French hockey official Luc Tardif was elected president of the IIHF

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (AP) French official Luc Tardif was elected president of the International Hockey Federation on Saturday before NHL players returned to the Olympics in February.

Born and raised in Canada, Tardif won German candidate Franz Reindl by 67 votes and 39 in the fourth round of the election. Tardif has been president of the French Hockey Association since 2006.

I just have my determination, my crazy passion for this sport, my teamwork skills, I respect people and my honesty, Tardif said. Believe me, I will do my best to meet your expectations.

The primary task of the new presidents is to oversee hockey tournaments in the coming years at the Beijing Winter Olympics. These are the first Olympics with NHL players since 2014 after the league did not release players for the final edition of the South Korean Winter Olympics in 2018.

Tardif will replace Rene Fasel, who will not run for re-election after a 27-year term. Swiss Fasel is a dentist, former enthusiast and judge who worked to bring NHL players for the first time to the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

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