The challenges for the Deutschland Cup 2020 continues to increase, but the plan to take place from November 5th to 8th remains unchanged. The Deutscher Eishockey-Bund is once again looking for alternative plans after the Norwegian national team, which had stepped in as a replacement candidate, had to revise its commitment with great regret due to corona-related circumstances. The absence of the eleventh in the world rankings means that a deviation from the traditional four-man format may also be necessary, although the usual tournament format is not yet off the table.
Currently are at DEB Various scenarios were played out, including a three-man format with a German perspective team from the top team Beijing - consisting of top talents. This would also enable the young national players to prepare well for the U20 World Cup in Edmonton. They deal with models for implementing these plans DEB-Coaches around national coach Toni Söderholm intensively. Latvia, currently the only international opponent, is sticking to its commitment and reaffirmed it at the weekend. The Latvians are planning an upstream training camp with accompanying corona tests before the tenth in the world rankings travels to Germany.
National coach Toni Söderholm: “We are looking for solutions for several reasons. On the one hand, the U20 games planned for November have already been canceled and we therefore want as many German players as possible to get on the ice. We already had a perspective team like the one currently planned at the camp in Füssen at the end of September. On the other hand, it is important for the A team to take advantage of every opportunity to play that we get with a view to the 2021 World Cup and the 2022 Olympics. The situation is so unpredictable around the world that we don't know how many opportunities we will have, so we can't miss any.”
Photos: 1/City-Press. 2 /DEB