Former national ice hockey coach Toni Söderholm sees his successor Harold Kreis as the right man for the post of national coach.
“He was a very good partner when I was national coach. He is a very relaxed, calm and modest person,” said Söderholm of the “German Press Agency”. “He has a lot of experience and a feel for the game. I think he’s the right man.”
Söderholm was presented last week as the new coach of the German champions EHC Red Bull Munich.
In November last year, Söderholm gave up his position as head coach for the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation in order to be able to work at SC Bern in Switzerland.
“I would do it again. It was clear to me that I wanted to go back to day-to-day business – and then I got the opportunity with Bern. It developed faster than I thought,” said the Finn and explained with a view to his Relationship to the DEB: “I haven’t been in much contact lately because I’ve been very busy with Bern. I haven’t had much time to look back so far.”
Ice Hockey World Championships in Tampere and Riga
The World Championships will take place from May 12th to 28th in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. This Tuesday (7:30 p.m./Sport1 and MagentaSport) the German national team will play the USA in Munich for a dress rehearsal before leaving for Finland on Wednesday.
After the World Cup opener on Friday against Sweden, Germany will meet hosts and defending champions Finland on Saturday. When asked who Söderholm was supporting in this game, he replied with a laugh: “The answer to this question is a little different now than it was a few years ago. A piece of my ice hockey heart will always belong to the German national team. That’s just the way it is, if you have worked intensively there. You also know many of them.”
He is curious to see how the German team performs. “I haven’t been following the national team that closely lately. If you look at who’s eliminated in the NHL and what that could mean for other national teams for reinforcements, the competition at the World Cup is strong. If the team reaches the quarterfinals , a lot is possible,” said Söderholm.