The German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) can continue to hope for the much-needed support of superstar Leon Draisaitl at the World Cup in Finland.
“I’m in contact with the German team. We still have to clarify a few things. We’ll see,” said the NHL exceptional striker from the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday at a media event for his team.
After the knockout in the play-off quarterfinals of the National Hockey League and the hunt for the Stanley Cup, which was again unsuccessful, DEB sports director Christian Künast contacted Draisaitl and emphasized that the insurance issue had been resolved.
Draisaitl, who had broken the 50-goal mark for the third time in the past NHL main round, failed with the Oilers on Monday night in the sixth game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
It is questionable whether he can still arrive in time in Tampere, where the German team lost their first three World Cup games against favorites Sweden, Finland and USA.
If she doesn’t win against Denmark on Thursday (7:20 p.m. CEST/Sport1 and MagentaSport) either, the quarter-finals and direct Olympic qualification could already be out of reach. So Draisaitl’s help would be too late.