WC: Roster Talk '11 – Germany

[smitty10]

Didn't see a thread for the German's so thought I'd create one.

I'd think that Sulzer (if he's not injured) will be playing in this as well. We'll see which NHLers are back after the first round of playoffs, but I expect that Hecht and Goc will be available sooner than later.

Goalies:
Dennis Endras (Augsburg)
Dimitri Pätzold (Straubing)
Jochen Reimer (Wolfsburg)

Defenders:
Kevin Lavallee (München)
Justin Krueger (Bern)
Robert Dietrich (Mannheim)
Nikolai Goc (Mannheim)
Denis Reul (Mannheim)
Korbinian Holzer (Toronto)
Christopher Fischer (Wolfsburg)
Constantin Braun (Berlin)
Frank Hördler (Berlin)

Forwards:
Alexander Barta (Hamburg)
Marcus Kink (Mannheim)
Frank Mauer (Mannheim)
John Tripp (Köln)
Christoph Ullmann (Köln)
Philip Gogulla (Köln)
Felix Schütz (Ingolstadt)
Thomas Greilinger (Ingolstadt)
Michael Wolf (Iserlohn)
Marcel Müller (Toronto)
Patrick Reimer (Düsseldorf)
Daniel Kreutzer (Düsseldorf)
Kai Hospelt (Wolfsburg)
Andre Rankel (Berlin)

Thanks to Sanderson for the list.

As a Leafs fan it's great to see 3 Maple Leafs prospects playing. Hopefully Flaake stays with the team going forward.

Click to read more...

 

[Maverick41]

I don't think Goc will be available. I believe his injury will keep him out of the roster.
Darin Olver is also out with injury. And Florian Busch does no longer play for the national team.

Also not sure about Marcel Mueller. He hasn't played for the Marlies in a while, I think.

But I would love to see some of the prospects like Kuehnhackl. Also I think Christoph Gawlik might have a good chance to make the team.

Edit: Frank Hoerdler and Jens Baxmann are also candidates for a roster spot.

 

[Sanderson]

I don't think that Hecht would come. He'll either be in the playoffs with Buffalo or rest because of his current injury. Schubert should be out as well, has knee problems as far as I have heard.

You can pretty much cut all the young NHL-prospects like Kühnhackl, Rieder, Elsner, Bielke or Pielmeier, none of them have a real shot at the roster at the moment. If Rieder's season with Kitchener is over, he could play for the U18 in April. Flaake has been pretty good lately, but I doubt that he'll make the final roster either.

 

[smitty10]

I don't think Goc will be available. I believe his injury will keep him out of the roster.
Darin Olver is also out with injury. And Florian Busch does no longer play for the national team.

Also not sure about Marcel Mueller. He hasn't played for the Marlies in a while, I think.

But I would love to see some of the prospects like Kuehnhackl. Also I think Christoph Gawlik might have a good chance to make the team.

Edit: Frank Hoerdler and Jens Baxmann are also candidates for a roster spot.

I know Mueller hasn't been in the lineup for a while, but I would think that he'd be back soon. He's been out a while though and I really haven't heard much.

I don't think that Hecht would come. He'll either be in the playoffs with Buffalo or rest because of his current injury. Schubert should be out as well, has knee problems as far as I have heard.

You can pretty much cut all the young NHL-prospects like Kühnhackl, Rieder, Elsner, Bielke or Pielmeier, none of them have a real shot at the roster at the moment. If Rieder's season with Kitchener is over, he could play for the U18 in April. Flaake has been pretty good lately, but I doubt that he'll make the final roster either.

I'd like to see the prospects play ni the WC as well. I think it'd be good for their development and would encourage future commitment from them. All in all it'd be nice for them to at least come to camp.

 

[zecke26]

i don't know who should make it, but i know who shouldnt.

wolf, gogulla, bakos, holland and ficenec i'd like to see watching the WC on tv

 

[Pajicz]

i don't know who should make it, but i know who shouldnt.

wolf, gogulla, bakos, holland and ficenec i'd like to see watching the WC on tv

This is why I wouldn't want to see Phillip Gogulla either...

You cannot give gifts like that to Datsyuk at the end of 3rd period on the WC semifinals.

 

[Maverick41]

The sad thing is that Gogulla does have the talent to be a great player, by German standards, but his attitude and focus are disappointing.

Btw, yesterday Germany beat Austria in the Euro Hockey Challenge 7-0.
Andre Grygiel scored 3 goals. I haven't seen him play much. Does anyone know a little more about him? Does he have a chance to make the roster, once all the guys from the playoff teams become available?

 

[smitty10]

Yeah, what's up with Gogulla? He had a good chance at playing some games with the Sabres this year and probably moving up for good next year and just gave it up to go back and play in Germany. I guess playing in the NHL isn't really his dream?

I don't understand this guy, but he really seems to have some issues.

Any chance he'll return to North America to take another shot at the NHL?

 

[zorz]

This is why I wouldn't want to see Phillip Gogulla either...

You cannot give gifts like that to Datsyuk at the end of 3rd period on the WC semifinals.

Great part of that video is the boy and his father wearing blue jerseys in the last 5 seconds of the vid. One just has to feel sorry for them...

 

[VayaConDios]

You guys will have Erhoff after the first round

 

[Grabovski]

I hope Mueller and Holzer make it!

 

[smitty10]

I hope Mueller and Holzer make it!

They will. They were both on last years WC and Olympic teams.

 

[sda]

Didn't see a thread for the German's so thought I'd create one.

Looks like from the guys playing in North America that there will be a few guys available:

Korbinian Holzer
Marcel Mueller
Alexander Sulzer
Timo Pielmeier

After the first round of the playoffs, my guess would be that Hecht and Goc will both be available.

Here is my guess for the camp, I'll update if anyone can provide me with anything official.

Goalies:

Thomas Greiss
Dennis Endras
Dmitri Patzold
Dmitrij Kotschnew
Rob Zepp

Defense:

Alexander Sulzer
Christoph Schubert
Korbinian Holzer
Nikolai Goc
Constantin Braun
Justin Krueger
Robert Dietrich
Michael Bakos
Denis Reul
Dominik Bielke
Jakub Ficenec
Jason Holland
Sven Butenschon

Forward:

Marcel Mueller
Felix Schutz
Michael Wolf
Kai Hospelt
Phillip Goggula
Yannic Seidenberg
Darin Olver
Jerome Flaake
Eduard Lewandowski
David Elsner
John Tripp
Andre Rankel
Florian Busch
Sven Felski
Tom Kuehnhackl
Tobias Rieder
Christoph Ullman
Thomas Greilinger
Daniel Kreutzer
Patrick Reimer
Thomas Dolak
Daniel Pietta
Greg Classen

I just threw a couple NHL prospects in there because I'm not sure if they'd get any time or not like Niederreiter on Switzerland or Panik and Tatar on Slovakia last season.

Is Greg Classen actually eligible?

 

[Grabovski]

Mueller and Holzer said they will play for Germany.

 

[Sanderson]

Good news, the more talent the better.

Here's the current roster for the two games against Finland this week:

goal:
Dennis Endras (Augsburg)*
Dimitri Pätzold (Straubing)
Niklas Treutle (Hamburg)

defense:
Tobias Draxinger (Straubing)
Florian Kettemer (Augsburg)
Benedikt Kohl (Augsburg)
Kevin Lavallee (München)
Justin Krueger (Bern)*
Robert Dietrich (Mannheim)*
Nikolai Goc (Mannheim)
Denis Reul (Mannheim)
Korbinian Holzer (Toronto)*

offense:
Alexander Barta (Hamburg)*
Jerome Flaake (Hamburg)
Marcus Kink (Mannheim)
Manuel Klinge (Mannheim)
Frank Mauer (Mannheim)
John Tripp (Köln)*
Christoph Ullmann (Köln)*
Philip Gogulla (Köln)*
Felix Schütz (Ingolstadt)*
Thomas Greilinger (Ingolstadt)
Christoph Gawlik (Ingolstadt)
Michael Wolf (Iserlohn)*
Daniel Pietta (Krefeld)
Marcel Müller (Toronto)*

Obviously, players from Düsseldorf, Berlin and Wolfsburg are still missing, as are all NHL-players, plus Greiss who may have to be around in San Jose instead of playing for Germany.

The players with * are the ones who I think will definately be on the final roster, barring injury, beyond that it's really hard to say.

 

[Systemfel]

Is Greg Classen actually eligible?

Why wouldn't he be? He never represented Team Canada.

 

[zecke26]

The players with * are the ones who I think will definately be on the final roster

is it because you think they should make the team or because you think krupp will take them?

i wonder because i don't see guys like ullmann as locks. ullmann for example was pretty bad in the POs and had a very bad season for his standards.
gogulla might make the team, but is he a lock? we've seen him floating in former tourneys and would it surprise to see him left off the roster? krupp has his favorites, but i think his rosters were usually based on recent performance.

in goal i agree that endras is a lock. and if healthy, it doesn't matter who is backup.

on defense i agree with holzer, dietrich (even though he wasn't good this season) and krueger. i would like to see kettemer too. the rest i'm not sure yet.

schütz is a given. same with müller who is riding a hot streak it seems. but i think all other players have to fight for a spot. mauer and klinge had bad seasons and were obviously not happy in mannheim, but both had good national team performances before. barta is a bit streaky, but i think he's needed.
tripp was good this season, but i don't like him on national team. he's too slow. i'd rather see kreutzer instead.

who can we expect from the 3 DEL teams? hospelt/fischer from wolfsburg? c.braun from berlin is a lock IMO. rankel/hördler maybe? i just hope zepp and the mulocks stay at home. and the weiss brothers didn't impress me this season, they didn't take the next step. busch/felski/ustorf i'd nominate right away.
and only kreutzer from düsseldorf maybe.

 

[smitty10]

Mueller finished off the AHL season with a bang. After being out for over a month with a concussion, he came back and had a goal his first game back and then a 5 point game to end the year (3 goals, 2 assists). He will probably be pushing for a spot on the Leafs next season.

In the last game Holzer had a great game in the 6-0 win over Abbotsford and finished with an assist. He will likely be a top call up next season if he doesn't crack the 3rd defense pairing.

Hope these guys have a great WC!

 

[Maverick41]

is it because you think they should make the team or because you think krupp will take them?

i wonder because i don't see guys like ullmann as locks. ullmann for example was pretty bad in the POs and had a very bad season for his standards.
gogulla might make the team, but is he a lock? we've seen him floating in former tourneys and would it surprise to see him left off the roster? krupp has his favorites, but i think his rosters were usually based on recent performance.

in goal i agree that endras is a lock. and if healthy, it doesn't matter who is backup.

on defense i agree with holzer, dietrich (even though he wasn't good this season) and krueger. i would like to see kettemer too. the rest i'm not sure yet.

schütz is a given. same with müller who is riding a hot streak it seems. but i think all other players have to fight for a spot. mauer and klinge had bad seasons and were obviously not happy in mannheim, but both had good national team performances before. barta is a bit streaky, but i think he's needed.
tripp was good this season, but i don't like him on national team. he's too slow. i'd rather see kreutzer instead.

who can we expect from the 3 DEL teams? hospelt/fischer from wolfsburg? c.braun from berlin is a lock IMO. rankel/hördler maybe? i just hope zepp and the mulocks stay at home. and the weiss brothers didn't impress me this season, they didn't take the next step. busch/felski/ustorf i'd nominate right away.
and only kreutzer from düsseldorf maybe.

On defense I would rather see Kohl on the final roster than Kettemer, although I wouldn't mind both. However that seems unlikely.
Rankel should definitely make the team. He an Mueller can at least play some physical hockey.
I agree about Zepp. I think the goalies should be Greiss, Endras and Reimer. Maybe a case could be made for Pätzold who played really well against Austria, but I'd go wit the other three.

 

[Sanderson]

is it because you think they should make the team or because you think krupp will take them?

i wonder because i don't see guys like ullmann as locks. ullmann for example was pretty bad in the POs and had a very bad season for his standards.
gogulla might make the team, but is he a lock? we've seen him floating in former tourneys and would it surprise to see him left off the roster? krupp has his favorites, but i think his rosters were usually based on recent performance.

Based on who I think Krupp will take. While has has dropped a player who was out of shape now and then, he also keeps the players who he likes or who fill a certain role for him, like Tripp. I think Gogulla is a safe bet for pretty much the same reasons.

I thought about leaving Ullmann out of that group, but looking at the roster, there aren't that many centers on it. Barta, Kink, Ullmann, Pietta, with Hospelt being another candidate, I don't see many options beyond that.

Pietta has never played in a big tournament before, Kink and Hospelt are hardly scoring line players, Barta had a weak season. Ullmann had by far the best production of all available centers this year, set a new career high in goals and tied his career high in points. Points aren't everything, but I can't see Krupp leaving Ullmann at home with that little depth available.

 

[Maverick41]

Based on what Krupp said about his roster nomination lately, I don't think we will see any players of the DEL champion, whoever that may be. Also I would not expect many players from the runner-up as well.
Krupp said he does not think it will work out if a player wins the DEL championship, celebrates and then he is expected to play at the same level again a few days later.

I am curious if anyone from Berlin and Wolfsburg does make the team. There sure are some players on both teams that we could use.

 

[begbeee]

Based on what Krupp said about his roster nomination lately, I don't think we will see any players of the DEL champion, whoever that may be. Also I would not expect many players from the runner-up as well.
Krupp said he does not think it will work out if a player wins the DEL championship, celebrates and then he is expected to play at the same level again a few days later.

I dont think this is a smart decision.
Do you have such great depth on your team that you could sidestep arguably best players in DEL?

 

[Maverick41]

I dont think this is a smart decision.
Do you have such great depth on your team that you could sidestep arguably best players in DEL?

No, we don't, but the problem is, that in the past players from the best teams in the DEL often disappointed at the WC, because their highlight of the season were the DEL finals. And with the pressure gone and the elation and celebration afterwards they were not able to regain their focus and compete at top level again.
Some players were able to do it buth others weren't. So I guess Krupp will be very cautious who he picks.

 

[zecke26]

No, we don't, but the problem is, that in the past players from the best teams in the DEL often disappointed at the WC, because their highlight of the season were the DEL finals. And with the pressure gone and the elation and celebration afterwards they were not able to regain their focus and compete at top level again.
Some players were able to do it buth others weren't. So I guess Krupp will be very cautious who he picks.

well, i think the depth is probably there. germany has around 50 players you can dress and no matter who, you won't see a difference. all those 2way guys who can do everything a bit, but nothing great.

but what's that for a message? if you work too hard, you won't play for your country?
players get punished for having success?

krupp once again proves that he's not the smartest, but i guess he fits perfectly to the rest of the german hockey federation guys.

 

[Maverick41]

well, i think the depth is probably there. germany has around 50 players you can dress and no matter who, you won't see a difference. all those 2way guys who can do everything a bit, but nothing great.

but what's that for a message? if you work too hard, you won't play for your country?
players get punished for having success?

krupp once again proves that he's not the smartest, but i guess he fits perfectly to the rest of the german hockey federation guys.

I still hope that he just wanted to encourage those who are on the roster right now, and maybe send a message to player in Wolfsburg and Berlin that they should not relax when the finals are over.

I am still liking a lot of what Krupp has done and I think he has done a great job given the circumstances. The main problem with German hockey is definitely not Krupp and his sometimes "unusual" roster decisions. But you are right that those fit perfectly with what the hockey federation guys are doing.

Sometimes I do wonder if DEB and DEL actually care for hockey in Germany.