Ooook...Well yes and no. It wasn't a fluke this year getting to the final because they played hard and deserved to be but don't expect this to be a trend . Like i said any team that skates well and plays a good system can be competitive in international hockey and have close games. But Germany had a huge Canadian influence on that team which really helped too. Don't expect it to be a norm having Germany in the medals lol
It was beautiful while it lasted. Didn't really expect Germany to advance against our swiss neighbours, boy was I wrong.. Probably the most exciting week in my life when it comes to international hockey, Silver and just 55sec away from Gold is huge. That being said, I doubt this will have any bigger impact on hockey in Germany, though I'd love to be wrong about this one..
Olympic Silver für Deutschland, **** yeah!!
I watched that game from ice level.Germany in the QF in the IIHF WHC last year (losing 2-1 against CAN with McKinnon, Duchene, Scheifele etc) and the Olympic final this year. This is good for hockey, I am excited to see the IIHF this year. Drai will probably be playing and I bet Germany will want to show that this was not just a fluke.
I watched that game from ice level.
Canada absolutely dominated possession, but Germany turtled well. Grubauer was a difference maker in their games against Latvia and Canada (much like Lundqvist in the final). Man for man they were clearly inferior, but played strategically and fed off the fans. An exhausted Draisaitl fresh off NHL playoffs would lug the puck into the offensive zone to generate their chances. I felt like they had no business being in that game watching any 2-5 minute segment, but overall they can hold in with the big dogs. Kind of reminds me of old Swiss national teams.
Overall with standout goal-tending, 1 superstar (Drai), and a very cohesive and motivated group they will be competitive in the next ~5-10 year period. For me, they move into USA-Finland-Czech strata below the big dogs Canada-Sweden-Russia. With hot goal-tending they can threaten in these kinds of short tournaments, but normally finish just short of #1 to any of the big dogs.