Today against France: The 22-year-old's first appearance since the 2017 home World Cup / Markus Eisenschmid before his international debut / More silver heroes join the squad
He plays! NHL star Leon Draisaitl will appear for the German national team in front of the home crowd this evening (17.45:1 p.m., live on SPORT2017) for the first time since his appearance at the last home World Cup in 22. The XNUMX-year-old striker from the Edmonton Oilers leads the selection of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) in the second and final comparison against France as captain on the ice of the Corrugated Iron Palace. National coach Marco Sturm announced this decision after the morning training.
As in training during the week, Draisaitl should play alongside Frederik Tiffels and Marc Michaelis. It is the first time that Draisaitl has taken over the captaincy of the men's team. “I'm looking forward to tonight's game and especially to being able to serve as captain. This is a huge honor for me,” said Draisaitl, who last played in the “Welli” as a DNL player.
In addition, two other silver medalists, Sinan Akdag and Yasin Ehliz, will be in the squad for the evening. Markus Eisenschmid will also play his first international match. Matthias Niederberger and Niklas Treutle take turns in goal. Timo Pielmeier, Matthias Plachta, Simon Danner, Jaroslav Hafenrichter and Moritz Müller are taking a break.
After the 7-1 win in the first game against France, the national team wants the second appearance before their own Fans also successfully contested. “We want to go into the game with the same commitment as last Thursday in Wolfsburg,” said Sturm, setting the goal. However, the national coach expects that the French will go one step further after their clear defeat today. But that also worries him less. “For me at the moment it’s less about results and more about the way we play.”