For the U20 national team, preparations for the World Championship in Edmonton, Canada, begin on Sunday. The most important young talent tournament in world ice hockey is the highlight of the season, and not just for the German talents. In Group A, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation will face hosts Canada, Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland. All games can be watched live and free of charge on MagentaSport. The team of U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter wants to put on a good performance. The head coach is looking ahead to a number of topics.
Tobias Abstreiter about...
... the squad
The selection is similar to the A team. I look at what role the players can fill. It's about offensive strength, defensive stability or the special teams: who can play outnumbered and shorthanded, who can play wing and center forward. There are very different criteria that are important. Of course, every team stands or falls with a good goalkeeper and stable defenders. The DEL experience also plays a big role, which is very, very important because you want to have as many players as possible from the top league. Because Moritz Seider is not available to us, the burden in defense should now be spread across several shoulders, so some have to take on more responsibility and are able to do so. Some of the offensive players have made good development and, in the future, there are also some younger players from the 02 year who can draw attention to themselves. Everyone who is nominated deserves to be there - even if it may only be on demand.
... the first part of the preparation
We'll meet in Füssen on December 6th with 27 players, which is four days earlier than last year. The boys have to observe the hygiene regulations, which is very important. The boys must show up with a negative test in order to be allowed to take part in the preparation. This is a very big point to consider all of this. Contacts should be reduced as much as possible at home in the last few days before arrival. In Füssen a player is not even allowed to buy toothpaste himself, all of this is strictly forbidden, we have to stick to that. On December 13th we fly to Edmonton with 25 players, who will all stay there until January 5th. We go into quarantine immediately upon arrival and are not allowed to train until December 18th. Everyone has to stay alone in the hotel room, it will be a very challenging time, but we have already thought about how we will use this time.
… focal points of the week in Füssen
We will go through all the tactical elements of our game, we will often work with game-like training forms, play 5 against 5, train the special teams. But we will also set stimuli and incorporate fitness work. It will be pretty intense. In addition, the tackling exercises and the playful exercises are all intensive. Most of the players are now in game mode, which is a good thing. Only the first session after the quarantine in Canada will be a bit more relaxed. I expect the focus to sharpen from day to day. The closer it gets to the start, the more tension will be felt. The focus should be on having fun, on preparing for a great World Cup. The boys should come to the hall every day with joy and put all the rest of it aside.
... the group opponents
We will try to bring our things in, automate our style of play, we are not so fixated on our opponents. Of course, however, we talk about what is important internationally. We will play the first two games against Finland and Canada, who are the favourites in the group. I assume that we will play against Switzerland and Slovakia for the quarter-finals. We have a good chance, we have a good team and everyone is aware that we have good quality. We have to give our best performance. Our aim is to play a good tournament, we want to draw attention to ourselves. The fact that there is no relegation does not change our style.
With material from MagentaSport