Game in Mannheim almost sold out / US boys come with numerous NHL players / Söderholm: “Last tough test before the World Cup with a very high pace.”
The German national team will face the USA in the final international match in preparation for the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Slovakia. The game will take place on Tuesday evening (game starts at 19.00 p.m.) in the SAP Arena in Mannheim.
There are still a few remaining tickets available tickets.saparena.de.
For the DEB-Selection ends the four-week preparation for the World Cup with the international match against the USA. The USA is also one of the group opponents of the German national team at the World Cup. National coach Toni Söderholm wants to gain further important insights from the test against the USA: "The USA has only just arrived. We expect a high tempo in this final tough test. It is the first and last game for us as a 'complete' team before the final squad decisions are made."
Defender Moritz Seider (18 years old) will make his debut with the German national team. And in what is expected to be a sold-out SAP Arena in Mannheim. The talented German defender was trained by the Jungadler and recently celebrated the DEL championship with the Adler: "It will be a great experience. I never would have thought that all these great events would follow one another so quickly. I will simply enjoy the moment, approach my task with great joy and take as much with me as possible," said Moritz Seider.
Like many other World Cup participants, the USA has named numerous NHL players to its squad for the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. Eleven first-round draft picks alone are in the US boys' squad: Jack Eichel (Buffalo Sabres), Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings), Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Clayton Keller (Arizona Coyotes), Chris Kreider, Brady Skjei (both New York Rangers), James van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia Flyers), Cory Schneider (New Jersey Devils), Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild) and Colin White (Ottawa Senators).
The German team's last success against the USA was just a year ago: back then, the team won Deutschland Cup in Augsburg with 5:1. In the last duel, the Americans had the better end: At the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Denmark, they won the group phase 3-0. In a total of 102 games, the German team secured 31 successes and lost 62 times. Another nine games ended in a draw and three games were decided in a shootout.
National player Dominik Kahun will meet two of his teammates from Chicago on Tuesday evening: Patrick Kane, third-best scorer in the NHL regular season (110 points) and Alex DeBrincat (41 goals): "We already talked about it in Chicago and joked about it a bit. We are of course looking forward to seeing each other again in Mannheim and then at the World Cup. Basically, it is a great thing that so many NHL stars are in Slovakia. We are looking forward to it and can hardly wait for the World Cup to start."
The game against the USA will be broadcast live on SPORT1 and MagentaSport (free of charge).