For many ice hockey professionals, Beijing had therefore become something of a place of longing between Vancouver and Florida, between Toronto and San José. That is why the players had won the assurance of the league association that they would be able to take part in the winter games. Participation in the Olympics promised something that can no longer be found in the everyday life of an over-the-top gaming business: adventure and pathos in the best sense of the word.
Corona forces NHL on your knees
But the meandering game operation of the NHL with more than 80 season games before the Playoffs start has become more important than ever for the clubs. Corona has also sent some clubs into the gang in North America. Every game now counts, because every game secures the multi-million dollar operation.
In the meantime, however, 50 games have already been canceled. Eight teams are currently not on the ice because of Corona. Every club is somehow affected. Sometimes the infected professionals were even rushed off the ice during a game because their fresh test results were positive. To cut it short: Die NHL and their clubs say they cannot afford to take an Olympic break in February with no income. In February the NHL instead try to catch up on the failed games.
German NHL-Professionals disappointed
For Leon Draisaitl, and thus presumably one of the best ice hockey players of all time, that means: nothing with the Olympics again. Draisaitl is now 26 years old and better than ever. “Leon will definitely find that a shame”, says Moritz Müller in an interview with sportschau.de, “But over there he is simply clamped into a ferris wheel and now has to think of other things.”
Moritz Müller will most likely bring the German selection on the ice as captain in Beijing. He is pretty good friends with Draisaitl. Müller was in Korea four years ago and has been in possession of a silver medal ever since. “Olympia is the best stage for our sport. We can present ourselves there. And actually the games are also the greatest in sport, there shouldn’t be any other authority about that ”, pushes ice hockey defender Moritz Müller afterwards.
The cancellation of the NHL was of course foreseeable. It has been expected for a few days. And it’s an open secret that the clubFranchises are anything but unhappy about the cancellation. Unlike the best German players in the NHL, “Who absolutely wanted to be at the Olympics”, says national coach Toni Söderholm, who was still in North America a few weeks ago to talk to his potential Olympic riders.
Ready for the next coup?
And now? It will be another 1b event that, with a bit of luck, will develop a positive momentum of its own. Like 2018. Back then the Koreans had no idea about ice hockey, this time it’s the Chinese. At that time, the German team, characterized by team spirit and great confidence, was only 55.5 seconds short of the gold medal in the final against Russia.
In 2022, the conditions appear to be similar, at least on paper. Lots of talent and team spirit, plus a trainer who definitely doesn’t need Santa Claus to reach for a medal. “We want to have a say,” Moritz Müller promises. “The tournament will be a process for us as a team and one for me as a player Highlight.“
Leon Draisaitl and the other German players in the NHL will keep our fingers crossed. A good Olympic result of the German selection underpins the good place in the world rankings, which in turn decides in the medium term who is allowed to play in the Olympics. So in Milan in 2026, that’s the next hope. the NHL has already signaled that their players will definitely be allowed to take part.
Status: December 22nd, 2021, 9:19 pm