candidates totaling 75 participants. The basis for the nominations was the performances from the current season in national and international competitions. The nominated referees come from 14 different nations. Not all referees come from countries that ultimately take part in the World Cup. Joep Leermakers (Netherlands) and Mark Lemelin (Austria) represent their colors without their nations taking action on the ice.

The Germans Daniel Piechaczek and Lukas Kohlmüller are also among the 32 referees selected by the IIHF Referee Committee. For Daniel Piechaczek it is already the ninth time he has taken part in a world championship. He is therefore the most experienced referee in the squad. The 2007-year-old has been on the ice as a professional referee since 43. He has become an integral part of the German Ice Hockey League and is also a sought-after referee internationally. Piechaczek was able to fulfill his biggest dream as an athlete by taking part in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. Last year he was named “Germany’s Ice Hockey Referee of the 2015/16 Season”.

Line judge Lukas Kohlmüller is taking part in a world championship for the first time. He is 20 years younger than his German counterpart, but has gained a lot of national and international experience in recent years. Last season he was on the ice as a linesman in the final of the Champions Hockey League. In September he traveled to Minsk, Belarus, to accompany the Olympic qualifying games. At Christmas his destination was Montreal and Toronto - where he played at the U20 World Cup. The 23-year-old now has a much shorter journey ahead of him, but it also comes with what is probably the biggest international challenge in his young refereeing career.

Gerhard Lichtnecker, DEB-Referee chairman: “I am pleased that two of the best German referees, Daniel Piechaczek and Lukas Kohlmüller, have been nominated for the World Cup. Daniel Piechaczek is an extremely experienced referee who has already proven himself at numerous national and international tournaments. With Lukas Kohlmüller, the German referees are represented by a very young linesman. I am particularly happy for him that he is able to prove himself at international level at such a young age. He has worked hard to earn this opportunity through convincing performances in the recent past.”

The complete referee line-up for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship: