Best possible Team Germany right now

[Eye of Ra]

so its wrong to dislike the left, that makes you a nazi, but its ok to dislike and talk shit about the right, the double moral is off the roof. disliking the left does not make someone a nazi, nor does disliking the right makes you a stalinist.

 

[Albatros]

In Germany you don't make controversial posts about Hitler while representing the national team. It's not about right or left but about the special responsibility that comes with wearing that jersey.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I would be curious to hear what folks who feel Greiss should no longer be representing Team Germany due to his having liked those Instagram posts think about Özil having continued to be nominated and play for Team Germany (soccer, of course) after open support and photo ops with Erdogan?

Not looking for a "wrong or right" answer.

Just curious.

 

[Cacciaguida]

In Germany you don't make controversial posts about Hitler while representing the national team. It's not about right or left but about the special responsibility that comes with wearing that jersey.

It's a joke post. Not an argument.

 

[Albatros]

I would be curious to hear what folks who feel Greiss should no longer be representing Team Germany due to his having liked those Instagram posts think about Özil having continued to be nominated and play for Team Germany (soccer, of course) after open support and photo ops with Erdogan?

Not looking for a "wrong or right" answer.

Just curious.

Özil's issue is mostly that he refuses to be low key like Gündoğan & co. Him not playing for the national team is just the logical conclusion of things, but that's as much on the DFB and the society as a whole. Luckily in hockey things aren't nearly as toxic, mostly because only people that genuinely care about the sport get involved. In soccer it's at least as much about being the socially acceptable setting for flag waving.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Özil's issue is mostly that he refuses to be low key like Gündoğan & co. Him not playing for the national team is just the logical conclusion of things, but that's as much on the DFB and the society as a whole. Luckily in hockey things aren't nearly as toxic, mostly because only people that genuinely care about the sport get involved. In soccer it's at least as much about being the socially acceptable setting for flag waving.

Yep, soccer is the world's sport and subjected to a (considerably) higher level of "social appearance" issues.

I agree that the DFB should have been the ones making the statement in light of Özil's press ops coming like a week or so before the World Cup. They could have made a resounding statement with a decision there.

If I recall correctly, he suited up and played underwhelmingly for an underwhelming German side. Makes you wonder how much that issue affected the team on whole?

Maybe not at all?

Back to Greiss:
What if he hadn't liked the posting comparing Hillary Clinton and Hitler? What if it had only been liking pro-Trump Tweets, however lacking in taste they may have been?

Do you think he'd still have gotten the same press and subsequent symbolic benching?

 

[Albatros]

I think his unconditional love for the previous president, the American military, and the police are similar to the Erdoğan stuff in soccer. They definitely rub most Germans the wrong way but ultimately are freedom of speech matters related to an ally so what will you do.

 

[Oberyn Martell]

Yep, soccer is the world's sport and subjected to a (considerably) higher level of "social appearance" issues.

I agree that the DFB should have been the ones making the statement in light of Özil's press ops coming like a week or so before the World Cup. They could have made a resounding statement with a decision there.

If I recall correctly, he suited up and played underwhelmingly for an underwhelming German side. Makes you wonder how much that issue affected the team on whole?

Maybe not at all?

Back to Greiss:
What if he hadn't liked the posting comparing Hillary Clinton and Hitler? What if it had only been liking pro-Trump Tweets, however lacking in taste they may have been?

Do you think he'd still have gotten the same press and subsequent symbolic benching?

I think they would like to nominate him but because of negativ press and people overreacting because he has another opinion than the 'normal' german the DEB would give up on it. And I think that's a shame.

 

[Lartsaman]

I dont want to start a new thread about this so I ask here. I have wondered, who might be the next german number one goalie? I mean who would take on the n. 1 duty when 2026 Olympics come. Grubauer is way too old then and only Mathias Niederberger seems to be at relatively young age when the 2026 Olympics happen.

And what about Hendrik Hane and Tobias Ancicka?

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I dont want to start a new thread about this so I ask here. I have wondered, who might be the next german number one goalie? I mean who would take on the n. 1 duty when 2026 Olympics come. Grubauer is way too old then and only Mathias Niederberger seems to be at relatively young age when the 2026 Olympics happen.

And what about Hendrik Hane and Tobias Ancicka?

Certainly possible.

Or the two youngsters in goal for Munich?

Based on their performances now as U20 players, it may well be Florian Bugl and Nikita Quapp.

 

[Maverick41]

A little while back I made a list of all our best players by birth year and position (goalie, defenseman, forward) from '95 onward. Most of them players I think could maybe play a role on the national team.
Although there are definitely some stretches in there especially on D and in goal. The players are sorted alphabetically within their groupings. They are not entirely up to date, but not too many changes I would make. I bolded the ones that I really expect to contribute to the national team sooner or later (I included the NHL players in this even if they may not always be available).

I'll make separate posts for each position:

Goalies:

1995
Player	Team	League
Kevin Reich	Red Bull München	DEL
Ilya Sharipov	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL
Hannibal Weitzmann	Kölner Haie	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1996
Player	Team	League
Daniel Fießinger	Red Bull München	DEL
Maximilian Franzreb	Tölzer Löwen	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1997
Player	Team	League
Patrick Berger	Eisbären Regensburg	Oberliga
Cody Brenner	Bietigheim Steelers	DEL 2
Bastian Kucis	Löwen Frankfurt	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1998
Player	Team	League
Jan Dalgic	ESV Kaufbeuren	DEL 2
Leon Hungerecker	Kassel Huskies	DEL 2
Mirko Pantkowski	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL
Enrico Salvarani	EHC Freiburg	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1999
Player	Team	League
Daniel Allavena	SC Riessersee	Oberliga
Mark Arnsperger	Eispiraten Crimmitschau	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2000
Player	Team	League
Luis Benzing	EHC Freiburg	DEL 2
Hendrik Hane	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL
Nils Kapteinat	Krefelder EV U23	Oberliga
Philipp Maurer	EC Bad Nauheim	DEL 2
Florian Mnich	Selber Wölfe	Oberliga
Jonas Neffin	Herner EV	Oberliga

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2001
Player	Team	League
Tobias Ancicka	Eisbären Berlin	DEL
Jonas Gähr	Krefelder EV U23	Oberliga
Christopher Kolarz	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL
Jonas Stettmer	Starbulls Rosenheim	Oberliga
Lennard Weser	Blues U20 Akatemia	U20 Mestis

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2002
Player	Team	League
Florian Bugl	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Niklas Lunemann	Kölner Junghaie	DNL U20
Marinus Schunda	Starbulls Rosenheim U20	DNL U20 II
Arno Tiefensee	Heilbronner Falken	DEL 2
Nick Jordan Vieregge	Dresdner Eislöwen	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2003
Player	Team	League
Joshua Appler	Augsburger EV U20	DNL U20
Rihards Babulis	Eisbären Juniors	DNL U20
Luca Ganz	Jungadler Mannheim	DNL U20
Nikita Quapp	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2004
Player	Team	League
Matthias Bittner	Starbulls Rosenheim U20	DNL U20
Justus Roth	Jungadler Mannheim	DEB U17
Lenny-Alexander Sturm	Düsseldorfer EG U17	DEB U17
Simon Wolf	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Maverick41]

Defensemen:

1995
Player	Team	League
Tim Bender	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL
Janik Möser	Grizzlys Wolfsburg	DEL
Jonas Müller	Eisbären Berlin	DEL
Fabio Wagner	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1996
Player	Team	League
Emil Quaas	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL
John Rogl	Augsburger Panther	DEL
David Trinkberger	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL
Kai Wissmann	Eisbären Berlin	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1997
Player	Team	League
Tobias Fohrler	HC Ambri-Piotta	NL
Maximilian Gläßl	EV Landshut	DEL 2
Lukas Kälble	Lake Superior University	NCAA
Simon Schütz	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1998
Player	Team	League
Maximilian Adam	Grizzlys Wolfsburg	DEL
Erik Buschmann	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL
Nicolas Geitner	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL
Johannes Huß	Schwenninger Wild Wings	DEL
Luca Zitterbart	Red Bull München	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1999
Player	Team	League
Nicolas Appendino	Red Bull München	DEL
Tom-Eric Bappert	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL
Leon Gawanke	Manitoba Moose	AHL
Colin Ugbekile	Kölner Haie	DEL
Moritz Wirth	Adler Mannheim	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2000
Player	Team	League
Yegor Alanov	Dynamo Krasnogorsk	VHL
Alexander Dersch	EV Landshut	DEL 2
Leon Hüttl	Löwen Frankfurt	DEL 2
Julius Karrer	Bayreuth Tigers	DEL 2
Philipp Mass	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Eric Mik	Lausitzer Füchse	DEL 2
Fabian Ribnitzky	Bietigheim Steelers	DEL 2
Jan-Luca Sennhenn	Kölner Haie	DEL
Daniel Wirt	Löwen Frankfurt	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2001
Player	Team	League
Simon Gnyp	EC Bad Nauheim	DEL 2
Tommy Pasanen	Clarkson University	NCAA
Steven Raabe	Hannover Indians	Oberliga
Moritz Seider	Rögle BK	SHL
Mario Zimmermann	EV Landshut	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2002
Player	Team	League
Arkadiusz Dziambor	Heilbronner Falken	DEL 2
Maximilian Glötzl	EC Bad Nauheim	DEL 2
Maximilian Menner	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Luca Münzenberger	Kölner Junghaie	DNL U20
Daniel Schwaiger	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Tim Sezemsky	EV Lindau	Oberliga
Simon Stowasser	Fischtown Pinguins	DEL
Maksymilian Szuber	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2003
Player	Team	League
Nils Elten	Herner EV	Oberliga
Adrian Klein	Straubing Tigers	DEL
Sandro Mayr	EC Bad Nauheim	DEL 2
Maxim Rausch	EHC Freiburg	DEL 2
Leon van der Linde	ESV Kaufbeuren	DEL 2
Julian Wäser	Lidingo Nikings J18	J18 Region

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2004
Player	Team	League
Rayan Bettahar	Jungadler Mannheim	DNL U20
Alessandro Falk	Eisbären Juniors	DNL U20
Vincent Grunewald	Kölner Junghaie	DEB U17
Leo Hafenrichter	Kölner Junghaie	DNL U20
Bryan Heinicke	Eisbären Juniors	DEB U17
Jesse Kauhanen	EC Salzburg	ICEYSL
Aaron Krebietke	Herner EV	Oberliga
Philip Sinn	EC Salzburg	ICEYSL
Mason Sturm	Florida Alliance 16U AAA	NAPHL 16U

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Maverick41]

Forwards:

1995
Player	Team	League
Leon Draisaitl	Edmonton Oilers	NHL
Markus Eisenschmid	Adler Mannheim	DEL
Dominik Kahun	Edmonton Oilers	NHL
Marc Michaelis	Vancouver Canucks	NHL
Fabio Pfohl	Grizzlys Wolfsburg	DEL
Nico Sturm	Minnesota Wild	NHL
Frederik Tiffels	Kölner Haie	DEL
Parker Tuomie	Eisbären Berlin	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1996
Player	Team	League
Andreas Eder	Straubing Tigers	DEL
Maximilian Kammerer	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL
Julian Lautenschlager	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL
Stefan Loibl	Adler Mannheim	DEL
Leon Niederberger	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL
Daniel Pfaffengut	Schwenninger Wild Wings	DEL
Manuel Wiederer	San Jose Barracuda	AHL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1997
Player	Team	League
Maximilian Daubner	Red Bull München	DEL
Lucas Dumont	Kölner Haie	DEL
Philipp Kuhnekath	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL
Jakob Mayenschein	Red Bull München	DEL
Julian Napravnik	Minnesota State University	NCAA

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1998
Player	Team	League
Lean Bergmann	San Jose Barracuda	AHL
Valentin Busch	GrizzlysWolfsburg	DEL
Tobias Eder	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL
Maximilian Eisenmenger	Augsburger Panther	DEL
Luca Gläser	Fischtown Pinguins	DEL
Charlie Jahnke	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL
Maximilian Kislinger	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL
Mick Köhler	Kölner Haie	DEL
Niklas Postel	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL
Neal Samanski	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL
Samuel Soramies	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL
Marco Sternheimer	Augsburger Panther	DEL
Timo Walther	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

1999
Player	Team	League
Marco Baßler	EV Landshut	DEL 2
Tim Brunnhuber	Straubing Tigers	DEL
Alexander Ehl	Düsseldorfer EG	DEL
Mike Fischer	Löwen Frankfurt	DEL 2
Markus Lillich	Bayreuth Tigers	DEL 2
Darren Mieszkowski	Löwen Frankfurt	DEL 2
Robin Palka	EV Landshut	DEL 2
Thomas Reichel	Lausitzer Füchse	DEL 2
Cedric Schiemenz	EHC Freiburg	DEL 2
Wojciech Stachowiak	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL
Sebastian Streu	Lausitzer Füchse	DEL 2
Tim Wohlgemuth	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2000
Player	Team	League
Dominik Bokk	Chicago Wolves	AHL
Louis Brune	Adler Mannheim	DEL
Bastian Eckl	Red Bull München	DEL
Magnus Eisenmenger	Augsburger Panther	DEL
Tim Fleischer	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL
Taro Jentzsch	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL
Valentino Klos	Heilbronner Falken	DEL 2
Dennis Lobach	Red Bull München	DEL
Justin Schütz	Red Bull München	DEL
Luca Tosto	Tölzer Löwen	DEL 2
Yannik Valenti	Adler Mannheim	DEL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2001
Player	Team	League
Manuel Alberg	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
John Broda	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL
Julian Chrobot	EC Bad Nauheim	DEL 2
Enrico Henriquez-Morales	Starbulls Rosenheim	Oberliga
Nino Kinder	Eisbären Berlin	DEL
Robert Kneisler	Bietigheim Steelers	DEL 2
Elias Lindner	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Jan Nijenhuis	Grizzlys Wolfsburg	DEL
Filip Reisnecker	Fischtown Pinguins	DEL
Lukas Ribarik	Heilbronner Falken	DEL 2
Jan-Luca Schumacher	Heilbronner Falken	DEL 2
Filip Varejcka	Red Bull Salzburg	ICEHL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2002
Player	Team	League
Michael Bartuli	Kölner Haie	DEL
Alexander Blank	Krefeld Pinguine	DEL
Jakub Borzecki	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Samuel Dubé	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Josef Eham	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Florian Elias	Adler Mannheim	DEL
Fabian Herrmann	Eisbären Regensburg	Oberliga
Danjo Leonhardt	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
John-Jason Peterka	Red Bull München	DEL
Daniel Neumann	EVZ Academy	SL
Lukas Reichel	Eisbären Berlin	DEL
Maciej Rutkowski	Krefelder EV U23	Oberliga
Joshua Samanski	Ravensburg Towerstars	DEL 2
Markus Schweiger	ESV Kaufbeuren	DEL 2
Tim Stützle	Ottawa Senators	NHL
Oleg Leon Tschwanow	EHC Freiburg	DEL 2
Justin Volek	Ravensburg Towerstars	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2003
Player	Team	League
Sebastian Cimmerman	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Haakon Hänelt	Eisbären Berlin	DEL
Philip Hecht	Jungadler Mannheim	DNL U20
Nicolaus Heigl	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL
Thomas Heigl	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL
Maximilian Heim	Jungadler Mannheim	DNL U20
Connor Korte	Davos U20	U20-Elit
Kevin Niedenz	Kölner Junghaie	DNL U20
Yannick Proske	Iserlohn Roosters	DEL
Bennet Roßmy	Lausitzer Füchse	DEL 2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2004
Player	Team	League
Maksim Anton	Düsseldorfer EG U20	DNL U20
Daniel Assavolyuk	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL
Moritz Elias	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL
Luca Hauf	Krefelder EV U23	Oberliga
Eric Hördler	Eisbären Juniors	DNL U20
Roman Kechter	Nürnberg Ice Tigers	DEL
Moritz Köttstorfer	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL
Philipp Krening	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL
Nikita Krymskiy	Vityaz Podolsk	Russia U17
Julian Lutz	RB Hockey Juniors	AlpsHL
Lennard Nieleck	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL
Matthias Pischoff	Düsseldorfer EG U17	DEB U17
Lukas Ullmann	ERC Ingolstadt U20	DNL U20
Philip Ziesche	EC Salzburg U20	ICEYSL

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Michael *Bartuli

I coached him when he was three, so I'm name-sensitive.

 

[Maverick41]

View attachment 404835

Michael *Bartuli

I coached him when he was three, so I'm name-sensitive.

Thanks I made the correction.
That was weird though. I just double checked the original Excel file I made, from which I copied theses tables and there the name was spelled correctly.
Twice I accidentally deleted a player after copy + pasting. Bartuli must have been one of them and I guess I made the typo when I re-entered his name.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Thanks I made the correction.
That was weird though. I just double checked the original Excel file I made, from which I copied theses tables and there the name was spelled correctly.
Twice I accidentally deleted a player after copy + pasting. Bartuli must have been one of them and I guess I made the typo when I re-entered his name.

No worries.

Your contributions continue to be the best anyone here will find about the German ice hockey scene.

 

[Eye of Ra]

If there was any doubt about Stutzle being ready for the big boys, that doubt should be over. The kid has 17 points in 28 NHL games and that in a very poor Ottawa. He is already good enough to play in top 6 in best possible team Germany.

 

[Albatros]

Stützle still needs others covering for him, I'd only give him a limited role.

 

[Eye of Ra]

There might be no players from NA in WC, what would a possible team Germany look like then?

Mathias Niederberger
Felix Brückmann
Tobias Ancicka

Moritz Seider - Korbinian Holzer
Marcel Brandt - Jonas Müller
Konrad Abeltshauser - Moritz Muller
Simon Sezemsky

Matthias Plachta - Marcel Noebels - Yasin Ehliz
Frederik Tiffels - Brooks Macek - Markus Eisenschmid
John Peterka - Lukas Reichel - Justin Schütz
Leo Pföderl - Stefan Loibl - Daniel Fischbuch

Daniel Schmölz seems to be a late bloomer. Andreas Eder with a good season. Maybe one of them can take a spot.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

There might be no players from NA in WC, what would a possible team Germany look like then?

Mathias Niederberger
Felix Brückmann
Tobias Ancicka

Moritz Seider - Korbinian Holzer
Marcel Brandt - Jonas Müller
Konrad Abeltshauser - Moritz Muller
Simon Sezemsky

Matthias Plachta - Marcel Noebels - Yasin Ehliz
Frederik Tiffels - Brooks Macek - Markus Eisenschmid
John Peterka - Lukas Reichel - Justin Schütz
Leo Pföderl - Stefan Loibl - Daniel Fischbuch

Daniel Schmölz seems to be a late bloomer. Andreas Eder with a good season. Maybe one of them can take a spot.

That's as good a list as any.

I was just going to come mention Schmölz and Eder, but I see you mentioned them last minute.

On the blueline, I could see Sinan Akdag getting consideration again and I guess you can't really count our Yannick Seidenberg.

I'd really like to see that third line you've proposed - or at least some combination of those three in the line-up. I'd have to think that the coach might keep the Noebels-Reichel-Pföderl line together. Why mess with such chemistry, right?

Other candidates should include Tim Wohlgemuth and Parker Tuomie. Something tells me Söderholm is looking to use this tournament to prepare a little bit more for the Olympics and it's looking like the DEB seems to want to feature a lot of 23-27 year olds for that tourney.

As a sidenote, I think a lot of fans are tired of seeing Moritz Müller in the fray. He's kind of like the papa of the team and Uwe Kupp actually had him on the PP a good bit this season.

 

[Maverick41]

That's as good a list as any.

I was just going to come mention Schmölz and Eder, but I see you mentioned them last minute.

On the blueline, I could see Sinan Akdag getting consideration again and I guess you can't really count our Yannick Seidenberg.

I'd really like to see that third line you've proposed - or at least some combination of those three in the line-up. I'd have to think that the coach might keep the Noebels-Reichel-Pföderl line together. Why mess with such chemistry, right?

Other candidates should include Tim Wohlgemuth and Parker Tuomie. Something tells me Söderholm is looking to use this tournament to prepare a little bit more for the Olympics and it's looking like the DEB seems to want to feature a lot of 23-27 year olds for that tourney.

As a sidenote, I think a lot of fans are tired of seeing Moritz Müller in the fray. He's kind of like the papa of the team and Uwe Kupp actually had him on the PP a good bit this season.

At least in training camp I could also see Alexander Ehl and Tobias Eder (both DEG) get a look, who both had a strong finish to the season as they were given greater opportunities and more responsibilities on their team.

I totally agree with the comment on Mo Müller. A solid option for many years and if he makes the roster it won't be the worst thing, but I feel it's time to give others a chance to play at that stage. Like Dominik Tiffels, Tim Bender, Colin Ugbekile (if you want to go young) or the one I would pick as of now Fabio Wagner.

If college players were an option I would love to see Lukas Kälble. It's been like 4 years since I saw him play, and I am really curious how he developed. Same with Julian Napravnik at the forward position.

It is really nice that we can have an argument about these things today. 6 or 7 years ago it felt like we were desperately looking to find a couple more guys who would not be completely overwhelmed, but now there are actual options and we have to leave players out that would be perfectly fine on the team, even without the guys in the NHL/AHL. That definitely feels like progress.

The forward positions has been looking pretty good for a while, but defense and goalie were looking very weak, but with some decent young defender emerging there is now a little hope that it's not just Seider, but nobody else. And the few promising goalies we had all seem to be on a good trajectory to pan out.
I really thought after Greiss, Grubauer and Niederberger there would be nothing for a while, but Pantkowski, Ancicka, Hane and Quapp all developed pretty well these past couple of years.

I have always had fun being a German hockey fan, but this is probably the most fun I've had, and I hope they can keep it going eventhough I fully expect a little dent due to COVID.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

The DEB just sent this out:

Of course, it's just for the test games against Slovakia.

 

[Maverick41]

Interesting list, and not too shabby considering these are only players from the 6 teams that missed the playoffs plus Tobias Fohrler.
Though I am a little surprised Freddy Tiffels is not there. Maybe he gets a little extra time off?

I like that Alexander Blank gets a shot. He really surprised me this year. Yes, he played on a mostly terrible team and his father is on the coaching staff (which can either help or hurt a young player), but he acquitted himself really well playing big minutes this year at a very young age.
In the past I was told repeatedly by people whose judgment is more hit than miss when it comes to prospects, that Blank was overrated, and when I had seen him before he looked ok or even good, but not really special. But I liked his play in the DEL this year and I hope he can build on it and further add to the strength of amazing the class of 2002.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

At least in training camp I could also see Alexander Ehl and Tobias Eder (both DEG) get a look, who both had a strong finish to the season as they were given greater opportunities and more responsibilities on their team.

I totally agree with the comment on Mo Müller. A solid option for many years and if he makes the roster it won't be the worst thing, but I feel it's time to give others a chance to play at that stage. Like Dominik Tiffels, Tim Bender, Colin Ugbekile (if you want to go young) or the one I would pick as of now Fabio Wagner.

If college players were an option I would love to see Lukas Kälble. It's been like 4 years since I saw him play, and I am really curious how he developed. Same with Julian Napravnik at the forward position.

It is really nice that we can have an argument about these things today. 6 or 7 years ago it felt like we were desperately looking to find a couple more guys who would not be completely overwhelmed, but now there are actual options and we have to leave players out that would be perfectly fine on the team, even without the guys in the NHL/AHL. That definitely feels like progress.

The forward positions has been looking pretty good for a while, but defense and goalie were looking very weak, but with some decent young defender emerging there is now a little hope that it's not just Seider, but nobody else. And the few promising goalies we had all seem to be on a good trajectory to pan out.
I really thought after Greiss, Grubauer and Niederberger there would be nothing for a while, but Pantkowski, Ancicka, Hane and Quapp all developed pretty well these past couple of years.

I have always had fun being a German hockey fan, but this is probably the most fun I've had, and I hope they can keep it going eventhough I fully expect a little dent due to COVID.

It really is a very exciting time in German ice hockey and like you, I can't remember a time I was more excited than over the past few years.

I've never seen this many legitimate options for the national team.

Alas, as you mention, Covid is hitting at the wrong time and could really put a little dent in this "Aufschwung". Sure, not really at the top pro level just now, but an entire wave of players just missed a winter of hockey. What effect will that have?

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Interesting list, and not too shabby considering these are only players from the 6 teams that missed the playoffs plus Tobias Fohrler.
Though I am a little surprised Freddy Tiffels is not there. Maybe he gets a little extra time off?

I like that Alexander Blank gets a shot. He really surprised me this year. Yes, he played on a mostly terrible team and his father is on the coaching staff (which can either help or hurt a young player), but he acquitted himself really well playing big minutes this year at a very young age.
In the past I was told repeatedly by people whose judgment is more hit than miss when it comes to prospects, that Blank was overrated, and when I had seen him before he looked ok or even good, but not really special. But I liked his play in the DEL this year and I hope he can build on it and further add to the strength of amazing the class of 2002.

I agree here as well. This was a big year for Blank. He not only did some real nice things at the DEL level, but also blew away the Oberliga to kick off the season. That was just insane production for a kid who was still 18 at the time.