Moritz Elias – McKeen's Hockey

2024 WORLD JUNIORS CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALS – January 4th, 2024 – Game Recaps + Three Stars

Ethan Hetu — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 22:36:53 +0000

Theo Lindstein of Sweden during the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship semi final between Sweden and Czech Republic on January 4, 2024 in Gothenburg.
Photo: Jesper Zerman / BILDBYRÅN

Germany 5, Norway 4 (OT)

This year’s relegation battle was a compelling one, with both teams fighting to the last breath in order to punch their ticket to Ottawa for next year’s tournament. The stakes of the game were apparent from the early first period, which was a more conservative affair as neither team wanted to make the kind of tone-setting mistake that would doom them to relegation. The Germans finally broke the ice halfway through with a Kevin Bicker goal on the rush. In what would prove to be a theme of the game: just as it felt the Germans might take control of the contest with a goal, the Norwegians fought right back and proved they wouldn’t be an easy out.

That script repeated itself in the following two periods. In the second, the Germans gained the upper hand with a tie-breaking tally, but the Norwegians leveled the game before the period ended. In the third, the Germans looked to have finally separated after a brutal turnover from Stian Stolberg gave them a two-goal lead, but the Norwegians were determined not to go quietly into the night. A final push from Norway culminated in a tying goal from Mats Bakke Olsen. Had the Germans lost their composure in the process, they very well could have been the relegated team. But ultimately in overtime, an impressive shift from Moritz Elias guided the Germans not only to victory in this game but to entry into the 2025 WJC.

Sweden 5, Czechia 2

A second consecutive upset was not to be for the Czechs, who ultimately saw themselves doomed by the same player who had played so brilliantly against Canada: netminder Michael Hrabal. Hrabal’s high glove side was identified by the Swedes to be an area of weakness for the team to target, and they did exactly that in the first two periods. The Czechs got out to an early lead, but their momentum was stifled when a point shot ricocheted off Hrabal’s glove into the back of the net. Hrabal had an impressive sequence after that to keep the game tied, but the Swedes had nonetheless found what they believed to be Hrabal’s Achilles’ Heel.

They once again targeted that on an early power play in the second period, and a lofted shot from the point from Axel Sandin-Pellikka sailed past Hrabal’s glove. The Czechs punched back on their own powerplay a little bit later in the period, but the game became more and more dominated in terms of possession by the Swedes. With a raucous crowd behind them, Sweden would have multiple extended stays in the Czech offensive zone, and Hrabal was under siege for much of the later stages of the period. One of the most lethal shooters in the entire tournament, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, broke the tie with a rocket of a power play goal, and later Theo Lindstein’s deft stretch pass broke Noah Ostlund out for a breakaway goal to give the Swedes much-needed breathing room. Czechia were firmly on their back foot from that point, and they became swarmed in their defensive zone by Swedish pressure. Lekkerimaki fired another one-timer into the back of the net just over a minute after Ostlund’s goal and lifted the roof off of the Scandinavium. With a dominant performance in the second half of the game, the Swedes had inarguably earned the right to play for gold.

United States 3, Finland 2

The United States has not lost in this year’s World Juniors, but in the early part of this semifinal, they looked as vulnerable as they’ve ever been. The relentlessness and physicality of the Finns proved to be a struggle for the undersized American defense. The Finns seized on early mistakes from both defensemen such as Sam Rinzel and goaltender Trey Augustine to take a quick 2-0 lead into the first intermission. But after that period, Augustine settled into the game and the Americans found a way to return to the style of play that had made them so successful. They utilized their aggressive, activating defensemen such as Lane Hutson, Seamus Casey, and Zeev Buium to place an immense amount of pressure on the Finn, and quickly into the second period the ice began to tilt strongly in their favor. An absolute howitzer from Jimmy Snuggerud getting the Americans on the board almost felt like an inevitability after how the Team USA spent the first 10 minutes of the second period. A dominant shift from Will Smith and his line got the Americans the tying goal they needed, and from that point, it was a brand-new game. Augustine had answers for every Finnish chance, and when the whistles tightened up in the third and each team got onto a late-game power play, it was the United States’ high-end offensive talent that carried them. A wicked shot from tournament scoring leader Cutter Gauthier gave Team USA the lead with just three minutes to go, and the Americans withstood a final push from Finland to earn the right to play the Swedes for the gold medal.

Three Stars of the Day

#1 Theo Lindstein

Theo Lindstein has been exceptional in this tournament alongside Tom Willander, with their pairing capable of dictating the flow of the game whenever they step onto the ice. Lindstein was a force on both ends of the ice against the Czechs, and his stretch pass to turn a Czech turnover into a game-changing breakaway goal for Noah Ostlund stood out as a particular highlight. Not only did he set the tone for the game by scoring the first goal for Sweden, a goal that clearly identified Hrabal’s high glove side as an area for the Swedes to successfully target, but he also logged the most minutes of any Swedish blueliner today. Now leading the tournament in scoring by a defenseman, Lindstein put an exclamation mark on what has been an extremely strong WJC right on his home turf. He’ll need to be at his best once again for the Swedes to stand the best possible chance of winning tomorrow against an offensively gifted Team USA.

#2 Jonathan Lekkerimaki

When the Swedes needed a big goal today, Lekkerimaki delivered. The electric sniper gave Sweden its first lead of the day with a power play one-timer, and the goal was of particular importance in the contest. Not only did it give Sweden a crucial lead and help end the blow-for-blow even duel the team had been fighting to that point, the way it was scored was also useful in terms of momentum. To that point in the game, Sweden’s goals had come from mistakes made by Hrabal. For some, it may have seemed that the Swedes simply wouldn’t have produced anything offensively had the Czechs not been subject to a few costly errors made in the crease. In other words, one could reasonably credit the first two Swedish goals as flukes, mistakes made by Hrabal that were unlikely to be repeated. But Lekkerimaki’s goal was no fluke: it proved that Sweden had what it took to beat the Czechs with their talent, rather than just luck and taking advantage of mistakes. From that point on, Lekkerimaki’s team had the game by the reins. His dagger of a goal later in the third all but ended any chance the Czechs might mount a comeback, cementing today as one of the best in Lekkerimaki’s young career.

#3 Will Smith

The Americans’ comeback victory over Finland was definitely a collective effort, one where Team USA’s high-end talent ultimately proved to be too much to handle. But although Cutter Gauthier had the most memorable moment with his game-winning goal, his moment was built off of two strong periods of work from Smith. Smith played a role in both of the Americans’ goals that got the game tied. He helped draw the Finns’ attention to his side of the ice on an early second-period power play, helping pave the way for a momentum-shifting Jimmy Snuggerud one-timer. His growing two-way chops as well as his chemistry with his Boston College linemates shined through on the team’s second goal. He knew exactly where to move and how to move to be in the perfect position for a Gabe Perreault set-up pass, and he made it so that once Perreault identified the right passing option, the tying goal had effectively already been scored. The Americans might be in the gold medal game because of a goal from someone else, but they very well may not have even been in a position to tie the game without a strong game from Smith.

MCKEENS 2024 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP GUIDE – Team Germany plus an interview with Norwin Panocha

Chapin Landvogt — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 14:38:30 +0000

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA - DECEMBER 28: Germany's Roman Kechter #24 celebrates at the bench with teammates after scoring a first period goal against Canada during Preliminary Round - Group A action at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship at Scotiabank Centre on December 28, 2022 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/IIHF)

Suddenly a regular in the quarterfinals after 3 straight appearances, Team Germany entered last year’s event as the biggest underdog on paper save for Team Austria. Long gone were the entries with names such as Tim Stützle and JJ Peterka, or even Maks Szuber and Benett Rossmy, and the staff was well aware of the uphill battle at hand as they made their way to Maritimes. With relegation once again part of the whole kit and caboodle, both Austria and Germany entered tourney action with December 30th encompassed by big red circles in their calendars. As preliminary round opponents, each knew to reckon with the victor of that game most likely avoiding relegation round play. Fortunately for Team Germany, despite spending the third period doing everything it could to grab defeat from the jaws of victory, a 4-2 triumph meant that the class had been maintained. The ensuing 8-1 loss to Czechia and 11-1 thrashing in the quarterfinal match-up against the US meant little in deterring from the achievement of earning a return ticket.

Germany is now entering this year’s event with some good vibes after strong summer showings and a recent 3-game bout against a group of selects from Finland, losing each contest by just one goal, with one game having gone to overtime. Granted, key returnees Rayan Bettahar (broken jaw) and Phillip Krening (having missed the entire season due to an undisclosed injury) aren’t going to be part of the fray, but Coach Abstreiter will be able to welcome four North American legionnaires to the line-up, with Arizona’s 2022 2nd rounder Julian Lutz being the most prominent of them. In addition, a line featuring former OHLer Moritz Elias, captain Roman Kechter, and current Detroit Red Wings 5th rounder Kevin Bicker went bonkers against Finland in the aforementioned test games, each accumulating between 6-8 points. All three are taking regular shifts in the DEL and will be joined up front in that capacity by Veit Oswald and Eric Hördler, with Oswald currently the DEL’s shooting “youngstar”. In fact, of the roster nominees playing in Germany, all of the forwards are gaining experience at the pro level this season.

Which brings us to the blueline, where we regret to inform you that there are no Mortiz Seiders to wonder at. In fact, the only returnee from last winter’s squad looks to be Philipp Sinn, a Red Bull Juniors regular who made highlight reels last winter with mindboggling defensive miscues. Spearheading the defensive efforts should be Buffalo Sabres 7th rounder Norwin Panocha and DEL youngster Lua Niehus, both of whom were go-to players for the U18 squad, which - we must mention - was unceremoniously relegated last spring. The scouting community would love to see 2024 prospect Paul Mayer, who has gained plenty of DEL experience this season (despite minimal minutes), in action, but he’s not even a lock to be in the top 6. Jakob Weber has been a DEL surprise this year, suiting up 20 times for reigning champ Red Bull Munich, while 6’2” Niklas Hübner brings not only DEL and DEL2 experience, but also spent 23 games in Finland’s top U20 circuit last season. Don’t be surprised to see Michael Reich or Samuel Schindler in the equation as the two program faves have been playing pro hockey all season, with the latter actually making a good bit of music as an Oberliga producer from the blueline.

What is as clear now as with last winter’s squad, is that any German goaltender seeing ice time simply has to reckon with more shots against than his peer on the other side of the ice. Probably far more. Had you asked us this time last year, we’d have said 6’3” Simon Wolf was the given #1 goaltender and he still should be, but his outings for Germany’s U20 squad simply haven’t been impressive this year. Phillip Dietl has been a bright light in Germany’s junior scene but is coming in with precious little pro playing time to date this season. He’s even splitting goaltending duties on his junior team. Third stringer Matthias Bittner has also spent most of his time in goal this season at the junior level but does have a 2-2 record and decent stats in 5 DEL2 outings.

Long story short, none of these guys is a Nikita Quapp, but as with years past, the team likely needs just one preliminary round victory to avoid the relegation round. That win will most likely have to come against Team Latvia, because odds are that group opponents Canada, Finland, and hometown favorite Sweden are simply a number too big. Weighing heavy for Germany could be the fact that Latvia has not only done extremely well against German U20 and U18 outfits over the past decade but is also bringing perhaps its most solid U20 team ever to Gothenburg later this month. While contemplating how Germany fell to Norway at the U18 Worlds last spring, we can’t help but think that Germany may have no choice but to try and return the favor early this January in the relegation round. Or will the cross-program shellshock vis-a-vis the Norwegians be too much to overcome? Without wanting to paint the Norwegians as a lock for the relegation round, you might want to plan with Team Germany being a relegation round participant if the squad doesn’t have any surprises up its sleeve in the preliminary round.

10 to Watch plus a Sleeper

Julian Lutz F

As a 2022 2nd rounder of the Arizona Coyotes, Lutz comes in as Germany’s clearcut go-to player. Truth be told, he’s finally giving his NHL organization a reason to experience a collective sigh of relief. After all, last season was anything but promising and gave reason for concern as he once again dealt with undisclosed injury issues while only producing very modestly with little sustained ice time at the DEL level. His 2 assists in last year’s WJC did little to inspire confidence as well. Now he’s in North America playing for the Green Bay Gamblers and seems to have a new lease on life, already registering 23 points in 19 games. As nice as that is, it’s nothing off the charts for a 19-year-old in a league geared towards producing NCAA players. For sure, Lutz has the power, skating, and offensive wherewithal to be a cog if this German team is going to push its way into a quarterfinal spot. But for that to happen, we’re going to pretty much need to see the best version of Julian Lutz we’ve seen to date.

Roman Kechter C

When Kechter was 16, he jumped down from Swedish juniors to spend the bulk of the pandemic-impacted DEL season with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, looking like a terribly exciting prospect along the way. He hasn’t been able to build upon that since, despite renewed time with the Rögle organization, a U18 Worlds, and 3 points in 5 games at last winter’s WJC. Now 19, he’s entering this tournament as the team’s captain and he’s, well, red hot. With 15 points in 5 U20 test games this fall, his international play is only confirming his strong DEL showing, where he’s been a 3rd line catalyst for Nuremberg, collecting 5 goals and 12 points in 26 games. Put simply, Kechter is arriving as a serious pro player and he’s exactly what Team Germany needs in Sweden, where he’ll be lining up against a number of players he’s competed against in years past. There’s little talk about Kechter as an overage draftee option, but that could change real quick if he can spearhead an unexpectedly successful tourney for this underdog.

Luca Hauf C/LW

Similar in build and style to Kechter, Hauf is joining Team Germany all the way from Seattle, where he plays for the Thunderbirds of the WHL. It’s his second season in the WHL, having chipped in 21 points in 45 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings last year. He’s upped the ante a tick this season with 10 goals and 16 points in 25 games, but for this German squad, he’s going to need to play bigger. Already a heavy Oberliga contributor as a 16/17-year-old, Hauf has been looked to by the German program to assume a productive role up front, something he did well at the U18 Worlds (3 goals in 4 games) and not so well at this tournament last winter (only 1 assist). But there’s no time like the present for him to make more of his tools and simply be a hard player to defend against. His experience will surely be key, especially as a player who has often been lined up with Lutz in past international events. A first line role is there to be had.

Julius Sumpf C

Half Canadian, Sumpf comes in as Germany’s top overall playmaker and one of the few German players in recent years to have had such a successful transition to CHL hockey.

Currently 5th in scoring for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL with 28 points and +12 in 30 games, Sumpf has been pivoting one of the top two lines since preseason action. For Germany, he was one of the few noticeable players at last spring’s disappointing U18 Worlds, serving as the team’s topscorer with 2 goals and 4 points in 6 games. What he won’t have in Gothenburg are linemates he’s all that familiar with, although he’s a lock for the top 6 and likely scheduled to line up next to Julian Lutz and Luca Hauf as a trio of North American legionnaires. We’re inclined to think that a strong WJC followed by a big second half push with a solid Moncton team could see Sumpf hear his name taken in next summer’s draft. He’ll have to show his true colors a few times in Sweden for Germany to have any real shot at avoiding relegation.

Norwin Panocha D

Without a doubt, Panocha was the fastest rising talent in Germany last winter. Featuring skating mechanics that may remind a few of Phil Housley, Panocha’s combination of mobility, puckhandling, and strong on-ice awareness allowed him to be a dominant figure in Germany’s junior league while sticking out as one of few German defensemen of international class throughout the season. The Buffalo Sabres snagged him last summer at the top of the 7th round and within weeks, he was scheduled to head to Chicoutimi of the QMJHL, where he’s taken on a regular role and collected 11 assists in 30 games. Granted, only two of those points have come in the last 10 games as Panocha has settled into more of bottom-3 style defensemen after an eye-opening preseason camp with the Sabres and a strong offensive showing in Chicoutimi’s preseason games. At this tournament, Coach Abstreiter will surely have a top 4 role in store for Panocha, even if Abstreiter generally looks to lean on his older players with bigger minutes. Thinkable is that Panocha will man the point on one of the powerplay units, something precious few of his blueline colleagues have been doing this winter.

Kevin Bicker LW

We won’t blame you for being surprised to see Bicker’s name in last summer’s draft, much less as a 5th round pick of the Detroit Red Wings and the first of 3 German players selected. Some may even think that whatever sold the Red Wings on Bicker, they saw it at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where Bicker had his speed and strong offensive skills on display with 4 points in 4 games for a heavily undermanned German side. His 22-23 season wasn’t all that bad, but definitely marred by injury, and featured a single game of pro play outside the DNL, where he did clip at over a point per game. His drafting was followed by a surprising DEL contract with Frankfurt, with whom he’s managed to suit up 24 times this season, despite just a single goal. Internationally though, Bicker has always contributed and is currently on a 3-game international U20 heater, collecting 8 points along the way. He’s here to outskate the opposition and ideally, continue to gel with Kechter and Moritz Elias in an offensive capacity. Enjoy what you see because Bicker can really turn on the turbo when heading up ice.

Veit Oswald RW

Oswald is a bit of a curiosity because all he’s done to date is excel at every step of the way. During his draft year, he was the German DNL’s topscorer and followed that with a solid U18 Worlds performance (3 points in 4 games) in his native Landshut. The next season saw him get into 23 DEL games while looking very comfortable in a secondary scoring role in the nation’s 3rd pro circuit. Now still just 19, he’s been a regular for Red Bull Munich all season long, delighting fans with 5 goals and 7 points in 24 games. More importantly, he’s a joker who has shown himself to be full of intangibles, something that has led to the coaching staff feeling very comfortable about putting him on the ice in all situations. We can expect Coach Abstreiter to lean on this attribute as well with serious top 9 minutes at this tournament. Oswald remains undrafted but there’s little doubt that he’s in the notebooks of scouts throughout the NHL. Will this tourney push him into “surefire overager” territory?

Simon Wolf G

Wolf is a big man who covers a lot of net. He can look hauntingly stoic only to be surprisingly quick on his feet while smothering pucks. Unfortunately, there are times when that puck-smothering turns into rebound city. There are also questions about his ability to read attacks through traffic. Either trend could lead to some ugly results at a WJC. After seeing Arno Tiefensee be drafted as a double overager last summer, Wolf definitely has some incentive in using this tournament to throw his name in the hat this time around. Unlike Tiefensee, he’s not spending this season splitting duties in a DEL net, but rather with Austrian Thomas Pfarrmaier for the Red Bull Juniors. There, Wolf has played 13 of 23 games including 4 of the last 5, putting up an 8-5 record with a 2.52 GAA and 9.15 SV%. He also got into two games a league higher for Salzburg, standing tall with a 1.92 GAA and .933 SV% in those outings. Alas, Wolf has been part of the program for several years now, even being the starter at the 2022 U18 Worlds, but it hasn’t been good. In fact, he hasn’t sported better than a 5.00 GAA in the past 4 years. Ouch!

Moritz Elias RW

A member of the Saskatoon Blades to kick off the 21-22 season (8 points and -8 in 28 games), Elias packed his tent and headed home by the holidays that season, proceeding to collect 15 points over 71 DEL2 games in two seasons before getting picked up last summer by expected DEL bottom-feeder Augsburg. Now officially one of the biggest junior surprises of the DEL season, the 5’8”, 172-pounder has already put up 9 points in 26 games in a lower line capacity, displaying savvy and confidence every step of the way. More importantly, the strong-skating battler has found a niche on the U20 squad together with captain Roman Kechter and Detroit 2023 5th rounder Kevin Bicker, having put up 7 points in 4 test games this fall. Elias will have to be a quiet generator in the background for Team Germany if a playoff spot is going to be a realizable goal.

Paul Mayer D

One of very few German defensemen currently considered to be of draft interest next summer (Edwin Tropmann being the other), Mayer was basically force-fed into DEL play this season by a Mannheim Adler team that has been losing many of its junior talents in recent summers. Only getting a handful of minutes at a time, he then spent 10 games with the team’s DEL2 partner in Bietigheim where he got plenty of action for a struggling team. Two more games with Mannheim, including a showing with almost 15 minutes of ice time, were put on the resume before joining the U20 squad in Gothenburg. For Mayer, this tournament will be less about excelling and more about showing that he can do a lot more swimming than sinking. Despite gobs of size, he just turned 18 three months ago and will see peer competition he’s seldom been exposed to. Germany’s blueline has precious little to offer, so it’d be telling if he isn’t taking a regular shift.

Sleeper

Lia Niehus D

Understandably passed over in the draft last summer, Niehus is a player insiders have been watching closely, and favorably, the past few years. After a fantastic DY-1, he failed to deliver with another step in progress in his draft year, even doing precious little in preventing Germany’s U18 team from relegation last spring. The surprise was rather large around ice hockey Germany when Niehus nonetheless received a DEL contract from regional rival Frankfurt, for whom he’s now suited up 15 times while also getting in 5 games of Oberliga play with farm team Stuttgart. What he’s shown though is that he’s an incredibly confident and shifty defenseman with strong overall mobility and a keen ability of getting pucks to the net. In two recent test games against Switzerland, Niehus was seen manning the point on the power play and jumping out as one of the top overall skaters on the ice. If he doesn’t end up being the sleeper on this club, then 6’3” forward Eric Hördler will be.

***

PORRENTRUY, SWITZERLAND - APRIL 29: Norway's Stian Solberg #10 gets tripped up by a stick while Germany's Norwin Panocha #6 and Linus Brandl #23 look on during Relegation Round action at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship at Raiffeisen Arena on April 29, 2023 in Porrentruy, Switzerland. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/IIHF)

Q&A with defenseman Norwin Panocha

Here at McKeen’s Hockey, we were thrilled to watch mobile defender Norwin Panocha go from relative anonymity to a player deemed draftable by the NHL within a season’s time. Poise and maturity were regularly put on display in a junior league not quite on par with most of the circuits out there from which players are drafted, but we saw enough to know that what he was doing was above and beyond the norm. Ultimately ranking him 203rd overall in our draft guide, Panocha was selected 205th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in Nashville and proceeded to display his finest traits in the organization’s camp last fall, even getting to suit up for the NHL team for a preseason game in which he went +1.

Expected to be a cog on Germany’s blueline at the WJC, we conducted a short Q&A to get his thoughts on a variety of pertinent topics.

McKeen’s Hockey: Norwin, you find yourself in Sweden where you will be participating in your first ever WJC as a member of Team Germany. When you think about this opportunity to represent your country at this renowned tournament, what goes through your mind?

Norwin Panocha: It’s always a great honor to get to represent your county in any tournament and I’m now all that much more excited to get to do just that at this incredibly important event where we’ll be testing our metal against the best players in the world at this level. I’m also really excited about playing in this tournament with the class players ahead of me - those born in 2004 - and facing the challenges ahead with them.

MH: Your Group A opponents are Canada, Finland, Latvia, and hometown Sweden. It’s a group where no opponent can be taken lightly. Quite the opposite, in fact. What should spectators expect to see from Team Germany over the next 10 days?

NP: A strong team that is very unpleasant to play against. We’ve got a lot of character in this locker room and no matter who the opponent is, they’re going to have to battle hard for every inch out there.

MH: What are you looking forward to the most in the days to come in Gothenburg?

NP: I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to spend the Christmas holidays with my teammates. We’ve got a fantastic group of guys here and I can’t wait to go to war with them and put in a strong performance at this tournament.

MH: This past year has been anything but quiet for you personally. You developed in leaps and bounds with the Eisbären Berlin organization back home. Then you played at the U18 Worlds in Switzerland. Then you got drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and took part in their rookie camp. Now you’re playing for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL, a league that regularly produces NHL stars. How have you grown as a player and person over this period of time?

NP: Oh yes, this past year has been an unbelievable ride and a ton of fun. I’ve met so many new, interesting, and admirable people, all of whom I’ve been able to watch and learn something from.I’m truly thankful for everything I’ve been able to experience, both on and off the ice. I think it’s all helped me a lot in becoming a more mature and responsible player in every facet of the game.

MH: Looking back at the U18 Worlds, a tournament where a lot happens in a short period of time, what does a player go through when his team is relegated at such an event?

NP: It was a very disappointing and frustrating experience in a lot of ways, but especially in knowing that the next generation is now going to have to battle its way back up out of the D1A group. It’s not going to get show what it can do against the best at the highest level. Personally, and perhaps also due in part to the outcome, the U18 tournament in Switzerland was a very positive experience that taught me quite a bit moving forward. Also in preparation for this tournament.

MH: This season, you’re playing for Chicoutimi in the QMJHL. How’s it been going with the transition to a new league and life in a francophone region of Canada?

NP: It was admittedly quite an adjustment at the beginning. In comparison to the junior league I know and am familiar with back home, the game here is much faster and harder, it’s more aggressive, and the competition is generally much larger in size. However, I think I’ve slowly started to arrive in the league and figure everything out.

My life off the ice is running smoothly. My billet family and the people in the organization are wonderful. And I’m at a point where the language isn’t a problem anymore.

MH: With a good 30 games under your belt, what are you expecting from yourself and your team in the second half of the QMJHL season?

NP: I now know what to expect when I head back for the rest of the season. I’m actively trying to improve myself and develop from game to game and shift to shift. Our team is very young but is getting better from game to game as well, and we keep getting more close-knit. It’s all coming together just in time to put in a good playoff push. The experience of this WJC will help me as well moving forward.

MH: What kind of feedback have you received to date from the Buffalo Sabres?

NP: Most particularly after the main camp, but also during the regular season since then, I’ve been hearing from them and getting very positive feedback.

MH: We’re curious. What did you hear from current Buffalo Sabre and German national team member JJ Peterka, perhaps in the days following the draft?

NP: Yes, I got to know JJ at camp with the Sabres. He’s one of my big role models and I can't emphasize enough how cool it was that he promptly congratulated me on getting drafted and offered me his help and support with everything I’ll be encountering in this new environment. That means the world to me.

GERMAN PROSPECT MUSINGS 2022 #1 – Weak draft group, Rossmy’s late season surge, Germany host U18 World Championship, and more

Chapin Landvogt — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 18:03:29 +0000

Bennet Rossmy. Photo by Dan Hickling, Hickling Images

German Prospect Musings

The DEL season has now concluded and there are ultimately few surprises in the grand scheme of things. The reigning champion Eisbären Berlin, featuring draftees Dominik Bokk and Johan Södergran as well as overage draft-eligibles Tobias Ancicka and Bennet Rossmy, can be found at 1st overall while Krefeld is the team that finished last, meaning it will be relegated if the Frankfurt Lions of the DEL2 manage to win the DEL2 championship, for which they are still in the running. Many factors led to the last place finish for a Krefeld team that entered the season with a ton of established European pros and former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco, who did become the team’s top scorer. Saddening is that no DEL team was more ready and willing to provide ice time to youngsters, including regular shifts for WJC performers Alexander Blank, Justin Volek, Maciej Rutkowski, and Nikita Quapp, who of course is a Carolina Hurricanes prospect.

Quapp did end up seeing a bit of ice time this year but cannot claim to have been more than average behind a porous defense, one that had for several stretches of the season only had four or five bodies, with the top three long since lost to injury. In fact, his 4.04 GAA and .875 save percentage tell a much different story. His teammate Blank has, however, - in conjunction with his outstanding WJC performance - become the nation’s top overager on the draft front and perhaps its best prospect available for this draft. Should the team truly be relegated, which would be as unfathomable for the German ice hockey scene as seeing Modo or HV71 or Djurgarden drop down in Sweden, both young men will definitely be playing their ice hockey elsewhere next season.

What the DEL season did show was teams getting hit by Covid at various junctures and a ton of rescheduled games, which often led to 4-game weeks for several teams. This led to a situation where any number of teams could look like world-beaters on one evening, and juniors the next. Powerhouses such as Mannheim and Munich each suffered through various losing streaks and the odd blowout loss along the way.

Poor year on the prospect front

Despite all the thin line-ups and number of games that saw junior-aged players dressed (if for no other reason than) to prevent the team from having to forfeit a game, several players did manage to gain considerable ice time and throw their name into this summer’s draft hat. In addition to Blank, Munich’s Filip Varejcka and Maks Szuber each assumed much larger roles with more considerable ice time than anyone would have imagined coming into the season. It’ll be Szuber’s third go at it despite first turning 20 in August. For Varejcka, who has never quite been able to obtain draft consideration, it’s his last shot at age 21. A host of other young men saw some time with the DEL club, including Sebastian Cimmermann and Thomas Heigl, but the biggest disappointment this season has been Germany’s top overall prospect for this year’s draft, Julian Lutz.

It’s no real fault of his own. Lutz was injured right before the season began and despite being known as a fitness nut and winner of many internal fitness competitions within the Red Bull organization, couldn’t make it back into the line-up until several weeks ago. Coming back has been a slow process and his 1-2-3 and +3 scoreline in 13 games isn’t screaming “Yes, I’m a top 90 pick”, but simply being back has given his draft chances quite the boost. What we’ll now have to see is just how far Munich goes this spring, as Lutz is eligible for the U18 Worlds being hosted right here in Germany (more on that later). When healthy, the DEL club has more than enough organizational depth to do without Lutz, but will he become integral enough to a go at the championship to dispatch him to the U18 team?

We may know very soon.

Another young man who was thought to spend his initial draft year in the DEL was 17-year-old Luca Hauf. Yes, he got into 12 games with the aforementioned last place club but had zero points and a minus rating. It was a step too much for him. He continued to ravage the nation’s 3rd league to the tune of 32 points in 25 games and the nation’s junior league with 14 points in four games, but most interesting has been his three points and +2 in seven DEL2 contests with the Frankfurt Lions. Yes, that’s right, with the one team that could replace Krefeld in the DEL next year. His spring in the DEL2 will also determine if he’ll be able to participate in the U18 worlds.

Both Lutz and Hauf would be 2/3rds of U18 Germany’s first line.

A couple of other top candidates for the big tourney are Moritz Elias and Leo Hafenrichter. Fans of CHL leagues will recognize those names right away, as both were drafted by and began the season with a WHL and OHL club, respectively. Both returned. Both have since been playing regularly in the DEL2. Neither has done much in the point production department, but each has been an integral part of some interesting playoff success.

Elias’ Heilbronn Falcons knocked off the Dresden Loewen, who had spent much of the season in first place and finished 2nd overall. Kassel was a huge favorite coming into the season, but Hafenrichter’s Bad Nauheim just took them out in seven games. It’s doubtful that either team will survive the next round of the playoffs, so there really should be no danger of missing out on the U18 tournament. Both will be needed for their skillset, but also their knowledge of North American players, seeing as how Germany will be in a group with both Canada and the USA.

Lastly, we’d like to mention Roman Kechter, who plays in Sweden for Rögle BK, the same club top prospect Marco Kasper is playing for. As opposed to Kasper, whose name is popping up everywhere as a 1st round option for the draft, Kechter has taken a fairly large step back in his prospect status this season after having gained 21 games of DEL experience as a 17-year-old last season. That making his way into the SHL shouldn’t be expected was clear, but Kechter has played a bit of a menial role for the club’s U20 team, collecting 15 points in 31 games. Granted, he just turned 18 in mid-February and will have not only the Swedish junior playoffs to build his status with, but also the tournament in Landshut and Kaufbeuren. Of course, Kechter is currently seen as a Swedish prospect.

All things considered, the top names for first year eligible German prospects are going to need to make use of a big season-concluding tournament in order to really make themselves into possibilities for the draft. At this juncture, only Lutz seems to be a sure-fire pick and even that will be mostly based on what he did last season.

Late season splurge

Rossmy, Germany’s U18 captain last spring, was basically the top first year eligible prospect in Germany last season aside from Haakon Hänelt, a Washington Capitals draft pick who has come to play all of seven games for the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL. But Rossmy spent the bulk of this season showing the NHL scouting community that they were right to take a wait and see approach in drafting him. He wasn’t able to produce in the DEL in over twenty games from the Eisbären Berlin and his DEL2 play didn’t see him chip in at the level he did just last season as a 17-year-old.

Well, something went click in this year’s relegation round, when it mattered most. There he exploded for four goals, 11 points, and a +8 rating in just five games. Once the class was retained for his Lausitzer Foxes, Berlin called him back up and he promptly scored his second DEL goal of the season in a 5-1 victory over Augsburg. To jog your memory, the 6’3”, 195-pound winger was part of Germany’s U20 team this winter and will spend the rest of the season with 1st place Berlin, which starts its playoff run this week.

Junior champions decided

The junior season has concluded in Germany’s top three junior circuits, namely the DNL (U20), U17, and U15, and it’s been a dandy of a season for a bunch of young people have missed out on championships over the past two years, particularly with respect to the DNL.

That’s where we’ll start as this end result was the season’s biggest surprise. The new champion is the Eisbären Berlin Juniors and despite the DEL team’s many achievements, it’s the first ever title in four attempts for the boys from the German capital. Adding to the nuance was that Berlin had to defeat Cologne in a Best-of-Three series, one that featured three very hard-fought battles ending 4-3 in OT, 5-3, and then 3-2. In fact, it’s the first time since 2010 that a team other than the Mannheim Jungadler had won the title. In total, Mannheim has taken the prize 17 times in the league’s 20-year history. Cologne had disposed of Mannheim rather convincingly in the semifinals with results of 3-0 and well, 3-0. Quiet for Mannheim in those losses were both Ralf Rollinger and Luigi Calce, who have spearheaded the team’s attack and are draft eligible for the first time this year.

The top scorer of the playoffs was Pascal Steck (member of last spring’s U18 team in Texas) with 3-8-11 in five games, but Berlin’s Kevin Handschuh proved the hero with the game-winner in the final and his league-leading 8th tally. The league’s top scorer this season was Veit Oswald, with 28-23-51 in 31 games, a player you can count on seeing at the upcoming U18 Worlds. First turning 18 on August 31st, he’ll be one of the youngest players technically available in this summer’s draft.

Mannheim did however wrap up the championships at the U17 and U15 levels, continuing to lead the nation’s charge in prospect development. Names we’ll be following very closely in the coming years are Kevin Bicker, Linus Brandl, Lua Niehus, Max Herzogs, twins Gustav and Rihards Griva (GER-LAT dual citizens), and newly acquired defenseman Paul Mayer. These are all players who are first draft-eligible between 2023-25, but the younger guys have already been getting considerable ice time with the higher league teams.

Germany hosting U18 Worlds

The last time Germany hosted the U18 Worlds was in 2011, when the JT Miller and Seth Jones-led USA defeated the Mika Zibanejad-led Team Sweden in a thrilling 3-2 overtime dual. That tournament also featured a line for Russia that set all tournament scoring records, namely Nail Yakupov and Nikita Kucherov flanking Mikhail Grigorenko.

There’ll be no Team Russia or Belarus at this year’s tourney and that means there will only be eight teams. The scouting community was licking its chops to see no less than Slovakia added, but the Slovaks are hosting the D1B U18 Worlds and that just couldn’t be pushed off for a number of financial and organizational reasons. For Germany, that will stiffen the competition with little time to prove itself. The good news is that no-one will be relegated, and each team is making the playoffs. That makes the preliminary round a warm-up and jostling for initial playoff opponents. Otherwise, it’s clear as day that Germany will be an underdog, even with Latvia also participating in the tournament. The Latvians have traditionally been a nightmare for the German squad at this event.

For now, Germany is holding a camp consisting primarily of DNL and Red Bull Academy junior players. The big name on the team is, of course, Lutz, but no less than goaltenders Philip Dietl and Leon Willerscheid, defensemen Leo Hafenrichter, Niklas Hübner, and Michael Reich, as well as fellow forwards Moritz Elias and Luca Hauf spent time this season playing DEL or DEL2 hockey. In addition, forwards Daniel Assavolyuk and Philip Krening spent the season with RB Hockey Juniors in the AlpsHL while Nikita Krymskiy spent the entire season playing Oberliga hockey. There is some verifiable pro experience on the team.

In addition, coach Alexander Dück’s U18 squad will play several test games against the nation’s U17 team, which features players such as defensemen Mayer, Niehus, and Alex Vladelchtchikov as well as forwards Bicker, Brandl, Noah Samanski, Julius Sumpf, and Paul Vinzens. There are many involved in Germany’s junior ranks who feel this wave of players trumps many of the current, older candidates. As such, the opportunity is there for several underagers to still be a part of the upcoming U18 Worlds. And that’s taking into account that Willerscheid and the highly touted Edwin Tropmann are 2005-born players who are already currently in the U18 camp, meaning their spot on the team is basically chiseled into stone.

Prospect tidbits

The season ended disappointingly for the RB Hockey Juniors of the AlpsHL. The team started the year strongly and then saw things get tougher once all the players returned from the canceled WJC. In the pre-playoffs, the team quickly lost its best-of-three series 2-0. With that, the season was over for a good handful of young men the scouting community would have loved to see in continued action.

For Germany, that meant that the aforementioned Krening could concentrate on the upcoming U18 Worlds. A bit lost in the fray, Krening is a first eligible prospect who missed a good chunk of the season to injury. The 5’11”, 175-pounder is however one of the most promising skill players in this year’s prospect batch and actually managed to put up 6-4-10 and a +2 in the 16 games he did play. That had him on pace for approximately the same amount of points we saw out of Lutz last year. We’ll be keeping a close eye on him should he be representing Team Germany in Landshut.

In North America, several players we’d like to touch upon have seen their college seasons come to an end while one more finds himself playing in the NCAA’s Final Four this week, namely Julian Napravnik of Minnesota State University. With 49 points in 38 games, he’s currently 4th overall in the nation in scoring. It will be interesting to see what that means as a soon-to-be free agent, who will naturally look to add to his scoring feats and trophy cabinet on the biggest weekend of his young career to date.

Two others we’d like to point out are Lukas Kälble and Tommy Pasanen, both of whom suited up for Clarkson this winter. The former was a 5th year senior and led the team’s blueline in scoring with 7-15-22 in 32 games. He has signed with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and has one point in three games. Highly sought after by German pro teams, Kälble is reported as now wanting to make his way up the North American minor league circuit with an NHL contract in site down the line. The 6’4”, 218-pound Pasanen completed his first season of play with seven points in 28 games, but the righty shot was also a +16. He has another three years of NCAA eligibility and is a name we’ll be keeping close tabs on as his career progresses.

German Prospect Musings – Edition #1 for the 21-22 Season

Chapin Landvogt — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 21:50:35 +0000

FRISCO, TX USA - APRIL 29: Germany's Adrian Klein #17 passes the puck during preliminary round action against Russia at the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship at Comerica Center on April 29, 2021 in Frisco, TX USA. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/HHOF-IIHF Images)

The 2021-22 season has been up and running since September and, with the exception of a few postponed games here and there throughout the various pro leagues for Covid-related reasons, has been operating pretty smoothly. And when it comes to prospects eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft, the DEL and the other two pro circuits are chock full of kids who come into question.

Unfortunately, it’s not looking like much of a banner year when it comes to hot topics for the draft despite the myriad of players 20 and younger who are playing across three pro leagues and the nation’s top junior league showing some interesting development among players 18 and younger. There are several glaring reasons for this.

First and foremost is the fact that the nation’s top first year draft eligible entering the season, Julian Lutz, is experiencing an extremely disappointing season to date. The good news is that his play is not to blame, but rather the lack thereof as Lutz has been injured since the preseason and hasn’t yet played a minute of regular season action for any teams. He has a contract with the Red Bull Munich organization of the DEL and many were looking to see if he’d pick up right where JJ Peterka left off.

And he still might, but he’s out for now.

It should be noted that Lutz did play at the Hlinka Gretzky Tournament this summer and only managed two points (both very fine goals) over four games, putting up a -9 in the process for a German team that lost its first three games including a double-figure loss to host Slovakia.

Another major reason for the lack of draft year punch lies in the fact that Roman Kechter (Rögle U20), Moritz Elias (Saskatoon Blades), Rayan Bettahar (Swift Current Broncos) and Leo Hafenrichter (Guelph Storm) are all first-year eligibles playing abroad and they, along with Lutz, build what were basically the top five German prospects heading into the season, but they’ll all come under the guise of Sweden or North America when it comes to their categorization next summer, should they not head back to Germany before the season ends.

So, who’s left?

The top prospect at the moment is defenseman Adrian Klein. Already a top four defenseman for Germany at last spring’s U18 WC, Klein is already 18 and just missed the September 15th cutoff date for last summer’s draft (with a September 18th birthday), making him one of the oldest first-year eligibles in next summer’s draft. Having made noise as a 16-year-old when he spent the whole season in Germany’s 3rd highest pro circuit, he already got into 31 DEL games for the Straubing Tigers as a 17-year-old, having scored one goal in the process. He has suited up 10 times for Straubing this season as well, going scoreless to date with a -2 rating, but was loaned to DEL2 partner Landshut, where he has two goals, five points, and a +5 rating in just four games, opening quite a few eyes in the process.

Next up is forward Luca Hauf, who next to Lutz, was the youngest player on Germany’s U18 squad in Texas. Having had a monster season as a 16/17-year-old in Germany’s 3rd pro circuit last year (31 points in 37 games), Hauf has a contract with the DEL’s Krefeld Pinguine for this season where, as a 17-year-old, he’s gotten into just six games and is coming in at a -3. He has been loaned out to the same 3rd league team for nine games thus far this season where he has scored five goals and 11 points, showing progress in a league that is still dominated by professional men, including a number of former Canadian juniors and college players.

At the moment, there’s no indication that he’ll be gaining consideration for the WJC team, and he’ll be too old for next spring’s U18 squad. He was a top six forward for Germany at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, collecting one assist and a -2 over four games. Hauf is on the draft map, but if he’s got any intent of being drafted, the scouting community is going to need to see him get back to the DEL and then make a little bit of music once there.

Overagers throughout the DEL

In European leagues like the SHL, Liiga, and even Russia’s VHL, it’s not uncommon for NHL scouts to be keeping close tabs on a number of overagers. This is naturally different for a league like the DEL, where there are quite a handful of slightly older players who are draft eligible earning a paycheck. Nonetheless, not a one of them is doing much producing just now. Third-year eligible Florian Elias is about the best of the bunch with four points and +5 in 11 games while Krefeld’s third-year eligible Alexander Blank is top nine forward for his team but has just six points and a -5 rating in 19 games.

Another third-time eligible forward is former Owen Sound Attacker Josh Samanski who really arrived on the scene in the DEL2 playoffs last season (10 points in seven games). The 19-year-old has scored four fabulous goals (five total points) in 17 games for Straubing while also collecting three points in two DEL2 parties for Landshut. It should be pointed out that his DEL club has had plenty of problems scoring goals this season despite a top-heavy top 6, meaning Samanski has understandably been getting bottom six minutes.

One of the overage players we most wanted to keep an eye on this season is Bennet Rossmy, a 6’3” forward who captained the U18 entry in Texas. He has indeed gotten into 17 DEL games with the Eisbären Berlin and another six with the club’s DEL2 partner in Weisswasser, but other than an assist in six CHL games for Berlin, he has yet to hit the scoring sheet. With the recent acquisition of ex-NHLer Frans Nielsen to an already full line-up, it’s hard to think Rossmy is on the quick path to extra ice time.

Several other overage Germans of note are currently playing in Austria.

Red Bull Juniors having a tough go of it in the AlpsHL

The RB Hockey Juniors kicked off last season with a bang before levelling off as the playoffs approached, eventually seeing a first round exit. This year, the team got off to a slow start and has picked things up recently but can’t seem to find a rhythm. The team doesn’t quite have the horses it had last season and many goals against have been self-inflicted, with unnecessary individual errors popping up at an alarming rate.

Nonetheless, Germany’s top goalie for the draft plays here and he’s looking at a possible starting gig at the WJC. Florian Bugl has managed a respectable 2.98 GAA and a 3-5 record for the struggling club over eight games, but his .883 save percentage has been alarming, if not indicative of the fate of the club thus far. Still, he was the rock who stood in goal for Germany’s victories at last winter’s WJC and, as a third-time eligible for the draft, is currently the best undrafted goaltending prospect coming out of Germany.

His top German partner on the blueline is Sten Fischer, a good-sized righty shot who was part of last spring’s U18 squad. His five points and +5 in 14 games are nice, but nothing to write home about, even if he’s one to keep an eye on. In general, the RB Hockey Juniors have very few German defensemen in the line-up.

Up front, first-year overager Thomas Heigl has had some moments with his six goals and nine points over 14 games but was expected to have more of an offensive impact. Nonetheless, he’s also gotten into three games for Munich of the DEL, having scored his first DEL goal last weekend. His twin brother Nikolaus has been out of action with an injury all season.

The most impressive German on the team has been third-year eligible Josef Eham (currently 19), who is second on the team in scoring with eight goals and 22 points in 18 games. He was already a nice contributor last season, but for comparison’s sake, he had just 20 points in 35 games, a total he’s surpassed in half the time already this season. As such, he’s forced himself into WJC consideration and is a name a lot of DEL teams are keeping tabs on.

As for first-year eligible Germans playing for the juniors in Salzburg, 17-year-old Philipp Krening came into the season as one to watch and looked like he’d live up to the billing, having put up five points in his first six games. He has now been out with what looks like an injury ever since but remains a hot topic for the U18 WC. He wore an “A” on his jersey for Germany at the Gretzky Hlinka Tournament.

Lastly, we’re going to put an asterisk next to Daniel Assavolyuk, a tiny German national of Kazakh descent. He got a late start into the season, but after putting up five goals and six points in just three games for the program’s U18 team, which plays in the Czech Republic’s U20 league, the 17-year-old was pulled up to the pro junior outfit and has quietly put up four points and a +5 rating in four games, even if several points came in the team’s recent 10-3 victory over Cortina. He’s got a real nose for the net and there’s a torpedo aspect to his attacking prowess.

4 Nations Tournament in Lillehammer, Norway

Germany’s preliminary U20 squad will be playing an immensely important test tournament from the 10-15th of November. Host Norway naturally won’t be in attendance at the WJC next month, but both Slovakia and Switzerland will be and testing their mettle at this juncture will be extremely important for Germany’s coaching staff, which will take a squad consisting 100% of nominees currently playing in Europe. That means that none of the Germans currently in North America, be it those eligible who are playing pro, college or Canadian juniors, will be in attendance in Norway.

This list of those abroad would include the German shooting star blueliner from the last WJC, Luca Münzenberger, drafted in the third round by Edmonton who is currently playing for the University of Vermont as a “true” freshman. It’s hard to see him not being part of the team this winter. This would also be the case for Haakon Hänelt, drafted by the Washington Capitals this past summer, who has five points in seven games for Gatineau of the QMJHL as well as forwards Kevin Niedenz (Oshawa Generals) and Yannick Proske (Spokane Chiefs).

And we shouldn’t forget that Peterka and Lukas Reichel, both enjoying decent starts to their seasons in the AHL, are each still eligible for the WJC.

That brings us to the group that’ll be showing up in Norway. To begin, Klein will be the only attendee who is in his first year of draft eligibility whereas goaltender Nikita Quapp will be the only player who has already been drafted (6th round by the Carolina Hurricanes). Quapp started the season off quite poorly for the DEL’s Krefeld Pinguine but bounced back with some outstanding performances and despite a less than spectacular 3.29 GAA and sub-.900 save percentage, has put up a 3-3 record for a struggling club. In fact, he’s the only U23 drafted German playing in the DEL this season save for Florida’s Justin Schutz (21), who has failed to get on the scoreboard in five games for Munich.

Very interesting is that the blueline will feature six players who have spent the bulk of this season playing in the DEL. Next to Klein, this list includes Arkadiusz Dziambor, Max Glötzl, Fabrizio Pilu, Maks Szuber, and Simon Stowasser. Not a one of them assumes an offensive role of any sort for their team and none have more than the three points Stowasser has for the Bremerhaven Pinguins, even if Dziambor is sporting a +6 for Mannheim and has spent the whole season in the DEL, one of the bigger surprises among U20 skaters. Daniel Schwaiger of the RB Juniors and Justus Böttner of the third league Black Dragons Erfurt round out the eight defensemen heading north.

The 13 forwards nominated include the aforementioned Elias, Blank, Samanski, Rossmy, and Eham, all of whom are likely to be among the team’s top 9. Having the best shot at rounding out the top three lines are WJC returnees Justin Volek and Markus Schweiger as well as Maciej Rutkowski and a McKeen’s favorite in Danjo Leonhardt. The former gained notoriety for his 31 points in 43 third league games as an 18-year-old last season and has now dressed for all of Krefeld’s DEL games, putting up three points to date. The latter was the RB Juniors’ top scorer last season (35 points in 32 games) in his second year of draft eligibility, albeit he was extremely young in his first year of eligibility. The native of Berlin is now taking a regular shift in a defensive capacity for Salzburg of the Austrian-based ICEHL, with just four points in 17 games, but did collect three points and a +3 in three games during the U20’s Summer Challenge in Füssen. We’d certainly be very curious to see the slick center in Alberta this winter.

Rounding off the forward crew are Jakub Borzecki, Jussi Petersen, Noah Dunham, and Yannik Burghardt. Like Leonhardt, Borzecki is also a double overager who is plying his trade for Salzburg of the ICEHL, but the rest are all playing in the DEL2. Dunham is doing the best of the group with seven points in 13 games for Heilbronn while Burghardt has been carefully allotted ice time for Kaufbeuren, with four points in 12 games, while also playing for his club’s DNL team, where he’s turned heads with 13 goals in just nine games. With just one assist along the way, he’s clearly shooting for that league’s Cy Young award.

Bugl and Quapp are the names in goal and should be seen as a very competitive pairing heading into the WJC when compared to the goaltending prospects for Austria, Slovakia, and Switzerland. Arno Tiefensee is also a returnee from last winter and is along for the ride in Norway, but with his 2.51 GAA and .910 save percentage in five games for Heilbronn of the DEL2, it’s very possible the 6’4” giant has a different standing in the pecking order in the eyes of Germany’s coaching staff.

All in all, the 4 Nations Tournament will be pivotal for several of the players listed above, as one has to think that no less than Münzenberger and Hänelt will be on the WJC squad while the DEB will be putting in every favor necessary to gain the services of Peterka and Reichel.

Looking ahead

In our next issue of German Prospect Musings, we’ll be taking a deeper look into what’s going on in Germany’s DNL as the league has been firing on all cylinders and a number of 17- and 18-year-olds have been showing some strong to dominating tendencies that should see them get pro and U18 team consideration as the season progresses.

We’ll conclude this piece by making our first mention of a young man we’ll be keeping a close eye on in gaining our bearings for the 2024 NHL Draft, namely Jan-Felix Faupel. With 12 points in nine games for Mannheim’s U17 team and another two in two games for the club’s very stocked DNL team, the 15-year-old forward is already leaving a number of older colleagues in his dust. Before joining the Mannheim organization, he had played for Wolfsburg’s U17 team - with three points in 30 games as a 13-year-old and then 14 points in five games as a 14-year-old, both seasons shortened by the global pandemic.

GERMANY: PROSPECT MUSINGS III

Chapin Landvogt — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 13:59:20 +0000

GERMAN FRONT PROSPECT MUSINGS III

With the IIHF Men’s World Championships long since concluded, the German ice hockey scene can look back at what was a resoundingly positive season, having finished 4th overall at the WC tournament after conducting a DEL season that saw only one game be cancelled due to implications of the Coronavirus. Despite the national team’s disappointing quarterfinal and bronze medal game losses to Finland and the USA respectively, Germany is now ranked 5th overall in the IIHF’s world rankings. This puts them ahead of Sweden and the Czech Republic - for the time being.

The team that suited up in Riga, Latvia, didn’t feature any draft-eligible prospects, but it did feature the country’s top three drafted prospects outside of the NHL in Moritz Seider, Lukas Reichel, and JJ Peterka, with Florida’s Justin Schütz having been one of the last cuts before the tournament. Aside from Reichel’s five points in the first two games, all three got onto the scoring sheet at the tournament and Seider was even named the WC’s top overall defenseman, an honor previously unknown to German players, much less those strutting their stuff as 20-year-olds. It would seem that after having already been named the SHL’s Defenseman of the Year, the physical all-rounder is on the fast path to a fixed spot on the Red Wings’ blueline.

For Reichel, who mixed in a few costly turnovers among his many highly creative and effective plays, he put pen to paper on his ELC with the Chicago Blackhawks several weeks ago, coming off a regular season in which he centered the top line for the DEL’s champion Eisbären Berlin. Put simply, he may be coming off one of the best seasons any drafted prospect outside of the NHL had in a hockey world that has very much been scarred by the worldwide pandemic. Of course, the same could be said about Seider too.

Peterka and Schutz enjoyed nothing close to the same success, but each took steps in their development and clearly had their best pro seasons to date. Starting things out for Salzburg in the Austrian-based ICEHL, Peterka managed to chip in 16 points and a +4 rating in just 12 games while Schütz collected 15 and a -1 in 25 games. The tide flipped a bit once both were finally brought in to play with their mother club, the Munich Red Bulls. Schütz tallied 11 goals, 21 points, and a +11 rating over 34 games while Peterka did pretty much the same with 10 goals, 21 points, and a +8 rating over 32 games, having had his outstanding WJC (10 points in 5 games) in between the two pro stints. Alas, both experienced a very disappointing playoffs when their team was swept right in the first round by Ingolstadt, but both will be in very promising positions should they end up in Munich for a third season.

All things considered, the teams owning the rights to all four of these players can be happy with the steps taken this past season.

Bennet Rossmy. Photo by Dan Hickling, Hickling Images

U18 experience very telling

It was a very good thing that the first U18 WC tournament in two years was one in which no team was relegated, as Team Germany faced a number of challenges that ultimately heavily influenced the team’s performance at the tournament and would, in a normal year, have seen Germany playing against Latvia in a relegation round. The team was looking like it could have been quite interesting, and there were plenty of candidates who had spent this past winter playing pro hockey at some level. But the ideal situation crumbled very quickly.

As things were, the extended roster headed to camp filled with players who had only played 8-12 games of DNL hockey before their seasons were cancelled at the beginning of November 2020. Then a number of candidates had to step out due to injury or Covid, and this unfortunately included the nation’s top 1st year eligible prospect for this summer’s draft, DELer Haakon Hänelt, as well as three of the four most promising prospects for the 2022 NHL Draft, DEL winger Roman Kechter, DEL center Moritz Elias, and defenseman Leo Hafenrichter, each of whom was scheduled for a spot on the top two lines. In fact, the 16-year-old Hafenrichter was even expected to be on the top defensive pairing.

This led to a situation where Coach Steffen Ziesche had to put together a team where regular shifts would be taken by young men who hadn’t played competitive hockey since November. A few others had seen a few shifts here or there for a 3rd tier pro team. To make matters worse, the team’s test game weekend in Switzerland right before the flight to the States had to be cancelled due to a Covid outbreak, leaving it with no attempt to truly test its lines and systems until one single test game was set up in Texas, ironically against Latvia, to whom it lost.

Sadly, for Germany, the team also found itself in the tournament’s Group of Death, facing off against four of the world’s traditional top six nations in the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, and the host USA. The schedule didn’t help either. The Czech Republic was expected to be the most beatable opponent in the group, but Germany faced them right off the bat in its first game, having only played that one test game beforehand. A 3-1 loss in which goaltender Nikita Quapp made a number of very noticeable saves and was considered quite solid, but it never really felt like Germany was much of a threat and, as should have been expected, there were plenty of unforced, self-caused turnovers and errors that a more routine and practiced team likely wouldn’t have been guilty of.

Germany got a bit better over the next two games against Russia and the USA, with a 5-3 loss to the USA serving as a moral victory of sorts, but with the team out of playoff contention after three games, Coach Ziesche decided to start the team’s third string goaltender, Luca Ganz. This was surely a nice gesture, but the young man had only played two games this year and they were each last fall. The Finns proceeded to lead the game 2-0 after their first few shots and 5-0 after 13 minutes of play. The end result was 10-0, but the game felt like it was over after the first two goals against, for all intents and purposes. Ganz was left in net the entire time and the team played as if it was ready to head to the airport.

Considering Quapp was fighting to be a draft selection this summer and Simon Wolf (2022 eligible), who was quite solid for the majority of the game against the USA, is the likely starter for Germany next spring, one has to wonder what good this decision was for any of Germany's three goaltenders? It didn't help a guy playing for his draft position nor did it have an eye on the future when relegation will likely be part of the story again. In addition, what act of charity was it to keep a clearly overwhelmed netminder in goal for 10 goals against at a level of play he just wasn't ready for?

Whether related or not, Ziesche has since been replaced by former DEL defenseman Alexander Dück, who took over at the beginning of June.

FRISCO, TX USA - APRIL 26: Germany's Julian Lutz #16 skates with the puck while the Czech Republic's Jakub Altrichter #18 chases him down during preliminary round action at the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship at Comerica Center on April 26, 2021 in Frisco, TX USA. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/HHOF-IIHF Images)

What we did learn from the U18

With Hänelt sidelined, left wing Bennet Rossmy took over as the team’s captain and really tried doing all he could to make this a Cinderella tournament for Germany. He collected a few points, he threw some hits, he tried to be a playmaker - it was all for naught in the standings, but there’s a chance that he raised his draft prospects in the process. He’s coming off a year in which he spent the entire season playing for a DEL2 club in Germany’s second-best pro circuit, so he is one of the few German players to get in a full season of play.

Tiny tot defenseman Sandro Mayr showed some very good wheels and overall skating prowess, even though his proficiency dropped as the tournament wore on. It will be interesting if the rest of his game catches up to his feet over time. Defenseman Maxim Rausch might have been a bigger story too if pro rules had been called here instead of international junior league rules, as he can really use the body and knows how to box players out. Adrian Klein really is this year's top 17-year-old defenseman in Germany, and one could see why at this tournament. However, he was painstakingly careful in all he did, making it obvious that he's been playing pro hockey at a level so high (the DEL) that he's used to being on an extremely short leash.

Although all three of Germany's goaltenders got a start, Quapp got into two and put on a performance that only confirmed the progress he made this past winter in making it to the DEL. The Russian-speaker had several real nice moments against Russia and there was a definite difference in composure to that of his two teammates. With size and quickness from post to post on display, the results were less important than the analysis of his tools, as Germany's team defense was simply overwhelmed for large stretches of play.

We nonetheless saw one of this winter’s top German prospects leave us very disappointed, namely forward Sebastian Cimmermann. Yes, he had a nice counterattack goal against the US (one the goalie should have had), but he seemed to have very little overall puck contact and was always chasing the play. He was physically overmatched in most instances. In addition, he was on a line with Thomas and Nikolaus Heigl, both teammates of his at the Red Bull Academy, and both having had far less experience than him this past winter, yet both were far more visible and positively active than Cimmermann. In essence, it was hard to say that he showed the scouting community anything that would lead an NHL team to use one of its seven standard picks on him.

Julian Lutz is Germany's top prospect for the 2022 draft, and some would surely say we saw that here at this tournament, but those having seen him play in the AlpsHL this season will tell you that he didn't even begin to show what he’s capable of in Texas. He seemed hemmed up and just not ready to unleash the lion inside him. Alas, we'll have to wait for him to arrive internationally next year when he'll likely be on the WJC and U18 teams.

Forwards Connor Korte and Robin van Calster got better with each of the first three games and whereas we didn’t really see why exactly Korte put up 20 goals in Switzerland’s top U20 league, we did see that it's a crying shame that van Calster missed just about the entire season when the junior league was cancelled. He definitely showed that he possesses the kind of skill that usually entices NHL talent seekers. A surprise addition to the team, winger Roman Zap was all over the place in a skating capacity and would have been the team's top scorer had he made good on a penalty shot along the way, but for all his spirited forechecking and successful pokechecking, too many plays died when the puck was actually on his stick. That was likely a result of not having played a real game since November.

OTTAWA, ON - MARCH 22: Ottawa Senators Left Wing Tim Stutzle (18) skates during the first period of the NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and the Calgary Flames on March 22, 2021 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire)

Draft now in sight

The euphoria in hockey circles caused by the combination of a WJC playoff performance, the successful rookie season by Tim Stützle, and a DEL league that played some of its most attractive hockey ever despite almost not having taken place whatsoever has been extremely positive this year. This is especially true in light of the plethora of U21 players who saw time in the DEL, much less the DEL2 and Oberliga, many of whom having taken a regular shift.

That all led to more attention for the sport at the nationwide level with a 4th place finish at the Men’s WC. Indeed, a bronze medal would have taken things all that much further as the sport was seen on news channels, in magazines, and online at a level last seen with its silver medal at the 2018 Olympics, giving it a seldom seen rate of exposure two times within a 3-year period.

What will this mean for the upcoming draft?

As we detailed all winter, there is no Seider and there is certainly no triumvirate of forwards such as Stützle, Reichel, and Peterka to select from. Instead, we have a group topped by overage prospect Florian Elias who capped off his wonderful WJC performance and strong DEL season with the DEL’s Rookie of the Year award, although truth be told, there were a few first-year players who either had considerably better stats or meant a good bit more to their respective clubs. He didn’t have a lot of points for Mannheim, but each of his three goals were a thing of beauty, leading many to believe that he’s in store for a much bigger role next season.

After Elias, our list already ventures into a diaspora of young talents who are surely in the scouts’ notebooks, but there’s simply no telling if any team will be willing to take a shot on them in a draft that will feature a boatload of no less than Canadian players who played condensed seasons in the QMJHL and WHL as well as those who had no season whatsoever as part of the OHL. Will weight be placed on players who the scouting community actually got to see play? Will the handful of talents on our list be seen more favorably because they spent this year playing pro hockey? Were other prospects already scouted at such a rate in previous seasons that they’ll still be at the top of the lists for a number of teams?

More specifically, will a guy like Luca Münzenberger, who truly opened some eyes at the WJC, become a forgotten commodity, because his commitment to the University of Vermont prevented him from playing pro hockey this winter? Will the aforementioned Rossmy be a surefire, late round pick because he had a full season of pro hockey and showed his wares at the U18 while his 6’3”, 195 lbs. frame surely makes him enticing for a number of teams one way or the other?

Will an NHL team look at a big kid like 6’3”, 205 lbs. defenseman Klein, consider his full Oberliga season with 16 and full DEL season with 17, throw aside his rather measly offensive stats, and place extra weight on him first turning 18 on September 19th?

Does someone favor Hänelt so much from what they saw of him at Red Bull Academy that they’ll look past his injury woes that caused him to miss both the WJC and U18 as well as his one point in 22 DEL outings?

It’ll be an interesting draft for many reasons, but it would be most realistic to feel that there will be very few German names called. The lack of star power combined with incomplete bodies of work topped by some young kids having played against much older and more mature competition leaves for a difficult take on just what NHL potential lies in this year’s class.

On the other hand, hope springs eternal in a year in which many of the hockey community’s most scouted junior regions were hit hard by our Corona realities, perhaps opening a few draft weekend doors that might not otherwise be opened!

We’re thinking there may just be a surprise or two for the German scene come the end of July.

WJC und U18 teams already preparing for next winter’s challenges

Both Germany’s U20 and U18 teams held summer camps over the past few weeks, giving the program and players a solid opportunity to start forming the teams and pay some very careful attention to the details and gameplans that coaches Tobias Abstreiter (U20) and the aforementioned Dück (U18) wish to implement. In light of last year’s challenges, these measures are very positive and give the scouting community the opportunity to see what’s possibly in store this winter in Edmonton and then next spring right in Germany, where the nation will host the U18 worlds.

That U18 team will feature a number of names that will be of interest for the 2022 NHL Draft, most notably Lutz, Wolf, Luca Hauf, and Rayan Bettahar, who has the option of spending this next winter playing for Swift Current in the WHL. All four return from this spring’s tourney in Texas. The team will also feature a number of young men whose names have played a big role in German ice hockey history including Veit Oswald, Philip Ziesche, Eric Hördler, and Mason Sturm, who is – you guessed it – son of former NHLer Marco Sturm. In Hördler’s case, his father Frank currently plays for the Eisbären Berlin, with whom he has won eight DEL titles. In addition, Jesse Kauhanen’s father is Ilpo is a Finnish national who spent the bulk of his career in the DEL and still works and resides in Germany. Lastly, Moritz Elias is the younger brother of draft-eligible Florian and spent 16 games in the DEL last season, collecting two points along the way. Also, in attendance is Hafenrichter, who should be seen as Germany’s top draft-eligible defenseman for the 2022 draft.

For the WJC squad, 10 returnees from last year’s team will also be part of a special event this month in which the team will meet together in Füssen, Germany, before hosting the U20 Summer Challenge, which will pit the team against the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Slovakia. In total, 28 players have been nominated from the event, but not all of them were part of the camp earlier this summer, including DELers Elias and Simon Stowasser as well as part-time DEL2 defenseman Paul Reiner. A noticeable absentee for this notable mid-summer event will be defenseman Münzenberger, who was on the ice for over 22 minutes a game at the last WJC.

For scouts in attendance, it’ll not only be an excellent opportunity to gauge the progress of overagers whose tourney was cut short due to Covid in Jakub Borzecki, Josh Samanski, and Maks Szuber, but also see current draft-eligible players against older competition in namely Rossmy, Hänelt, Heigl, Blank, Glötzl, Klein, Quapp, and Danjo Leonhardt. A special treat will be viewing Kechter, who’ll be part of the fun as Germany’s youngest players. All in all, 12 of the players nominated spent at least part of last season playing DEL hockey.

In summary, the DEB appears to be very concentrated on repeating its WJC achievement even without the likes of Stützle and Peterka while fielding a U18 team that’ll be able to make some noise in a tournament Germany will be hosting. That was the case by in 2011 when Dresden and Crimmitschau were the venues of importance and Tobias Rieder and his band of relative no-names managed to gain its way into the playoffs. Lutz and co. will surely be happy to have history repeat itself next spring and if it does, he’ll have to be the right in the middle of it.

GERMANY: Prospects Musings II

Chapin Landvogt — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 20:08:10 +0000

GERMAN FRONT PROSPECT MUSINGS II

As March has kicked off and Germany’s pro leagues are either hitting mid-season form or moving rapidly towards a final jostling for playoff positioning, this season has thus far been one for the youth - but yet it hasn’t. The number of players aged 16-20 taking a regular shift, much less those having made their pro debuts, in one of Germany’s top three pro circuits, has been like nothing before. Hardly a team out there hasn’t had at least one 18 or younger player suit up for it. Many have a good handful or more of players 21 or younger.

Naturally, the realities of a world pandemic have in some cases forced the teams’ hands while a shortage of opportunity at junior levels (the DNL, for example, is still on hiatus) has given pro teams a wealth of teenagers to choose from to round out their rosters and ensure well-attended practice sessions. And therein lies the crux of the problem. Many junior players have nowhere to play right now as they sit around and hope that the DNL leagues will somehow continue their season at some point, which is looking unlikely in a country that has seen many corners locked down for a good five weeks now.

These circumstances have turned this season into a completely wasted year for a generation of players. Mind you, we’re not speaking of solely the DNL junior league, but also every organized league under that as well as men’s amateur levels, which have often been a breeding ground for younger players as well.

A positive to be taken here though is that this has meant “opportunity” abounds and a number of the younger players are riding with it. Cologne (8) and Nuremberg (4) alone have each suited up a handful of players aged between 16 and 20, something very notable for a league that is notorious for having precious few players even as young as 23 on its rosters. The DEL2 and Oberligas have been more than sprinkled with players 18 or younger to the point where hardly a team isn’t making use of players this age, even if the reasons for going this route may also be of a financial nature.

Max Glötzl

Draftee pool 2021

Things have changed since early December and several of the prospects felt to be the most important for this draft class have seen their fortunes dissipate, none more so than the top prospect for the 2021 NHL Draft at the time, Haakon Hänelt. After an injury derailed him for the first half of the DEL season, he has managed to get into 13 DEL games for the Eisbären Berlin, but has just one goal to his name, coming in at an even +/- rating in the process for a team that is currently atop the North Group standings. Making matters a bit worse for Hänelt and his draft ambitions is that the team has been winning a lot lately, often by high scores, so there is no rush to give him a larger role. Will he get a shot via a reassignment to the DEL2? That is an option, but he is currently on the mends again after a recent minor injury. Naturally, he is lined up for the U18 Worlds in Texas, so there may be a push from the German Ice Hockey Federation to see if he can’t get a larger role somewhere else over the next six weeks, especially in a rehabbing capacity.

Our big risers to kick off the season, forwards Sebastian Cimmermann and Bennet Rossmy, have both come down to earth since then. Both remain players to watch and are basically surefire candidates for the U18 team. In Rossmy’s case, he may be looking a lot more “human” than he did to start things off for the Lausitz Foxes of the DEL2, but he has continued to play regularly for the team (getting sometimes more, sometimes less ice time) and has a respectable three goals and 11 points in 34 games. His -11 is nothing to write home about, but he is a 17-year-old in a giant body playing against men, a challenge scouts are very familiar with and can make time for.

Cimmermann simply hasn’t been getting the reps, having only suited up for 12 games since the beginning of December, but seven goals, 15 points, and an overall +16 rating for the Red Bull juniors in 22 games is more than respectable, especially with the number of U23 player options that team can suit up. The AlpsHL playoffs are just around the corner, so it will be interesting to see if he manages to get ice time when the chips are all on the table.

This leads us to the other two players who built our initial top 5 group before Christmas, namely WJC participants Florian Elias and Max Glötzl, both second year eligibles. For Elias - and we would like to once again point out that he is about as young a second time eligible as you can find -, we can only say that his coming out party at the U20 Worlds has been followed by going straight to Mannheim where he has taken a regular shift and seen time pivoting the 2nd line and showing up on the team’s 2nd power play unit. The two goals, four points, and -1 rating over 16 games have been minimal, but the youngster has been highly involved all over the ice and right in the middle of plenty of other opportunities to date for a team that should be scoring more goals, but nonetheless comfortably sits at the top of the DEL’s standings. It should be added that both of Elias’ goals were bullet wrist shots from a distance that simply beat the goaltender cleanly. If we would have to gander, he is looking like the most certain German to be drafted this year. Nonetheless, he was just sent down to the DEL2 to get extra shifts.

Glötzl’s WJC appearance was not one to get excited about. Sure, he saw plenty of ice time, but he looked like a player stretched beyond the limits of his capabilities and didn’t necessarily have the kind of decision-making prowess that screams “future NHLer”. The size is right and it’s not like he is afraid to go where it hurts and dish out some hurt as well, but unless he was a bit overwhelmed by Germany’s Covid-induced circumstances, his status as an unknown prospect of note has likely been parked. There was just too much vanilla in his game and a handful of unforced errors along the way. Since returning to Germany, he has continued to see regular ice time for Bad Nauheim in the DEL2 (22 games, seven assists, -5) and even suited up for three games with Cologne in the DEL (no points), but there is little reason to think that he is a prospect for the 2021 Draft at this juncture.

On the horizon

As the season has progressed, some other names are busy arriving on the scene to some degree. After putting on a very solid WJC performance, save for roughly 10 minutes against Switzerland, goaltender Florian Bugl has continued to be the go-to man in goal for Red Bull Juniors. A 2.62 GAA, .910 save percentage, and 16-11 record are what the 18-year-old has to show for his efforts in a men’s league.

Due to Swedish juniors being put on extended pause, forward Roman Kechter - a probable candidate for the upcoming U18 team - has headed down to become a lower line regular for the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, which continues to be the DEL’s bottom feeder. The lack of more than one assist and -8 rating in 11 games are nothing to smile about, but his team has been offensively futile for much of 2021 and Kechter hasn’t looked out of place with respect to pace and physicality. He has also been receiving over ten minutes of ice time per game, with it increasing incrementally as the season progresses. Although nothing has come of them, several of his passes not only set up teammates perfectly but have displayed the kind of vision and on-your-toes thinking that you don’t often find around the DEL. Kechter will not be returning to Rögle to complete the season, so scouts will be able to see how he continues to develop over the next 18 DEL contests.

A player who continues to gain our interest is Danjo Leonhardt, who has improved as the season has progressed. The 18-year-old is a teammate of Bugl’s and has put up 11 goals and 33 points over 32 games, making him one of the team’s most frequently dressed players and its top scorer. He also has a +17 rating in the process. There are no glaring weaknesses in his game and yet his offensive flair has only seemed to grow this season. Basically a non-prospect for last fall’s draft, yet still only 18 until August 22nd, we have got to think the scouts following the Red Bull Akademie program know very well who Danjo is and what he is capable of against men.

Lastly, we would like to mention Markus Schweiger as a first time eligible who is worth keeping on your radar. A victim of the Covid protocol, the 5-6” forward only suited up for Germany’s last two games but was immediately placed on the second line and showed a good bit of moxie, tournament-level wheels, and a good head on his shoulders. He looked sturdy and had little problem with the rough stuff. There were no points at the WJC and he has only amassed four in 14 games with Kaufbeuren of the DEL2 since returning from the WJC, but he chipped in 12 in nine DNL games before the pause and is a player the German program is very high on. Unfortunately, he has aged out of the U18 team.

Limbo

We mentioned after the WJC that defenseman Luca Münzenberger was, along with Elias, the big winner for Germany in gaining notoriety on the prospect front. He has not been able to do anything to enhance that status since, but this is to no fault of his own. As a player committed to the University of Vermont, and with the DNL currently inactive, there is simply no place for him to play. Pro teams would love to incorporate him right now, including his parent club, Cologne, but that would of course strip him of college hockey eligibility. For players such as himself, there has been no destination to turn to. His ice time since the WJC seems to have consisted solely of practices.

The situation isn’t nearly as vicious for Nikita Quapp, as well as WJC participant Arno Tiefensee, the two goaltenders most noteworthy on Germany’s prospect front. Although Tiefensee basically got rocked in his two WJC outings and hasn’t really put up the type of numbers for the DEL2’s Heilbronn Falcons, the 6-4”, 190-pound giant has nonetheless split duties at that level and sports a 5-8 record for a team that is unexpectedly mired in last place. The slightly smaller Quapp, coming in at 6-3”, 187 lbs., has now gotten into five DEL games, most of them over the last 10 outings, and has gone from looking overwhelmed to nearly pitching shutouts, collecting a 1-2 record to date. This has been a breath of fresh air for a Krefeld team that won’t be exiting last place this season. He has seen action in seven Oberliga games, where his numbers have been completely underwhelming.

The point of mentioning these two is that they were scheduled to be integral go-to pieces for their respective DNL clubs and thus, aren’t getting to experience the type of age-conducive play that would give the scouting community a true look at just what type of prospects they are, much less allow them a steady presence and role in net. Being a 2003-born player, Quapp can at least look forward to what should be a starting job on the U18 team.

Overaging it

It is always hard to tell just what it means to see double overagers achieving things at a nation’s highest pro level, but Germany does have several players we simply must mention, as their ice time - and to a degree, their achievements - demand some attention. Former QMJHLer Taro Jentzsch has one more shot at the draft and has a very respectable 14 points and +1 in 20 DEL games for Iserlohn, even if he has slowed down a bit recently. He only has three goals, but they have all been of the highlight reel variety.

Likewise, 19-year-old Alexander Blank has been seeing more and more top six minutes and power play time for the hapless Krefeld Penguins, chipping in seven points in 20 games. The son of long-term DEL scorer Boris, he is plugging away for a team lacking offense and he spent the first part of the season with Krefeld’s Oberliga team, with which he racked up an outstanding 27 points in 16 games. The way things are going, it is hard to think he won’t be with Germany’s WJC squad next December. We know that he has entered the discussion for Germany’s U23 squad, which in normal years appears at tournaments such as the Deutschland Cup.

Cologne center Marcel Barinka has also been playing top six minutes and has 14 points and +3 in 20 games. He is a Czech national with a German player pass and is also the son of former part-time NHLer Michal Barinka. After two unspectacular seasons in the QMJHL, the 19-year-old has been making his mark at the DEL level against professionals, looking like he has a whole new lease on his hockey life.

An honorable mention may also be in store for goaltender Tobias Ancicka, who just turned 20 a week ago. Left off Team Germany as the first to fail a Covid test (ironically back in action in Germany a good week ahead of the WJC), the expected #1 in net has played six games for Berlin in the DEL and 11 for its DEL2 affiliate. His numbers for the Lausitz Foxes, currently two points out of last place, have not been shiny, but the 1.95 GAA and .928 save percentage at the DEL level have raised some eyebrows, with these numbers having come very recently. He is expected to be the back-up for the Eisbären for the rest of the season.

Several of the overagers we had hoped to see something from, namely Nino Kinder in Berlin, Elias Lindner in Munich, and Simon Gnyp in Cologne, haven’t put anything of note together, which is a shame for particularly the latter after he led all WJC defenders with 29:57 minutes of power play time and overall average ice time with 27:09 minutes per game. There is 20-year-old defenseman Philipp Mass in Krefeld, who has three points and a -7 in 12 games and was getting more than 17 minutes of ice time per game over his first three contests after having kicked off the season with five points in 13 games for the Red Bull Juniors in the AlpsHL. Just down the highway in Cologne, undersized 20-year-old Jan-Luca Sennhenn has been getting roughly 12 minutes per game (two assists, -2) in his 19 outings for Coach Uwe Krupp, which has come as a surprise to the many who had figured both Gnyp and Glötzl would be ahead of him in the pecking order.

Then, of course, there are forwards Jakub Borzecki (15 points and +10 in 22 games), Manuel Alberg (15 and +2 in 22), Jozef Eham (19 and +6 in 31), Sam Dubé (10 in 18), and defenseman Maks Szuber (11 and +11 in 27) playing for the Red Bull Juniors as well, three of whom we saw at the WJC. A strong end to the AlpsHL season could show a team enough to consider such players with a late round pick, even if that kind of thing is seeming less common nowadays.

Lastly, 6-3” Josh Samanski played a regular shift at the WJC and played for the Owen Sound Attack last season. He would have been there this year too, but he is getting plenty of experience and opportunity with Ravensburg of the DEL2, where he has three goals, 13 points, and a +2 over 29 games. He is a regular and will be playing playoff hockey this season, should he not be returning to Owen Sound. The son of a long-term coach in Germany, he very well understands the KISS principle and seems to be appreciated wherever he plays.

Swiss mades

Speaking of overagers, Leipzig native Daniel Neumann has spent the past few years playing in Switzerland’s junior ranks. Having just turned 19 two weeks ago, he is worth keeping an eye on because he seems to be a bit of a shoo-in for next winter’s WJC. We say this considering his 23 points (and +26) in 24 games for Zug’s U20 team, which has led to a promotion to the Zug Academy men’s team, which plays in Switzerland’s SL, the second tier of pro play. There, he has added another 15 points and +4 in 27 games, showing that he is not out of place at the pro level.

A more interesting first year eligible for the scouting community is 5-11” forward Connor Korte, who continues to ply his trade with Davos’ U20 program, where he has 17 goals and 25 points in 35 games. He just turned 18 on January 31st, and thus, is eligible for U18 team play, which is looking likely at this point. He has been one of the few German juniors who has been able to get in a whole season of play.

U18 on the way

Team Germany will find itself in another “Group of Death” at the upcoming U18 in Texas, but everyone is just happy that the event is taking place. In light of the dubious circumstances described throughout these musings, one can imagine that the U18 team will consist of a lot of young players who have gained pro experience this year. We have named several here, but there are a couple more of note who are likely in strong contention.

Defenseman Adrian Klein has suited up for 21 DEL games this season and another six in the Oberliga. There is nothing in the line of points worth mentioning, but he is simply -2 at the DEL level and has been raved about with respect to his ability to understand the game and play within his limits. Kai Zernickel is 6-5” and 180 lbs. and has also gotten into four DEL games. Both of these players are just 17.

Up front, Iserlohn’s youngsters Yannick Proske (19 games) and Nils Elten (4 games) have seen some action in lower line roles and there is not a point between them, but Proske in particular has gained the coach’s faith in taking a regular 4th line shift. He was supposed to be a big part of the story for Mannheim’s DNL team this season.

We would also be surprised if 17-year-old Luigi Calce of the Mannheim program wasn’t part of the equation. Expected to be one of the DNL’s top players this season, he has since dressed for nine DEL2 games and has three points. In addition, several members of the Red Bull program are also likely in contention, namely twins Thomas and Nicolaus Heigl, Philip Feist, Sten Fischer, and 16-year-old defenseman Jesse Kauhanen.

We will have a more complete preview of this team as the tournament approaches.

Sweet 16

In our last installment, we mentioned the name Julian Lutz as Germany’s top 16-year-old talent and he still is. His success with the Red bull Hockey Juniors in the pro AlpsHL (14 goals, 26 points in 30 games) has led to a one-game debut with Red Bull Munich (one assist) and now seven games with EC Salzburg of the ICEHL (formerly EBEL) in Austria, where he has two goals and three points. He continues to be a rising star who we will be keeping a close eye on in light of a game that has a few thinking he could be the next Tim Stützle.

The age of 16 has become a very interesting one on the German hockey front this season. Florian may be the most sought-after prospect in Germany for now, but his younger brother Moritz Elias has spent time in the DEL as well this year, having suited up for 15 games thus far and collecting a goal and two points. Most impressive has been his 0 +/- rating thus far, because his Nuremberg team is mired in last place in the DEL’s southern group and has let in plenty of goals against. New DEL coach Frank Fischöder came over to the team directly from Mannheim’s junior ranks and brought Moritz, among others, with him. The youngster has been a good one to date and recently faced off against brother Florian, which no-one would have suspected before this season.

We would also like to mention Luca Hauf. He just turned 17 on January 11th but has played much of the season as a 16-year-old for Krefeld 1981 in Germany’s 3rd circuit where he has 12 goals and 28 points in 31 games, good for third on the team in scoring thus far. He is only 5-11” and a slight 155 lbs., but his journey has only just begun, and the lefty shot has raised plenty of eyes in Germany’s ice hockey landscape and beyond. He got into his first DEL game just this past week and will be watched closely moving forward.

Forwards aren’t the only 16-year-olds of note thus far this season. Defenseman Leo Hafenrichter (6-0”, 170) has played two games for Cologne in the DEL and three for Bad Nauheim in the DEL2. He has only received a few shifts at the DEL level, but he is looking like one of Germany’s strongest prospects for the 2022 draft and defensemen this age don’t typically even get considered for top league play. He too has a good shot at representing Germany in Texas later this spring, a tournament we’ll have much to report on in our next edition.