New IIHF Council elected

Elections for the new International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Council (serving the 2026–2030 term) took place at the organisation's semi-annual congress.

Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer (Hungary) and Merve Tunali (Turkey) were elected as members of the IIHF Council. Eight additional Council seats went to Heikki Hietanen (Finland), Aivaz Omorkanov (Kyrgyzstan), Viesturs Koziols (Latvia), Anders Larsson (Sweden), Marta Zawadzka (Poland), Sergei Goncharov (Belarus), Stoyan Batchvarov (Bulgaria) and Andy Mills (New Zealand).

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) congratulates the newly elected IIHF Council members, wishing them success for the benefit of international ice hockey.

24 candidates vied for the eight Council seats, with the voting spanning 12 rounds. Dmitry Kurbatov, Director General of the RIHF, remained a contender throughout the majority of the process. His vote count fluctuated between approximately 31 and 46; notably, he ranked among the top remaining candidates in 11 of the 12 voting rounds.

The final round proved decisive. Kurbatov received 44 votes, a total shared by two other candidates. In accordance with established procedure, all three candidates with the same result were eliminated from further contention, after which the remaining candidates secured seats on the Council.