Tom and Erich Kühnhackl in an interview after the Stanley Cup victory
“Playing for my country is special”
Tom Kühnhackl from Landshut is at the ice hockey Olympus. As the third German after Uwe Krupp in 1996 and 2002, and Dennis Seidenberg in 2011, the German striker won the NHL Stanley Cup final series with the Pittsburgh Penguins against the San Jose Sharks after six games early on Monday morning.
Kühnhackl only made his NHL debut on January 9th of this year, although he went to North America in 2010 after his draft, where he was selected by the Penguins in the fourth round at 110th place overall. He had to struggle through several years in the junior and farm team leagues. Now his meteoric rise.
Stefan Herget from Eishockey.com interviewed the newly crowned Stanley Cup winner and his father Erich after the award ceremony on the ice in San Jose:
Stanley Cup winner Tom Kühnhackl. How does that sound?
“I still can't fully realize what just happened. It will take a few hours or even days until I realize it.”
Exactly five months ago you made your NHL debut. How intense was that time?
“It’s unbelievable what happened this year. I just can't find the words for it. The transition was so hard at the beginning, but here I am. I can not believe it."
You are the third German, but the first Bavarian, to win the Stanley Cup. What do you say to that?
“It's such a great story for me, but for German ice hockey in general, that someone from our country wins the Stanley Cup. My emotions are going crazy and it’s indescribable what’s going on inside me right now.”
How are you going to spend your day with the Stanley Cup, hopefully with the Fans in Landshut?
“I still have no idea how it's going to work, but if I'm allowed to do that, then it's a given that the Stanley Cup will come to Landshut. That’s where I come from and that’s where I’ll take him.”
I just spoke to the cupkeeper. He is happy to bring the Stanley Cup to Germany. What do you say now?
“So if he’s looking forward to it, then I’m looking forward to it too.”
A sentence about Marco Sturm, who said he is keeping his fingers crossed for the Sharks because he played here for a long time.
“Yes, of course I understand that. He played here for a long time and was very successful here. But I hope and think that he will grant me the same.”
How come you only played for the national team at junior level?
“Every year when there was something with the national team, the team I played for got to the point where I couldn’t take part anymore. And that’s really how it’s been since I was 18.”
Can we expect you to take part in the Olympic qualifiers in Latvia in September?
“I hope to be there. It would be special because it would be my first time there. From that point of view it would be great.”
Have you already spoken to national coach Marco Sturm?
“I spoke to Marco a few times during the season and met him because he also knows our coach Mike Sullivan. We talked about whether I would be available for the World Cup in Russia if I was free. I said yes to him straight away because playing for my country is something special. But because of the playoffs it didn’t work out again.”
Father Erich Kühnhackl:
How proud are you right now?
“It can’t even be described. That's incredible. If you’ve followed the whole series, it’s just unbelievable.”
Do you still seem very nervous and excited?
“Normally I'm never nervous, but today it's so special. In that case you can be that.”
Are you looking forward to holding the Stanley Cup in your hands?
“Now I can because he’ll come to Tom at some point and then I’ll take him in my arms.”
How important is success for German ice hockey?
“So I think it's really, really important for Tom because he's had a difficult time. He was often injured and fought through it, went his own way and never stopped. I hope that this will happen not only in Landshut, but across the borders Bayerns sparked something. For now, we should all be very proud of Tom.”
