Harold Kreis has named his squad for the Winter Olympics. In addition to the stars from the NHL, the national ice hockey coach relies on proven talent.
Leon Draisaitl and his buddy Frederik Tiffels, Moritz Seider and Moritz Müller, who is 15 years older than him, or the well-rehearsed goalie duo Philipp Grubauer and Mathias Niederberger: In addition to the stars from the NHL, Harold Kreis is relying on proven talent at the Olympic Games.
On Wednesday, the national ice hockey coach called up his squad for Milan, and there were hardly any surprises. “Our task when planning the squad was to define the distribution of roles in the Olympic team and, from our point of view, to fill them in the best possible way. We are convinced that with this squad we have found the ideal composition of the squad for the Olympic Games“said Kreis.
NHL players included for the first time since 2014
The official nomination will be made by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) on January 20th. In Kreis’ 25-man squad, in addition to the professionals from North America, Moritz Müller (Kölner Haie) and Jonas Müller (Eisbären Berlin) as well as Swiss legionnaire Dominik Kahun (Lausanne HC) stand out. The trio sensationally won the silver medal with the German team in Pyeongchang eight years ago, but this year the signs are different.
For the first time in twelve years, the players from the NHL are back and the level is rising. “We have said in recent years that German ice hockey is on the upswing“, said Nico Sturm from the Minnesota Wild in the run-up to the squad announcement: “This is really a perfect opportunity to test where we are when all teams have all players available.”
Freight sign behind health
Like Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators), Seider (Detroit Red Wings), Grubauer (Seattle Kraken) and Lukas Reichel, who has since been deported from the Vancouver Canucks to the AHL, the two-time Stanley Cup winner Sturm had already been nominated in advance last summer. 35 days before the opener against Denmark, John-Jason Peterka (Utah Mammoth), who was still without a contract in the summer, was added. As do Wojciech Stachowiak (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Joshua Samanski (Edmonton). The duo signed NHL contracts but still play in the AHL.
In addition to the nine professionals from North America and Kahun, players from the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) will also be joining. Captain Moritz Müller is going to his third Winter Games at the age of 39, and district favorite Alexander Ehl (Adler Mannheim) also made it into the squad, which includes a total of 16 runners-up in 2023. However, there are question marks behind some of them. Kai Wissmann from the Eisbären has not yet played a game of the season after tearing his Achilles tendon, but is expected to return soon.
Goalkeeper Niederberger, who has been number two behind Grubauer for years, and former NHL strikers Tobias Rieder and Kahun are also not yet ready to play again. There is no time for two-time Stanley Cup winner Tom Kühnhackl to take part; the man from Mannheim will miss the games. As does striker Leo Pföderl. Berlin’s DEL Player of the Year, who has always been named in recent years, is probably the most prominent victim of the return of the NHL stars. Goalkeeper Arno Tiefensee and defender Maksymilian Szuber are also missing.
Preparatory tournament in Bolzano
Before the start in Milan there is a preparatory camp in Bolzano (from January 31st). Because the players from North America will still be missing, Kreis is taking a training group with him. This includes, among others, Berlin’s Eric Mik and Munich’s Yasin Ehliz. If one or two of the injured players do not get fit in time, Kreis can nominate them again.