It's not just the Krefeld trio Daniel Pietta, Marcel Noebels and Pascal Zerressen who is looking forward to it Deutschland Cup "at home"
Premiere in Krefeld: The traditional event takes place for the first time Deutschland Cup in Krefeld. In the birthplace of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund, the silver medalist will face Russia, Slovakia and Switzerland. That the trio Daniel Pietta (Krefeld Pinguine), Marcel Noebels (Eisbären Berlin) and Pascal Zerressen (Kölner Haie) is particularly keen on the tasks ahead, which should be obvious given her history. All three come from Krefeld or went through the KEV youth program. Basically a home tournament for the three national players.
You could almost include Sinan Akdag. But only almost. Because the defender of the Adler Mannheim was born in Rosenheim, but made his first professional steps in black and yellow. He celebrated his DEL debut in the 2007/2008 season and stayed on the Lower Rhine for seven years. “I know my way around here very well and have a lot of friends and acquaintances here,” says the defender: “DEL games with Mannheim in Krefeld are still something special for me. Now even more so with the national team.”
Patrick Hager also has a similar story to Akdag. Unfortunately, the Munich striker had to cancel at short notice due to an injury. Yasin Ehliz confirmed his participation immediately after returning from North America. The New Munich resident will be in the circle on Thursday morning DEB-Selection expected. Akdag and Ehliz have a deep friendship. And a special one: Both are children of Turkish immigrants who were born in Germany. “It’s great that Yasin is back,” says Akdag.
Akdag is looking forward to the upcoming games in his “old home”. He always enjoyed being in front of them Fans The 29-year-old emphasizes that he wants to play in Krefeld. It should be the same at the upcoming tournament. “I know that they Fans can be very euphoric here. We want to help the supporters Deutschland Cup show our best possible ice hockey and of course we need the audience. But I’m not worried about support,” says Akdag, looking forward to it Deutschland Cup-Premiere.
The objective is clear. In the best case scenario, the national team should win the tournament. This is exactly what could give the team the tailwind it needs for the tasks ahead. “These will be three difficult games in which we have to give everything,” says Akdag. Either way. Regardless of sporting results, the players should also enjoy their time with the national team. A good working atmosphere has always been important to Marco Sturm. He doesn't have to worry about the feel-good factor with the Krefeld trio Pietta, Noebels and Zerressen - especially not with Sinan Akdag.