Andreas Becherer will take up the position of U1 national coach at the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB). Most recently, the 46-year-old was assistant coach of the DEL2 club ESV Kaufbeuren Previously, he coached the club's U20 young talent team.
The former striker has already served as assistant coach of the German U18 men's national team several times. In addition to various measures of the DEB, he accompanied the then U18 honorary national coach André Rankel to the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship Division I Group A in Denmark. The tournament victory there sealed the resurgence of the DEB-Young Talent Selection in the Top Division. In addition, Becherer was part of the U18 Sports Committee introduced at that time, which was responsible for the selection, promotion and development of talented young players, from DEB-Sports Director Christian Künast was launched.
Andreas Becherer will be serving as U18 head coach for the first time at this year's Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The event will take place from August 11 to 16, 2025, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Deutscher Eishockey-Bund would like to thank Patrick Reimer, who has done an outstanding job for German young talent ice hockey during his tenure as U18 national coach, and wishes him all the best for his future.
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: "We are delighted to have been able to recruit Andreas Becherer for the position of U18 national coach. We are convinced that Andreas, with his many years of expertise, especially in young talent ice hockey, will provide valuable input in the future. Since he is already familiar with the association's structures and values, he will be able to seamlessly build on the successful work of recent years and thus ensure the continued development of the U18 men's national team."
Designated U18 national coach Andreas Becherer: "It is a great honor for me and I am very happy to be able to take on the position of U18 national coach. I would like to take this opportunity to thank sporting director Christian Künast and the entire DEBleadership. It's a responsible and important task that I'm about to take on, and I can hardly wait to start the position soon. It's a great advantage for me that I've already been part of the U18 coaching team – this will make my transition to the new position easier. We want to continue the positive development of the past few years in the coming season and grow from one step to the next so that we're ready for our tasks at the decisive moment."