Presenting the Presenters in Munich – Day 1: Youth and Women's Hockey Seminars
The 2024 Hockey Business Forum in Munich, Germany will see 20 presentations divided into two days. Tuesday will focus on two seminars – the morning will be dedicated to youth development and the afternoon to women's professional hockey. Wednesday will get down to business - the Hockey Business Forum.
Below are the nine presentations that will take place on Tuesday. Click here to view Wednesday's presenters.
For info on Official Partners of the 2024 E.H.C. Hockey Business Forum, click here.
For the full program of the 2024 E.H.C. Hockey Business Forum, click here.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR: Tuesday 29 October (morning)
Youth Development by Red Bull – reaching for the next level
As a former goaltender, Helmut de Raaf participated at three Olympic games and seven IIHF World Championships for Germany and following retirement, he has spent 25 years in coaching and development. In 1999, he was co-founder of the first German ice hockey academy, the “Jungadler Mannheim”. Initially as a coach and after two years responsible for the development and education of the entire program. After three years of coaching experience at the pro level in Germany, he took over the position of Director of Development at the Red Bull Academy in Salzburg in 2016. Helmut de Raaf is responsible for recruiting players and staff, the playing model and the developing route for each team at the academy. Helmut’s main task is to integrate science-based knowledge in communication, practice and games. He will present how the successful Red Bull academy works and how it will take the next step.
The massive cost of down-prioritizing player sustainability
Kristian Skarphagen is a seasoned high-performance coach with over a decade of experience guiding elite athletes in a variety of sports to achieve top-level performance. With a B.Sc. in Sports Science and a diverse background working with renowned pro clubs like the Chicago Blackhawks, Spartak Moscow (until 21/22), Dynamo Minsk (16/17) and Frölunda HC, he specializes in optimizing athletic performance through holistic approaches that encompass physical, mental, and lifestyle elements. His expertise spans multiple sports disciplines, making him a sought-after consultant, speaker, and advisor in the fields of sustainable performance and long-term athletic development.
In his presentation titled "The New High-Performance Model - The Hidden Cost of Down-Prioritizing Athlete Sustainability,” Kristian will argue that investing in your support team to establish a peak performance output will outperform the outdated model of sub-optimal player recruitment.
German hockey has a vision, and it is not just lip service
Karl Schwarzenbrunner has a background as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach in a variety of team and individual sports, before taking over the role as the Head of Education and Science at the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB). His main responsibility in this role is to evaluate and improve the training and education system at the DEB. To achieve this, Karl Schwarzenbrunner regularly collaborates with German Universities, in order to develop strategies for the transfer of outcomes of scientific research into real-world practice. His most recent work has focused on Regeneration, the use of Artificial Intelligence in sport, and the cognitive development of players. In his presentation, Karl Schwarzenbrunner will, among other things, explain how new practices and new philosophy at the DEB have led to the development of world-class players like Leon Draisaitl, Moritz Seider, Tim Stützle, JJ Peterka and also others.
Recognizing biological maturation & avoiding early selection failures
John Lind is the Director of Education and Research at the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. He has a background as a player at the junior national team level and he later worked as a coach and manager within Swedish ice hockey before taking on his current role at the Association. John is part of IIHF’s advisory group on education, as well as part of the TIDES Network, a group of international researchers who aim to conduct research and provide practical guidelines on talent identification in sports. John has co-authored studies in both psychology and physiology, with a particular focus on research in biological maturity in hockey, which has gained significant attention internationally.
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY SEMINAR: Tuesday 29 October (afternoon)
Growth of women’s sport and how ice hockey can capitalize on it
Bettina Baer is a Client Service Director at Two Circles, a data-driven sports marketing agency. Bettina works with rights holders to increase commercial value and audiences by putting the fan at the heart of it. She brings a wealth of experience in developing the commercial growth of women’s sports from working with national associations and the biggest women’s football leagues across Europe.
With a background as a former professional footballer, Bettina won multiple Swiss championships while playing with Zurich FC and represented the Swiss National Team. Her professional career has taken her across the globe, with work experience spanning from Munich to Shanghai. Prior to joining Two Circles, she worked at the Deloitte Sports Group, specializing in tech transformation projects and organizational transformation. Bettina will explain how ice hockey can benefit from the enormous growth in women’s sports, primarily women’s football.
How Swiss EV Zug plans to elevate women’s hockey – and make it self-sustainable
Ibrahim Can is an experienced business leader in the sports industry and has been a member of the executive board of Swiss NL elite club EV Zug for the past five years, where he heads the marketing and sales department. His responsibilities include sponsorship, marketing activations and branding, marketing communications and digital, ticketing and customer service.
He will talk about how EV Zug has built its women's program - what it means to "do it right or not at all", which is the club’s internal mantra. In particular, how the club was able to break even in its second year, meaning that the women's and girls’ program is self-sustaining, but also the challenges of the journey so far and what lies ahead to grow the women's game.
On track for growth: The Benchmark FC Bayern Women & the rise of women´s sports
Fabienne Huber is responsible for project management and corporate partnerships for the women's soccer department at FC Bayern Munich. She manages programs and projects that drive the commercial activities and the team around FC Bayern Women off the pitch.
In her presentation, which is meant to encourage people working with women’s hockey, Fabienne will provide insight into the work and rapid development of women's soccer at FC Bayern, one of the biggest sports brands in the world. She will explain the structures within the club, the cooperation, and the joint promotion of women's football with the established men’s team at FC Bayern. Fabienne will also highlight the substantial demand from sponsors and external stakeholders and give an account of the potential in women's sport and some comparisons, such as differentiating target groups.
PWHL's historic launch and plans for growth
Chris Burkett is the Vice President of League Operations at the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Prior to joining the PWHL, Chris was involved in the negotiations leading to the PWHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CB), in addition to working across a broad range of sports, media, and labour matters. He will lead a presentation about the record-setting first season of the PWHL and a look ahead at the league's plans for continued growth. The PWHL was the Sports Business Journal's 2024 "Breakthrough of the Year" Award winner.
What it takes to turn dreams into reality and close the gap to Canada and the U.S.
After 14 seasons as a professional player in Sweden, Peter Elander embarked on a coaching career on the men’s side with Swedish elite-level teams and the Swedish U20 World Juniors squad. Since 2001, Elander has coached at the top level of women’s ice hockey, with 12 years as head coach in three Olympic games and 6 IIHF World Women’s. Under his leadership, Sweden won their first and, so far, only World Championship medals on the women’s side (bronze 2005, 2007), and the highlight Olympic silver medal in Torino 2006. Elander also led Denmark to their sole Olympic appearance in Beijing 2022. Peter Elander has since 2010 spent ten seasons at the University of North Dakota and the Ohio State University, both marquee programs in the NCAA. In March 2024, Ohio State won the NCAA Division 1 championship with Elander as associate head coach. He has coached in five countries, speaks five languages and is the only coach in the world who has coached the best male twins (Henrik and Daniel Sedin) and the best female twins (Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux). Peter Elander’s presentation will focus on what it would take for the national programs to close the gap to Canada and the U.S.
