International: German Junior National Teams

[Maverick41]

The blueline is getting me all giddy, and it doesn't even include Bosecker, who has been great in the AlpHL, all things considered.

Speaking of the AlpsHL, I wonder what the reason is for Sumpf's absence? Thought he'd be a lock (like Bosecker, for that matter). Hope it's not an injury.

At the moment, I see Tropmann and Brandl as options for the WJC, so a strong showing in Füssen could push them in that direction.

I like the blueline here, too. Although, it lacks a bit in depth. Bosecker would help with that, but for some reason he's not there.
Obviously I like Tropmann and I am still high on Mayer. Beyond them Niehus and Panocha are my favorites, but after that it gets pretty thin. Personally I like Vladelchtchikov (even if I don't enjoy writing/spelling his name), but he has his limitations. I am not too high on anyone else on the backend.
If there is video I would love to see the Düsseldorf connection Kukuk and Seidel, because they are the ones I have seen the least of.

Since there are still two weeks to go, there could still be changes. Maybe Bosecker and/or Sumpf will be added before the tournament.
Lemke and Vinzens could also be candidates.

Curious about the goalies. I have not watched any of them, yet. Hümer I had at least heard about, but Ankirchner and Scherer are completely new to me.

The forward group is neither here nor there. They looked a lot better a year or two ago. A cautionary tale for me, since I am very esxcited about the 06s and especially the 07s.
A number of these kids have not developed nearly as well as I had hoped. Brandl and Bicker are the only ones who've met and even slightly exceeded my expectations.
Glad to see Schwarz get a chance at this level and intrigued about a couple of guys like Hildebrand and Münzenberger, that I have not really watched yet, or in a long time.

 

[Maverick41]

As lacking as that blueline is, much of the line-up is not a surprise.

Quapp and Hübner are injured. Bettahar, Hauf, and Hänelt are in North America.

Still, the following players are a bit of a surprise to me in light of the seasons they're having:
Freis, Wäser, Feist, van Calster, and Cimmerman, even if they aren't a surprise in the grand scheme of things.

On the blueline, I'm disappointed that Kauhanen isn't there and had hoped Hafenrichter would have made himself into a topic for this team by now, whatever it is that's been holding him back since heading over to North America.

Don't mind seeing Babulis there, but he seems to be there based solely on what he did in Berlin last season, where he didn't play a whole lot. He simply does not have the experience this year to be much of a help, but we all know that Quapp is on this team if/when healthy.

As for Krymskiy, he started hot with 6 points in 6 games, but has gone scoreless in six games since. Looks like he had one of those bright little moments for a coach who has since departed.

HIGHLIGHT:
Glad to see Bader there to play with the Heigl brothers.

I agree with pretty much everything. The players you listed as having weaker season, really showcase how thin this group is. Some of these guys may be there because they still have the potential and have shown well for the team in the past, like Cimmerman. But for the most part they are there because there are just no real alternatives.

Babulis is probably nothing more than a warm body. I recently looked at the 03 goalies, and I have not seen so few options in any given year, sicne I started following junior hockey in Germany. Honestly there are one or two female goalies I would consider before many of the male ones.
Luca Ganz would have probably been picked instead of Babulis if he wasn't playing in North America.

Bader was a surprise for me in a good way, I hope he does well.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Nice to see us playing some underage player in tournaments the past few months - I've always thought this is a good idea for smaller hockey nations such as Germany. Give your high-end underage a taste of playing against the best of other nations - sink or swim it's a good learning opportunity.

 

[Maverick41]

Nice to see us playing some underage player in tournaments the past few months - I've always thought this is a good idea for smaller hockey nations such as Germany. Give your high-end underage a taste of playing against the best of other nations - sink or swim it's a good learning opportunity.

Yes, I like this a lot. In the past you almost never saw that, unless kids were so good that they forced the hand of the coaches. Seider was one example. But even Stützle and the 02s did not always play a year or two up. I hope this continues and they keep giving the top player(s) of each year a shot to play older competition in these tournaments, unless of course it is obvious that they are not up to the challenge because it is a weak year.

But usually there is at least one who can do it, because there is usually at least one underager on the WJC rosters (U20 and U18). So, if they can play as an underager in those tournaments they should be able to do it in these smaller ones.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Nice to see us playing some underage player in tournaments the past few months - I've always thought this is a good idea for smaller hockey nations such as Germany. Give your high-end underage a taste of playing against the best of other nations - sink or swim it's a good learning opportunity.

At the moment, I'm hoping some "underagers" will be part of the WJC equation.

For the line-ups above, it's all about the 19-year-old (U20), 17-18-year-olds (U18), and 16-17-year-olds (U17). Those are the groups being tested respectively.

In general, I have not felt Germany was particularly good at the U20 and U18 level of including underagers. It's like they feel it's more important to give the guys in their age grou "this experience" rather than acknowledge that some of the guys they're bringing along aren't really capable of this level and it'd be better to introduce the younger guys to this level of competition already, considering they'd be bringing in the same results anyways.

That was, for example, the case at last spring's U18 in Germany. Other than politics and agent-related problems, there was really no reason for that 4th line and several of those Dmen to be there as opposed to some of the underagers like Sumpf, Vinzenz, and Mayer. The results were miserable anyways and at least these kids could have gained and taken GREAT experience into this year's tourney in Switzerland. That would have been terrific.

But no, they won't have that experience next spring, instead jumping in against the Bedard's of the world having never faced such competition.

There are always other concerns, I know.

But from the outside looking in, the DEB doesn't emphasize enough the benefits of playing its best youngsters a year in advance. Just MHO.

So, when it comes to this winter's WJC, I don't see the Tropmanns and Mayers of the world on D or the Sumpfs, Brandls, and Bickers of the world up front.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Yes, I like this a lot. In the past you almost never saw that, unless kids were so good that they forced the hand of the coaches. Seider was one example. But even Stützle and the 02s did not always play a year or two up. I hope this continues and they keep giving the top player(s) of each year a shot to play older competition in these tournaments, unless of course it is obvious that they are not up to the challenge because it is a weak year.

But usually there is at least one who can do it, because there is usually at least one underager on the WJC rosters (U20 and U18). So, if they can play as an underager in those tournaments they should be able to do it in these smaller ones.

And yet the USAs and Canadas of the world not only regularly find and include 3-5 underagers for the U20s and U18s, but often have some special double underager in there as well.

I'm going to watch this closely this winter at the WJC. In the summer edition, we saw that Luca Hauf was on the team, but barely played. I can't see that being any different this winter.

For the U18 Worlds next spring, I'd like to see a Hense or Händel on the blueline and you might as well take the Griva-Lewandowski-Griva line, depending on where they're at by the end of the season.

That said, and as much as the U20 team seems to be lacking, this year's group of candidates for the U18 in Switzerland looks stronger than in most years, at least in the depth. But it really requires the Tropmanns, Mayers, Nieus', Vladelchtchikovs, and particulary Boseckers of the world to be as good as advertised.

I'm assuming that Döge, Pertuch, and Willerscheid are going to be part of the goaltending equation next spring. All three are missing from these fall camps.

 

[pgfan66]

As lacking as that blueline is, much of the line-up is not a surprise.

Quapp and Hübner are injured. Bettahar, Hauf, and Hänelt are in North America.

Still, the following players are a bit of a surprise to me in light of the seasons they're having:
Freis, Wäser, Feist, van Calster, and Cimmerman, even if they aren't a surprise in the grand scheme of things.

On the blueline, I'm disappointed that Kauhanen isn't there and had hoped Hafenrichter would have made himself into a topic for this team by now, whatever it is that's been holding him back since heading over to North America.

Don't mind seeing Babulis there, but he seems to be there based solely on what he did in Berlin last season, where he didn't play a whole lot. He simply does not have the experience this year to be much of a help, but we all know that Quapp is on this team if/when healthy.

As for Krymskiy, he started hot with 6 points in 6 games, but has gone scoreless in six games since. Looks like he had one of those bright little moments for a coach who has since departed.

HIGHLIGHT:
Glad to see Bader there to play with the Heigl brothers.

Re. Hafenrichter, I honestly don’t understand how he ever ended up being one of the guys people expected to be a high-end player. He was drafted to the OHL after missing the Covid year and very clearly wasn’t ready for it. He wasn’t outstanding in the grand scheme of things before that either. The 04s were never a strong D group and Hafenrichter was never near the top of that mediocre group. Yet we keep talking about him as some sort of high-end talent who mysteriously hasn’t been developing.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Re. Hafenrichter, I honestly don’t understand how he ever ended up being one of the guys people expected to be a high-end player. He was drafted to the OHL after missing the Covid year and very clearly wasn’t ready for it. He wasn’t outstanding in the grand scheme of things before that either. The 04s were never a strong D group and Hafenrichter was never near the top of that mediocre group. Yet we keep talking about him as some sort of high-end talent who mysteriously hasn’t been developing.

Seider made us believe every year there had to be at least one big, defensive guy, that may surprise with an offensive game that can carry that age group.

01’s Seider
02’s Glotzl
’03’s Klein
’04’s Hafenrichter
’05’s Mayer
’06’s Merkl
’07’s Handel

We need someone to mutually cheer for hoping the next Seider is in the development system.

 

[Maverick41]

Re. Hafenrichter, I honestly don’t understand how he ever ended up being one of the guys people expected to be a high-end player. He was drafted to the OHL after missing the Covid year and very clearly wasn’t ready for it. He wasn’t outstanding in the grand scheme of things before that either. The 04s were never a strong D group and Hafenrichter was never near the top of that mediocre group. Yet we keep talking about him as some sort of high-end talent who mysteriously hasn’t been developing.

Seider made us believe every year there had to be at least one big, defensive guy, that may surprise with an offensive game that can carry that age group.

01’s Seider
02’s Glotzl
’03’s Klein
’04’s Hafenrichter
’05’s Mayer
’06’s Merkl
’07’s Handel

We need someone to mutually cheer for hoping the next Seider is in the development system.

Yeah, none of these guys from Glötzl on, is the next Seider. I am pretty sure none of them will get as close to Seider as Stützle might get to Draisaitl.

I like how Glötzl has developed the last couple of years. His play in the DEL has gotten quite good and he should be a very good defenseman in that league for a long time.

Klein was never really all that hyped. He played pro at 16 because he was physically mostly ready, and because he was playing for a smaller club.
Solid young player on a decent trajectory.

As for Hafenrichter, I did like him quite a bit, when I saw im play in the final of the U15 national championship tournament. He stood out in a good way, second only to Kechter. Unfortunately it turned out that it was probably helped by some weak competition.
I still think he can become a decent pro player, but if he makes it even to the DEL consistently, I don't know.

Mayer has a great toolset, but at this point Tropmann is the top guy from the '05s and should get more hype. But neither will ever sniff Seider's level.

I like Merkl, and the '06 group in general. Hense, Pape, Merkl and even Schams all look like solid prospects with some decent upside, but nothing remotely close to Seider.

Händel, at this point, is the one I am most excited about. He does stand out a bit among another group with several talented kids, who are worth keeping an eye on.

But yes, we are always looking and hoping for the next Seider.
And while we're at it let's get the hype for the '08s started. I'll nominate Sadio Kühner (2027 draft eligible).
I am mostly joking, but I liked the one game I saw, and his size will definitely not hold him back, unless he gets too big. 6 feet tall at 14 should project well in that department.

I would be perfectly happy if we find an Ehrhoff, a Seidenberg or even a couple of Gawanke's over the next few years.
But it's fun to hope, to speculate and to dream.

 

[Maverick41]

U20 - Roster:

Pos.	Nachname	Vorname	Geb.-Dat.	Verein 2022/23
GK	Bittner	Matthias	13.02.2004	Krefelder EV
GK	Wolf	Simon	23.07.2004	Red Bull Hockey Juniors
GK	Babulis	Rihards	19.03.2003	EC Bad Nauheim
DF	Bidoul	Philipp	22.05.2003	ESV Kaufbeuren
DF	Elten	Nils	12.06.2003	Iserlohn Roosters/Herner EV
DF	Zernikel	Kai	24.10.2003	Schwenninger Wild Wings/EHC Freiburg
DF	Wäser	Julian	27.01.2003	Lausitzer Füchse/Crocodiles Hamburg
DF	Klein	Adrian	19.09.2003	Straubing Tiger/EV Landshut
DF	van der Linde	Leon	13.03.2003	Red Bull München/ESV Kaufbeuren
DF	Freis	Markus	06.07.2003	Löwen Frankfurt/Krefeld EV 81
DF	Rausch	Maxim	19.02.2003	Eispiraten Crimmitschau
FW	Krymskiy	Nikita	23.05.2004	Krefeld Pinguine
FW	van Calster	Robin	18.03.2003	Kölner Haie/EC Bad Nauheim
FW	Roßmy	Bennet	01.08.2003	Eisbären Berlin/Lausitzer Füchse
FW	Proske	Yannick	10.06.2003	Iserlohn Roosters
FW	Oswald	Veit	31.08.2004	EHC Red Bull München/SC Riessersee
FW	Krening	Philipp	25.04.2004	EHC Red Bull München/RB Hockey Juniors
FW	Cimmerman	Sebastian	14.02.2003	EHC Red Bull München/SC Riessersee
FW	Bader	Quirin	01.05.2003	Red Bull Hockey Juniors
FW	Kechter	Roman	16.02.2004	Nürnberg Ice Tigers
FW	Hördler	Eric	10.08.2004	Eisbären Berlin/Lausitzer Füchse
FW	Handschuh	Kevin	08.02.2003	Eisbären Berlin/Eisbären Juniors Berlin
FW	Heigl	Nikolaus	20.01.2003	Red Bull Hockey Juniors
FW	Niedenz	Kevin	02.04.2003	Kölner Haie/EC Bad Nauheim
FW	Feist	Philip	04.08.2003	Schwenninger Wild Wings/EHC Freiburg

The U20 roster has recently been updated Julian Lutz and Thomas Heigl have been replaced by Kevin Handschuh and Kevin Niedenz. Lutz is injured and I assume Heigl is too. (Oct 28th)

EDIT: Matthias Bittner has replaced Philip Dietl (Nov 9th)

U18 - Roster:

Pos.	Nachname	Vorname	Geb.-Dat.	Verein 2022/23
GK	Hümer	Leon	18.03.2005	Düsseldorfer EG
GK	Scherer	Sebastian	22.09.2005	ESC Dresden
GK	Ankirchner	Valentin	10.08.2005	Red Bull Hockey Akademie
DF	Tropmann	Edwin	05.10.2005	Kölner EC
DF	Vladelchtchikov	Alexander	18.01.2005	Kölner EC
DF	Kukuk	Moritz	27.05.2005	Düsseldorfer EG
DF	Niehus	Lua	26.03.2005	Jungadler Mannheim
DF	Kölsch	Tjark	10.02.2005	Jungadler Mannheim
DF	Seidel	Philipp	06.01.2005	Düsseldorfer EG
DF	Panocha	Norwin	24.02.2005	Eisbären Juniors Berlin
DF	Mayer	Paul	25.09.2005	Jungadler Mannheim
DF	Peukert	Jakob	27.11.2005	ESV Kaufbeuren
FW	Münzenberger	Marco	02.09.2005	Kölner EC
FW	Bicker	Kevin	29.01.2005	Jungadler Mannheim
FW	Khaydarov	Artjom	06.10.2005	Jungadler Mannheim
FW	Fischer	Jonas	05.01.2005	ESV Kaufbeuren
FW	Seidl	Simon	06.03.2005	EV Landshut
FW	Jakovlev	Raphael	21.12.2005	EV Landshut
FW	Renner	Florian	26.05.2005	Jungadler Mannheim
FW	Kopietz	Lukas Benedikt	18.06.2005	Kölner EC
FW	Rieke	Robin	03.05.2005	South Kent School
FW	Ruckdäschel	Timo	01.04.2005	Red Bull Hockey Akademie
FW	Greil	Niklas	15.03.2005	EC Peiting
FW	Schreiner	Vadim	25.08.2005	Red Bull Hockey Akademie
FW	Schwarz	Tobias	05.04.2006	EV Landshut

Simon Seidel has been added to the U18 roster. (Oct 28th)
EDIT: Another change on the roster: Nikita Tschwanow replaced Noah Samanski (Nov 4th)
EDIT2: Two more changes Artjom Khaydarov replaces Linus Brandl and Niklas Greil is in for Maurice Hildebrand (Nov 7th)

 

[Maverick41]

On the U17 roster Nick Maul has replaced Simon Seidl.

Pos.	Nachname	Vorname	Geb.-Dat.	Verein 2022/23
GK	Elagin	Michail	08.01.2006	Jungadler Mannheim
GK	Kurrer	Johannes	07.06.2006	EV Landshut
GK	Vieillard	Linus	15.02.2006	Eisbären Juniors Berlin
DF	Henße	Max	01.03.2006	Krefelder EV 81
DF	Händel	Carlos	31.03.2007	Jungadler Mannheim
DF	Hahn	Noah	04.10.2006	Iserlohner EC
DF	Ficenec	Jacob	20.02.2006	Jungadler Mannheim
DF	Schams	Manuel	26.01.2006	Jungadler Mannheim
DF	Bleicher	Max	14.02.2007	EV Füssen
DF	Pape	Matthias	06.05.2006	Krefelder EV 81
DF	Merkl	Maximilian	27.06.2006	EHC 80 Nürnberg
FW	Oswald	Maximilian	31.03.2006	EV Landshut
FW	Maul	Nick	09.04.2006	Red Bull Hockey Akademie
FW	Lewandowski	David	20.02.2007	Düsseldorfer EG
FW	Späth Mariscal	Mateu	20.02.2007	EC Bad Tölz
FW	Redinger	Konstantin	16.11.2006	Krefelder EV 81
FW	Pul	Elias	15.05.2006	Red Bull Hockey Akademie
FW	Bußmann	Leon	24.03.2006	Iserlohner EC
FW	Brunner	Maximilian	12.01.2006	EV Landshut
FW	Herzog	Max	27.04.2006	Jungadler Mannheim
FW	Biggins	Nikolas	02.06.2006	Jungadler Mannheim
FW	Kerbel	Felix	08.05.2006	Red Bull Hockey Akademie
FW	Hofverberg	Eden	07.02.2006	ETC Crimmitschau
FW	Griva	Rihards	08.06.2007	Jungadler Mannheim
FW	Griva	Gustavs	08.06.2007	Jungadler Mannheim

EDIT: Konstantin Redinger has replaced Clemens Sager (Nov 4th)

 

[Maverick41]

A couple of more interesting changes to the U18 roster (I updated the post above).
Linus Brandl is no longer on the roster. I can only assume he is injured or ill,. Maurice Hildebrand has also been dropped from the roster.
Their spots have been taken by Artjom Khaydarov and Niklas Greil.

Greil is an interesting case for me, and I hope I get to see him play. He has been tearing up the leagues he has been playing in these last couple of seasons. Last year he had 167 points in 26 games at the U17 level and 21 points in 15 games at the U20 level along with 10 games in the Oberliga.
This year he is standing at 51 points in 17 games for the U20 team,
But all this is playing at a lower level than almost all the other players selected for these teams. Crazy point totals are not exactly uncommon in those leagues, however his are better than most, so it would be interesting to see if there is some more than just Oberliga potential in this kid.

 

[Maverick41]

I almost forgot the U18 won an exhibition game vs. Denmark 4-2 yesterday.

Boxscore:

Spielbericht | DEB LIVE

Spielverlauf Spielbericht Shotmap

deb-online.live

Period	Time	Score	GS	Team	G	A1	A2
1	13:04	0-1	EQ	DEN	Lee Juhl Petersen T. (21)	Skovning S. (15)	Olsson D. (9)
1	13:53	1-1	EQ	GER	SCHWARZ T. (15)
2	39:09	2-1	EQ	GER	NIEHUS L. (18)	KOPIETZ L. (19)
3	48:46	3-1	EQ	GER	KUKUK M. (4)	Schreiner V. (13)	SEIDEL P. (9)
3	57:27	3-2	EQ	DEN	Ebener T. (13)	Kløve Mogensen M. (12)
3	59:14	4-2	EQ	GER	KUKUK M. (4)

 

[Maverick41]

Here is the schedule for all the games these upcoming days:

Date	Time (CET)	Team 1	vs.	Team 2	Result
10. Nov	13:30	Germany U17	vs.	France U17/U18	2-5
10. Nov	17:00	Denmark U18	vs.	Germany U18	0-1
11. Nov	15:30	Germany U20	vs.	Norway U20	1-2
11. Nov	17:00	Slovakia U17	vs.	Germany U17	9-0
12. Nov	11:00	Germany U18	vs.	Slovakia U18	5-3
12. Nov	11:30	Germany U17	vs.	Switzerland U17	1-6
12. Nov	15:30	Germany U20	vs.	Slovakia U20	3-2
13. Nov	15:00	Switzerland U20	vs.	Germany U20	1-0

Unfortunately the stream of the Germany/France game was pretty much unwatchable, due to constant buffering. And whenever it buffered in resumed for a moment where it had left off and then skipped ahead to catch up with the live stream.
And even the replay, which is available on youtube, is a disaster. Most of the first period is missing, and those "time jumps" from the live stream are also in the replay, among other things completely skipping the second goal of the German team.
Hopefully the stream today will run more smoothly.

I also missed the game of the U18 team and for some reason the replay of the live stream is not available, at least not at the moment.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Relegation is back for the U20‘s this year.

Germany is in a division with Canada, Sweden, Czechia and Austria.

Austria will have one of the better teams they’ve ever sent to the top division U20’s and might even outclass us.

There is a real chance at not only playing for relegation, but being relegated all together.

 

[Maverick41]

Relegation is back for the U20‘s this year.

Germany is in a division with Canada, Sweden, Czechia and Austria.

Austria will have one of the better teams they’ve ever sent to the top division U20’s and might even outclass us.

There is a real chance at not only playing for relegation, but being relegated all together.

Relegation is definitely a possibility and I think it might actually be more likely than not. If any one of our important players misses the tournament it would be devastating. Though I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the team in the tournament in Switzerland last week.
I thought they would suck a lot more than they did, especially after the bad performance in the first game against Norway. But after that they did much better than I thought they would against Slovakia and Switzerland.

Still, this team is not going to have a strong roster. We can only hope Austria or some other team "outsucks" us or they can overcome their lack of talent with effort, teamwork and an ungodly amount of luck.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Relegation is definitely a possibility and I think it might actually be more likely than not. If any one of our important players misses the tournament it would be devastating. Though I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the team in the tournament in Switzerland last week.
I thought they would suck a lot more than they did, especially after the bad performance in the first game against Norway. But after that they did much better than I thought they would against Slovakia and Switzerland.

Still, this team is not going to have a strong roster. We can only hope Austria or some other team "outsucks" us or they can overcome their lack of talent with effort, teamwork and an ungodly amount of luck.

Well, Austria will be without Marco Kasper. That is HUGE in the war against relegation.

They still have Rohrer as well as top prospects Reinbacher and Scherzer.

As for what's coming from Germany, I think a few key questions are open:
- Is Bettahar going to be part of this team after just moving over to the Eisbären?
- Is Lutz actually part of Abstreiter's plans?
- Is Hänelt ready to join Rossmy as a key go-to guy in the offense?
- Is Rossmy going to be a center considering that's where he's been playing with the Eisbären?
- Most importantly, with Quapp having missed most of the season, is he going into this tourney as a back-up?

I'd say it's looking a lot like the Heigls, Proske, Oswald, Krening, and Kechter are candidates for top 6 ice time while this blueline has, in my eyes, no-one ready to fill the shoes of Szuber, Glötzl. and Münzenberg.

But in essence, Germany simply has to find a way to get past Austria.

 

[Fabianski]

Well, Austria will be without Marco Kasper. That is HUGE in the war against relegation.

They still have Rohrer as well as top prospects Reinbacher and Scherzer.

As for what's coming from Germany, I think a few key questions are open:
- Is Bettahar going to be part of this team after just moving over to the Eisbären?
- Is Lutz actually part of Abstreiter's plans?
- Is Hänelt ready to join Rossmy as a key go-to guy in the offense?
- Is Rossmy going to be a center considering that's where he's been playing with the Eisbären?
- Most importantly, with Quapp having missed most of the season, is he going into this tourney as a back-up?

I'd say it's looking a lot like the Heigls, Proske, Oswald, Krening, and Kechter are candidates for top 6 ice time while this blueline has, in my eyes, no-one ready to fill the shoes of Szuber, Glötzl. and Münzenberg.

But in essence, Germany simply has to find a way to get past Austria.

The DEB announced the U20-Squad: U20-Bundestrainer Tobias Abstreiter nominiert 26-köpfiges Aufgebot für WM-Vorbereitungsphase in Antigonish, Kanada | Deutscher Eishockey-Bund e.V.

I hoped that Tropmann & Mayer would join the Team, but it looks like that Abstreiter prefered the "older" guys who are playing limited roles in the DEL2 or Oberliga.

What do you guys think about the selection Abstreiter made?

 

[Maverick41]

The DEB announced the U20-Squad: U20-Bundestrainer Tobias Abstreiter nominiert 26-köpfiges Aufgebot für WM-Vorbereitungsphase in Antigonish, Kanada | Deutscher Eishockey-Bund e.V.

I hoped that Tropmann & Mayer would join the Team, but it looks like that Abstreiter prefered the "older" guys who are playing limited roles in the DEL2 or Oberliga.

What do you guys think about the selection Abstreiter made?

I am currently taking some time off from posting on hfboards (I still stop by to read some stuff from time to time), but I'll make a little exception for this.

I am really not surprised by anything regarding this roster, except maybe the goalie selection.
I did not expect Quapp to be back in time and would have expected Dietl over Babulis, but since either one of them would be the 3rd string goalie it doesn't really matter. I hope that Quapp is really ready and plays well, but if he is not, Abstreiter better hand the starting job to Wolf without hesitation.

On defense there are absolutely no surprises. Sure, a couple of names could be argued, but nobody who was left out would actually move the needle. Neither Tropmann nor Mayer have really done anything to force Abstreiter's hand. So, I would have loved to see at least one of them on the team, especially since this d-corps is so incredibly weak, but they would not have made it much better.

The forward situation is similar to the defense in the sense, that nobody was left off, who would make a big difference. However, unlike the defensive group the forwards are at least semi-decent, on paper.
Hänelt will have to step up big time, compared to his league play, same with Proske and Rossmy, who will certainly benefit from more ice time and bigger roles. If these guys and the Heigls, Hauf and Kechter can pull some of their weight, maybe Lutz can drag this team to a win against Austria.

Having zero expectations again, after a few years with decent teams, feels kind of weird, but also oddly relaxing.
They can really only exceed my expectations and I hope they do.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I am currently taking some time off from posting on hfboards (I still stop by to read some stuff from time to time), but I'll make a little exception for this.

I am really not surprised by anything regarding this roster, except maybe the goalie selection.
I did not expect Quapp to be back in time and would have expected Dietl over Babulis, but since either one of them would be the 3rd string goalie it doesn't really matter. I hope that Quapp is really ready and plays well, but if he is not, Abstreiter better hand the starting job to Wolf without hesitation.

On defense there are absolutely no surprises. Sure, a couple of names could be argued, but nobody who was left out would actually move the needle. Neither Tropmann nor Mayer have really done anything to force Abstreiter's hand. So, I would have loved to see at least one of them on the team, especially since this d-corps is so incredibly weak, but they would not have made it much better.

The forward situation is similar to the defense in the sense, that nobody was left off, who would make a big difference. However, unlike the defensive group the forwards are at least semi-decent, on paper.
Hänelt will have to step up big time, compared to his league play, same with Proske and Rossmy, who will certainly benefit from more ice time and bigger roles. If these guys and the Heigls, Hauf and Kechter can pull some of their weight, maybe Lutz can drag this team to a win against Austria.

Having zero expectations again, after a few years with decent teams, feels kind of weird, but also oddly relaxing.
They can really only exceed my expectations and I hope they do.

Agree with this as usual, with one minor exception.

I do have the expectation that this team - especially in a phase where Russia and Belarus aren't part of the fray - retains the class. That should be an expected given.

But there's absolutely no reason to feel like this team is safe at this level right now.

Thus, there's actually more pressure now than in prior years.

This team has to be concentrating solely on retaining the class until it is achieved. Sure, it can be done with a win in Game 3 - over Austria. Then they should be fairly safe. But if that doesn't happen, things get REAL hard.

And that blueline isn't just missing flash 'n dash, it also doesn't have anyone of international class to man the PP. I would honestly not be surprised to see more than one, maybe two Dmen on the two PP units combined. I'm expecting four forwards on each unit, maybe even five.

But I don't see anyone in this group who can come close to assuming the kind of duties that Szuber, Münzenberger, and Glötzl assumed this past summer. That's a LOT of key minutes of hockey in all situations.

If the collective attack doesn't get its work done in Game 3, then Germany is in trouble.

Just imagine going into a relegation round against archrival Switzerland or a Latvian team that basically owns Germany...

 

[Poda]

U20 Team beat Slovakia 5-0 couple of days ago. Anyone seen some of that?

 

[Maverick41]

U20 Team beat Slovakia 5-0 couple of days ago. Anyone seen some of that?

Could not find any stream for that game or for the 3-4 OTL to Austria in the second exhibition game.
Only the short recaps on the DEB website.

Wolf started vs. Slovakia and Babulis vs. Austria.
So I'll assume they will give Quapp the start against Latvia.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Germany was down 3-1 late in the third against Austria, came back in the final 3 minutes to bring it to overtime where they ended up losing.

The score against Austria is closer to what to expect from this German team than the score against Slovakia - Slovaks looked sloppy and their goalie let in some soft ones, Germany made the most of their opportunities and Wolf played well.

 

[Poda]

I am not much of an expert to be honest but I have noticed in the past few years that the German team has gained some resilience and grittines along with steps in general quality. I trust all of your quality assessment skills but honestly still think they will generally do better than predicted in here. That said, Austria might still be the only winnable game as the group is quite stacked...

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I am not much of an expert to be honest but I have noticed in the past few years that the German team has gained some resilience and grittines along with steps in general quality. I trust all of your quality assessment skills but honestly still think they will generally do better than predicted in here. That said, Austria might still be the only winnable game as the group is quite stacked...

Agreed.

One of the big movements within the federation right from the men's team on down is to be less about underdog defending and more about puck control and controlled attacks.

For anyone who has viewed the national teams throughout this short century, the program has clearly taken visible steps in making that movement a reality.

And it's seen at the U20 level as well.

These guys want to skate with the opposition, even if they can't always, well, skate with the competition. It has given them an overall leg up on comparable competition.