Boston Bruins defender and Edmonton Oilers forward join European squad
Defender Dennis Seidenberg from the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers striker Leon Draisaitl from the National Hockey League (NHL) will represent German ice hockey at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 (September 17 to October 1) in Toronto, Canada. The selected players are part of the provisional 16-man squad (14 field players, 2 goalkeepers) of Team Europe, which is coached by former German national player Ralph Krueger as head coach.
Franz Reindl, President of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) and President of Team Europe, particularly highlighted the nomination of the German duo in view of a previous selection of over 50 potential candidates from Europe. “Both players absolutely deserve their nomination. “Dennis Seidenberg won the Stanley Cup and has the experience of more than 800 games in the best league in the world,” said Reindl and added: “With Leon Draisaitl, one of the greatest German talents is also in the Team Europe squad. At just 20 years old, he has had an outstanding season so far and has a great future ahead of him.”
In addition to Franz Reindl as President of Team Europe and Ralph Krueger as head coach, the former Slovakian NHL superstar Miroslav Satan is one of the main people responsible for Team Europe as General Manager. Peter Bondra, Sean Burke, Lorne Henning, Vaclav Nedomansky and Ricky Olczyk were also recruited as scouts. "In the past weeks and months, we have received over 250 detailed scouting reports on various players and candidates. In addition, there have been numerous discussions with coaches and managers," said Reindl, describing the extensive and professional selection scenario.
The complete Team Europe squad includes 23 players (20 field players, 3 goalkeepers) and will be announced on June 1, 2016. According to Reindl, German players such as Tobias Rieder (Arizona Coyotes), Christian Ehrhoff (Chicago Blackhawks), Korbinian Holzer (Anaheim Ducks), Tom Kühnhackl Pittsburgh Penguins), Thomas Greiss (New York Islanders) or Philipp Grubauer (Washington Capitals) are also involved not be ruled out.
In addition, he sees DEB-President the opportunity to use the World Cup of Hockey as an advertising platform for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Cologne and Paris. “The World Cup of Hockey is an internationally respected tournament from which German ice hockey and the national team will also benefit,” said Reindl.
Managerial staff
Gate: Frederik Andersen (Denmark/Anaheim Ducks), Jaroslav Halak (Slovakia/New York Islanders)
Defense: Zdeno Chara (Slovakia/Boston Bruins), Roman Josi (Switzerland/Nashville Predators), Dennis Seidenberg (Germany/Boston Bruins), Andrej Sekera (Slovakia/Edmonton Oilers), Mark Streit (Switzerland/Philadelphia Flyers)
Striker: Mikkel Boedker (Denmark/Colorado Avalanche), Leon Draisaitl (Germany/Edmonton Oilers), Jannik Hansen (Denmark/Vancouver Canucks), Marian Hossa (Slovakia/Chicago Blackhawks), Anze Kopitar (Slovenia/Los Angeles Kings), Frans Nielsen (Denmark /New York Islanders), Tomas Tatar (Slovakia/Detroit Red Wings), Thomas Vanek (Austria/Minnesota Wild), Mats Zuccarello (Norway/New York Rangers).
About the World Cup of Hockey: A total of eight teams are taking part in the World Cup of Hockey, which was last held in 2004. In addition to the nations Canada, USA, Sweden, Russia, Finland and the Czech Republic, a U23 selection made up of young talented US and Canadian players is also taking part. "Team Europe" will be a mix of the best players from Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark, Belarus, France, Latvia, Norway and Slovenia. More than 150 NHL professionals are expected to take part in the World Cup of Hockey.