Moritz Seider has not yet ventured into Surströmming, the fermented herring, which is known beyond the country's borders, but overall in Sweden, the move to Rögle BK was the right step at the right time for him in every respect. “I'm super happy and feel incredibly good,” says the 19-year-old talented defender and adds with a laugh: “But I'd rather put away canned fish, otherwise my day is over.”
Instead, Seider enjoys being close to the sea and enjoying the “almost normal” life in the quiet town of Ängelholm with a population of 40.000 despite the corona pandemic. But most of all, he enjoys the role that head coach Cam Abbott has given him. Together with his Canadian defense partner Eric Gelinas, the national player is the top defensive tandem, always on the ice when things get hot or important. “I play a lot, get time in the power play, penalty killing, play in overtime. That’s what you train for, you want to be on the ice in the crucial moments,” reports Seider.
All of this should also prepare the right-handed shooter for what will hopefully come this fall: his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings. For general manager Steve Yzerman, Seider is a special player, not only because the German was Yzerman's first draft pick by the Red Wings (at position 2019 in 6), but also because he is an important building block for the future of the eleven-time Stanley Cup -Champions sees.
A few months ago, Yzerman described Seider’s progress as “encouraging” and “promising”. The contact with the Red Wings is “regular,” says Seider, and personally he often meets ex-Red Wings defender Niklas Kronwall, who now works in management, with whom he then analyzes games and who points out things for the future are important in the NHL. “I’m really looking forward to the new season, we want to finally get the line-up in the NHL, that’s the really, really big goal,” says Seider, who still has a lot planned until then.
The Rhineland-Palatinate native would like to get back on the ice at short notice - after a shoulder injury that fortunately only kept him out of action for a few weeks. “I don’t want to rush anything, it won’t help, and I want to come back without a lot of hassle,” says Seider, who could be ready for action again in 14 days and knows that his fall into the gang could have turned out differently: “I was very lucky that I still play with a full carbon rail, which probably saved my career. It went well again and now it’s time to train hard and get back to 100 percent.”
Thanks to Seider, who has an outstanding 31 points scorer for a defender in 24 games so far, Rögle BK is close to the top of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and definitely has championship ambitions. “We have an incredibly strong team and high goals,” reports Seider, who will spend the entire season in southern Sweden – that’s what we agreed with the Red Wings: “That gives me clarity and I don’t have to deal with any eventualities. I can concentrate fully on the season, which also helps me a lot mentally.”
National coach Toni Söderholm naturally has Seider on his list when he puts together the team for the 2021 World Cup in Riga, Latvia from May 21 to June 6. He thinks the move to Sweden is "outstanding for Moritz's development," the Swedish league is currently very strong and tactically sophisticated, and Rögle BK is always about winning. "The most important thing for him at the moment," says Söderholm, "is that he has a lot of ice time and takes responsibility. That way he gains confidence in his game."
After Seider at Deutschland Cup had been missing and the measure had to be canceled in February, he would be facing his first senior international matches since spring 2019 in the run-up to the World Cup. “After there was no chance last year, we are incredibly hot. Of course, I want to present myself as best as possible in order to earn a place," says Seider, broadening his view to February 2022: "The Olympics will also be a very interesting topic, so I hope that a childhood dream will come true and that we “Be able to play against the very best in the world.”