Led by Draisaitl
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So many German players are starting the new NHL season
Cologne The NHL starts into a season. In addition to Leon Draisaitl, who is taking the next attempt at the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers, there are probably six other German players. An overview.
In the NHL, the new season starts on Tuesday night. Led by star player Leon Draisaitl, who is making the next attempt at the Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers, there are probably seven German players on the ice in the arenas in the USA and Canada – the final decision on the squad position of Sturm-Talent “JJ” Peterka with the Buffalo Sabers doesn’t fall until Monday evening.
Leon Draisaitl (25 / Edmonton Oilers): The best German ice hockey player is next to superstar Connor McDavid the pillar of the Edmonton Oilers. Probably the best storm duo in the league is hot for the title. In the past few years the play-offs ended early and the Stanley Cup goal was always a long way off. That should change now. “I believe that our time has now come, that we now have the team too,” said the Draisaitl, 2020 top scorer, MVP and Germany’s athlete of the year, optimistically.
Philipp Grubauer (29 / Seattle Kraken): For the national goalkeeper everything starts from scratch. With the change from the title contender Colorado Avalanche to the new “Expansion Team” Seattle Kraken, a new era begins for the Rosenheimer. This is exactly what appeals to Grubauer. “You’re part of a team that makes history,” he says, “you’re the first team that will ever play for Seattle. It’s incredible.” The 2017 Vegas Golden Knights have already shown how fast it can go up as a league newcomer when they advanced to the Stanley Cup final immediately after entering 2017.
Tim Stützle (19 / Ottawa Senators): After his brilliant rookie season, the striker wants to confirm his performance in the second year with the Canadians. 29 scorer points can be surpassed from the past season, the native of Viersener is highly motivated. “I’m going into my second NHL season in a completely different way because I want to confirm that the Senators made the right choice with me,” said Stützle of the specialist ice hockey news magazine: “Everyone expects me to give it a shovel. It I enjoy dealing with these expectations and showing my best ice hockey every day. “
Moritz Seider (20 / Detroit Red Wings): The exceptional talent already made an impression in the pre-season and scored his first goal for the Red Wings. Seider, who was sixth in the 2019 NHL draft, had been loaned to Sweden by Detroit in the preseason and had lost the play-off final against the Växjö Lakers with first division club Rögle BK. In the NHL, Seider has not yet come into play after his draft and played in the Red Wings farm team in the United States before the season in Sweden. Now the NHL adventure finally begins. “My goal is to help Detroit win games. I’ve come a lot closer to that,” said Seider.
Thomas Greiss (35 / Detroit Red Wings): The former German national goalkeeper and teammate of Seider had to fight the biggest fight again outside the ice before the season. Greiss, who last stood in the goal of the national team at the 2017 home World Cup, repeatedly attracted attention through controversial posts on social networks. Among other things, Greiss had condoled on the death of the right-wing US radio talker Rush Limbaugh, who was notorious for his racist tirades and twisting facts. Before the start of the season, he defended himself in the ice hockey news: “I’m not a National Socialist and not a right-wing radical. I’m very open to the world.”
Nico Sturm (26 / Minnesota Wild): The native of Augsburg doesn’t need to hide. With eleven hits and six assists, Sturm was one of the winners at Minnesota Wild last season. “I think big centers with good skating skills are always a premium that is wanted everywhere,” said the striker. That’s why he mainly worked on skating and his shot in the summer.
John Peterka (19 / Buffalo Sabers): The next top talent took the first step on his intended path to the NHL in the summer. The 19-year-old signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabers. The Sabers had secured the rights to Peterka in last year’s NHL draft at the beginning of the second round. In the preparation, the ex-Munich convinced with three goals.
Marco Sturm (43 / Los Angeles Kings / Assistant Trainer): The former NHL player and national coach has been assistant coach in the city of stars and starlets for four years. The upheaval at the Stanley Cup champion of 2012 and 2014 should be over, Sturm and the Kings want to attack again – but Sturm still has to restrain himself a little: “I really enjoy my work. I also like to go home and I’m still working there. Sometimes I even have to slow myself down. “
Here is the photo gallery: The German professionals in the NHL
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