Wanted to stop by to share some thoughts, but you guys seem to everything covered, as usual.
I don't see RB Juniors making it past Cortina into the AlpsHL finlas, but if they did, then that could put a wrench into some of Dück's (preparatory) plans. Also, if we learned anything last spring, Dück will be nominating some guys we'd likely not expect on the team. Which didn't ultimately make any difference last year.
There are a number of guys you'd like to have perhaps seen in camp, but it is generally a nice thing to see the DEB be able to invite 35+ kids and we're here saying, "Hey, where's player X, Y, and Z? Shouldn't they get a look?"
Doesn't feel like Germany has generally had much of a selection along the way.
This said, this U18 team doesn't even have a Lutz or even a Bettahar. And even they only had a limited effect last spring. If guys like primarily Bicker, Brandl, Rückdaschl, Sumpf, and Schreiner aren't able to make offensive music, then the team is once again in big trouble. Also, it's still incredibly difficult to get a read on just where Vinzenz is - or what he is. Still holding out hope that he's got game.
Also, we've been looking at this blueline for several years thinking it should be a vital strength. But outside of maybe Tropmann, are any of namely Mayer, Niehus, Bosecker, and Panocha being viewed as NHL prospects? Can they withhold the onslaught of the top 6 nations in the tournament?
And what happened to Vladelchtchikov this season? His name had been mentioned with the other blueliners every step of the way until this very meager output for a strong Kölner DNL team.
At the moment, and realistically, this looks like a relegation round opponent with Norway. Fortunately, Germany should have stronger depth than the Norwegians, who tends to only have roughly 40-50 kids nationwide to pick from every spring, with only a handful being solid options. Then again, that handful is often busy playing junior hockey in Sweden. So there's that.
But I'm getting ahead of myself...
Speaking of which, very much looking forward to when the U18 squad consists of the Grivas, Lewandowski, Späth, Witthöft, Herzog, and Schütz up front. That could be exciting. But it would mean the DEB is making use of more underagers.