The veteran Finn, who led the National Hockey League's (NHL) Chicago Blackhawks during the 2000/1 season, will be assisted by Switzerland's Roger Bader.

He comes in to replace Canadian Dan Ratushny, who has led the national side for the past two years but is departing to focus on his club commitments.

The 45-year-old is also the coach of Swiss National League A outfit Lausanne HC in the Olympic capital.

“After careful consideration of all circumstances I came to the conclusion that it’s unfortunately not possible anymore to be head coach of the Austrian national team,” Ratushny said.

Suhonen is no stranger to the Austrian set-up having served as sport director, while Bader has coached the under-20 team.

“Four years ago we began to develop an identity for Austrian hockey with Alpo Suhonen," said Austrian Ice Hockey Association President Dieter Kalt. 

"We won’t leave that path and will continue it even more intensively."

Austria finished the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A in fourth place.

In September they will play in a four-team Olympic qualification in Riga against hosts Latvia, Germany and Japan.

The winners will progress to the Pyeongchang 2018 Games in South Korea.