All three debutants in the squad this evening / Moritz Müller captain today / Düsseldorf's Leon Niederberger is nominated
It's starting: This evening (19 p.m.) the German national ice hockey team is celebrating its premiere at the event being held for the first time in Krefeld Deutschland Cup. The opponent is none other than Russia. Gold medal winners against silver medalists – the supporters in the KönigPALAST can hardly imagine a better start. National coach Marco Sturm: “We will be extremely challenged right at the start of the tournament. I expect a quick game.”
Sturm will field all three debutants in the evening against the Olympic champion, thereby further promoting the generational change at the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund. Accordingly, Lean Bergmann (Iserlohn Roosters), Fabio Pfohl (Kölner Haie) and Phil Hungerecker (Adler Mannheim) play their first international match. The “Krefeld duo” Daniel Pietta and Marcel Noebels are also in the squad.
Another debutant is expected to join the team on Friday. After the short-term absence of Yasin Ehliz, striker Leon Niederberger has been brought in from the Düsseldorfer EG nominated. “Leon was able to draw attention to himself during the current DEL season,” explained the national coach. "That's incredible. I didn't hesitate for a second and want to be with the team as quickly as possible. It’s a dream come true for me,” said keeper Mathias Niederberger’s younger brother.
Marco Sturm has also decided to name various captains in the coming days. Cologne's Moritz Müller will lead the national team onto the ice against Russia. His assistants are Marcus Kink and David Wolf (both Adler Mannheim).