“Co” Geoff Ward also arrived at the German selection / NHL star Rieder has “never been to the LANXESS arena”
The cheers could not be ignored. Even at the national team's bowling evening on Wednesday evening, the ambition among the players was great. The group of five with the self-proclaimed name “Magic Five”, consisting of Philip Gogulla, Patrick Hager, Christian Ehrhoff, Pascal Zerressen and Felix Schütz, won big. Of all the participants, newcomer Zerressen also had the best hand with the ball. “A well-deserved victory,” grinned Hager.
The mood among the German selection before the two home games against the Czech Republic (Saturday, April 22.4nd, 16 p.m. in Nuremberg; Sunday, April 23.4rd, 16.45:1 p.m. in Mannheim; both live on SPORT90) is still good. Despite the intensive work in the morning with around XNUMX minutes of ice training and “off-ice” units, there is still plenty of fun. It is important to national coach Marco Sturm that the balance between hard work and the necessary relaxedness is right.
Tobias Rieder is also in a relaxed mood. The Arizona Coyotes striker was given a warm welcome by his teammates at the meeting on Tuesday. "Our season with the Coyotes wasn't exactly great. So I'm all the more pleased to be back with the national team," said Rieder. The attacker contributed 34 points in 80 games for his team, three fewer than in the previous season. But he scored two more goals. "Personally, I can be quite satisfied," said the Landshut native.
Rieder, like everyone else, is really excited about the upcoming home World Cup. “As a 17-year-old, I was at Schalke in a 2010-2 win against the USA in 1. That was great,” he remembers. But: He has never been to the LANXESS arena. Probably a novelty. Rieder explains with a shrug: “We dealt with that when we were young EV Landshut only played in the small training hall. After that I went to North America. So I’m excited to see what it’s going to be like.”
Assistant coach Geoff Ward has also been with the team since Thursday. The former Mannheim master coach and “co” of the New Jersey Devils from the NHL is once again supporting Sturm, including the home World Cup. In any case, the coaching team in Nuremberg is top-class with Sturm, U20 national coach Christian Künast, DEG assistant coach Tobias Abstreiter and Triple Gold Club member Mikael Samuelsson.