Germany has taken blows throughout the World Cup, but they still play in the final.
Pekka Kangasalu says that Sunday’s match is the most significant of his hockey career so far. Kangasalus, who works in the German coaching team, is involved in the World Cup final.
– Sometime in 1993 or 1994, I think I was in the A-junior SC finals. Yes, this match is the hardest thing in my career, Kangasalus said.
Canada is the clear favorite for the final, but Germany has shown during the tournament what a tough team it is.
What has been special about its story has been how much the team has endured setbacks and despite them reached the World Cup final for the first time in its history.
The tournament started with three losses, but since then only wins have been recorded in the statistics. According to Kangasalusta, every game after the first losses was a must-win.
A growth story
Pekka Kangasalusta’s (left) hands went up towards the ceiling when Germany scored the winning goal of the semi-final in overtime. PASI LEISMA
The fabric base can be a predictor of some sort. In the semifinals, Germany was in a tight spot with Switzerland, when the star defender Moritz Seider got sent off in the middle of the match. The Finnish coach predicts to Iltalehte before Saturday’s match against the USA that there may well be similar difficulties in the semifinals.
They came right away in a handshake when the USA took a 2-0 lead in less than four minutes. Germany pushed. Even a 3–2 lead wasn’t a hard enough blow to the jaw. One and a half minutes before the end, Germany tied the score at 3-3 and scored the winning goal in overtime.
– I think they tell quite a lot about this team. In the semi-final, we didn’t play as well as we did earlier in the tournament. Our group has tremendous potential.
– The World Cup tournament has been a big growth story for us. From the tight losses in the opening series, we realized that there are opportunities.
Lasting success?
Moritz Seider is already a star defenseman in the NHL at the age of 22. PASI LEISMA
The historic World Cup ranking reflects that Germany is no longer the lilliputian of ice hockey. Leon Draisaitl has become one of the brightest stars in the NHL.
Defenseman Seider was chosen as the NHL’s best rookie last season. Kangasalusti believes that Germany has everything it takes to become the long-term winner of the World Cup in the near future.
– There are more than 80 million people in Germany, so we are not talking about a small country. I think it’s more about how to better channel the potential. All is well in German hockey at the moment. Conditions are fine.
– Perhaps the next step is the grassroots level, i.e. progressive development of skating skills right from childhood. That kind of thing is missing if you don’t count the academies of the biggest clubs, says Kangasalus.
The reputation of the German league
Germany has one more “game seven” ahead of it, as Kangasalus puts it PASI LEISMA
Germany’s main league DEL has been criticized over the years for its North Americanness. A large part of the coaches have been brought from Canada or the United States. In addition, numerous North American heroes have played in the teams’ formations.
Former head coach of Germany Toni Söderholm and current pilot Harold Kreis however, have been promoting change.
– German-Canadian Kreis has worked in Germany and Europe for decades. He really likes the Finnish style of play.
– The situation is still such that the German national team is trying very hard to become European in terms of playing, while in the DEL they rely more on North America. However, Söderholm and Kreis have certainly shared their know-how with DEL clubs as well, Kangasalus clarifies.
Last December, Kangasalu was appointed head coach of the Bietigheim Steelers. Previously, he worked as the general manager of Slovan Bratislava. At the end of March, he was promoted to the coaching team of the German national team, in which he already had some experience when he was the head coach of Söderholm.
In other words, Germany has not yet become completely familiar to him.
– I don’t know what the world championship would mean in that country. I know how much it means to Finns, but I don’t know about Germany, Kangasalus said with a smile.