No Canadians elected to world hockey governing body; Turkey, New Zealand represented

Hockey Canada president and chief executive officer Katherine Henderson was up for one of the minimum three female spots on the IIHF council at Friday's election, but was eliminated in the second of three rounds of voting in Tenerife, Spain. That means no Canadians have been elected to the council, a surprising result for a nation considered one of the sport's powerhouses.

Hockey Canada's Katherine Henderson fails to secure 1 of 3 spots for women

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Oct 02, 2026 1:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

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No Canadians have been elected to the International Ice Hockey Federation's council, a surprising result for a nation considered one of the sport's powerhouses.

Hockey Canada president and chief executive officer Katherine Henderson was up for one of the minimum three female spots on council at Friday's election at the IIHF's semi-annual congress in Tenerife, Spain.

Henderson was eliminated in the second of three rounds of voting. Hungary's Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer, Turkey's Merve Tunali and Poland's Marta Zawadzka won the council seats.

Canada will be represented regionally on the council by American Mike Trimboli, who was elected vice-president for the Americas and Oceania after running unopposed.

He replaces former Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson, who had held the role since 2012 but did not seek re-election. Former Hockey Canada president Murray Costello served as vice-president for five years before Nicholson took over.

While Canada will not have a member on council, the IIHF will have representation from non-traditional hockey nations, including Tunali, Andy Mills of New Zealand and Aivaz Omorkanov of Kyrgyzstan.

Germany's Franz Reindl was elected to replace outgoing president Luc Tardif, who represents France but was born and raised in Quebec, while Petr Briza of Czechia was re-elected senior vice-president.

Canada had been represented on the IIHF Council since 1978, apart from a four-year gap from 1994-98, when American Walter Bush Jr. held the Americas vice-president position.