Seider before 100th NHL game
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“Won’t swap places with anyone in the world”
Anaheim Leon Draisaitl is the German face of ice hockey and a top star in the NHL. Someone who can fill this role in the future has long been ready: Moritz Seider has made a name for himself in almost 100 games.
Moritz Seider still prefers to eat his breakfast at home – otherwise the ice hockey pro has found his way around the USA very quickly and very well. “It’s all hectic, hectic, hectic, it’s best to eat breakfast while you’re still in the car. That was a culture shock. But you’ve gotten used to it now,” said the 21-year-old defender from the Detroit Red Wings of the German Press Agency before his 100th game in the world’s best ice hockey league on Saturday (local time). “It’s still hard to believe. You used to play the boys on the Playstation all the time and dreamed that one day it would happen – and now you’re part of it. I don’t think I want to swap places with anyone in the world.”
It has been just over 13 months since Seider made his NHL debut on October 13, 2021 against the then-champion Tampa Bay Lightning – and with two assists he pointed the way for an outstanding debut season in the league. Just in time for his anniversary, the former Mannheim defenseman scored his first goal of the season in his second NHL year in his 99th game. His 5: 4 at 7: 4 at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (local time) was a very decisive one.
“To be able to put on and take off the jersey is still a huge honor, but time has passed pretty quickly, you have to say,” said Seider, who was voted the best defender of the World Cup in 2021. In the past NHL season, the international had shown such trumps that he quickly rose to become a top defenseman and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy for the best rookie of the year. As the first German. He had contributed 43 assists – as a defender – and scored seven times himself.
“Of course you still have a lot of respect for the people who are in front of you. Nevertheless, you don’t have to hide yourself, I understood that relatively quickly. After all, you want to make a name for yourself”, Seider explained his rapid development towards becoming a pillar of the young team. With his playing, Seider seems much more mature and older than he actually is. There is not a trace of shyness or restraint on the ice. In conversation, he is polite and talks like a well-behaved teenager, smiles a lot and comes across as confident but unassuming.
“It doesn’t happen that often that a player develops like Mo,” praised Toni Söderholm, who has just resigned from his position as national coach. “He can handle pressure. He can play against the best strikers out there. That requires a lot.”
If nothing comes up, the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (local time) will be the number 100 NHL game in Seider’s still young career. At the Adler Mannheim he once became a DEL and national player. In 2019, the Red Wings picked him sixth overall in the draft. First followed two seasons in the second-rate American Hockey League and in Sweden’s top flight for Rögle BK – stations that should prepare and harden him. “His developmental steps have been very good: Mannheim, Sweden, AHL and now he’s in the NHL. And he won’t get away from there,” said Söderholm, who moved to the top Swiss club SC Bern.
The fact that the yield on paper in the second season has not been able to keep up with the past season hardly bothers Seider. “For me, it’s about being a fundamental part of the team. I’m on the ice in all situations, that’s important to me. As long as I get my ice age, I don’t worry too much about it.” He has the ice age – and has long been thinking confidently in completely different dimensions than the first 100 games. When asked about Söderholm’s comment that a four-digit number of NHL games for Seider “would be really cool,” Seider said dryly: “That should definitely be the goal.”
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