The German North American pros can look back on an eventful month. While Leon Draisaitl and Dominik Kahun were on an upward trend with the Edmonton Oilers, but then suffered two zero-goal defeats against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nico Sturm is really on the move with the Minnesota Wild. NHL rookie Tim Stützle managed to turn things around with the Ottawa Senators and was named NHL rookie of the month, but Tobias Rieder is in a real slump with the Buffalo Sabres. The American Hockey League (AHL) has been playing since February 5th, and German pros are also involved there. The NHL gave the Fans also two special outdoor games at Lake Tahoe - one with Philipp Grubauer and the Colorado Avalanche.
An overview of February in North America from a German perspective:
Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
The Cologne player seamlessly continued his performance from January and is currently on a course that could theoretically give him a score of almost 56 points after completing all 80 main round games. For comparison: In a regular season with 82 games, that would be over 110 points and therefore close to his record season from the previous year. “Leon is even better than last year. Once he's on the ice, he's dangerous - and you can't say that about many players. He has simply become even more complete,” said former national coach Marco Sturm, who is currently assistant coach of the Los Angeles Kings, in the podcast “The Ice Hockey Show”. The Edmonton Oilers as a whole have also been quite successful in the past few weeks. With seven wins from the last ten games, Draisaitl's team is currently in second place in the North Division.
Philipp Grubauer (Colorado Avalanche)
A special honor was given to goalie Philipp Grubauer, who stood between the posts in the first game of this year's two NHL outdoor games at Lake Tahoe and won with the Colorado Avalanche against the Vegas Golden Knights. The fact that the bright sun had quite an impact that day was noticeable not only because Grubauer wore sunglasses under his mask before the game, but also because the game had to be interrupted after the first third. Despite temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius, large holes formed in the ice, which caused both the players and the officials to regularly fall. Eight hours later, at 21 p.m. local time, the encounter continued and the Rosenheim player made a significant contribution to the 37-3 with 2 saved shots. With an average of 2,20 goals conceded per game and one Fangrate of 91,5% still ranks him among the top Goalies in the NHL.
Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators)
With four wins from five games, the Ottawa Senators are well on their way to moving away from the bottom of the table and right now Tim Stützle is earning even more trust from his head coach DJ Smith. He rewarded his increasing ice time with a goal and seven assists in the last eight games and was named the NHL's best rookie of the month. A total of five goals and nine assists in 21 games put him in second place on the rookie scoring list behind Russian Kirill Kaprizov (17 points). “It’s unbelievable that he’s in the league at his age. When he played for Germany, he already showed what he can do and he will definitely play a lot more games in the NHL. I’m also pleased that more and more German players are moving into the league,” said Philipp Grubauer in an interview with SID about Stützle. Last month, the Viersen player had around 17 minutes of ice time per game. Most recently, Stützle formed a formation with Drake Batherson and Josh Norris – a “German” attack line, so to speak. Batherson's father Norm once played for the Straubing Tigers and Norris' dad Dwayne was an influential figure at the Kölner Haien and the Frankfurt Lions. Another notable note: In the shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens, Stützle overcame none other than Carey Price on his first penalty shot in the NHL.
Dominik Kahun (Edmonton Oilers)
The highlight of the past month for Dominik Kahun were his two goals against the Vancouver Canucks, with which he contributed significantly to his Oilers' 24-4 victory on February 3th. For Kahun it was the second two-goal game of his NHL career, both goals were scored by Leon Draisaitl, with whom Kahun was back in a formation after a short “shift”. The 2018 Olympic silver hero currently has four goals and assists after 24 games.
Tobias Rieder (Buffalo Sabres)
A few positive corona cases in the Buffalo Sabers, head coach Ralph Krueger was also affected, put the team with striker Tobias Rieder out of step. Several other players had to go through the so-called “COVID-19 protocol”, which led to six games being postponed. The COVID-19 protocol applies in the NHL when players or staff members have either tested positive, have certain symptoms or have been contact persons. This procedure requires, among other things, a quarantine that can only be left after a certain number of negative tests. February was a more than mixed month for the franchise from the state of New York, because there was little success in terms of sport. There were only two wins in nine games and the Sabers are currently bottom of the NHL.
Nico Sturm (Minnesota Wild)
Nico Sturm recently scored his first three NHL goals in the main round and also added his first assist of the season. The Augsburg man scored his first goal in the best ice hockey league in the world in the summer at the NHL restart, and on the night of February 25th he scored his first two goals in the so-called “regular season”. In addition to an empty-net goal, Sturm helped the up-and-coming team from the “Hockey State” to a 6-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche with a cheeky solo effort against compatriot Philipp Grubauer. The 25-year-old NHL rookie scored his third goal in February against the Los Angeles Kings in a duel with namesake Marco Sturm, the Californians' assistant coach. The Minnesota Wild is currently one of the league's strongest teams, winning seven of its last ten games.
Marc Michaelis (Vancouver Canucks)
The striker is still in the Vancouver Canucks' extended squad, the so-called Taxi Squad, but has had to be patient and is still waiting for his first NHL appearance for the team from the 2010 Olympic city.
Thomas Greiss (Detroit Red Wings)
The Detroit Red Wings are in transition and it will still take time before the team from Michigan can return to its old glory days. There were at least five wins in February. Thomas Greiss has so far conceded an average of 16 goals per game in 3,37 appearances, one Fangrate of 88,5 percent and won one game.
Lean Bergmann (San Jose Sharks/San Jose Barracuda)
Bergmann contributed one assist in his five games this season for the San Jose Sharks AHL team. The San Jose Barracuda have three wins from six games after February. Bergmann wants to recommend himself for his next NHL probation opportunity through good performances in the AHL.
Tom Kühnhackl (Bridgeport Sound Tigers)
With a contract with the New York Islanders farm team in the AHL, the 29-year-old from Landshut has the opportunity to play for the NHL again after recovering from his injury. Kühnhackl is pleased that he is taking on a leadership role in the team as assistant captain for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Similar to the NHL, the AHL is also divided into five divisions of different sizes in this exceptional season, and the main round is played exclusively there. What is curious is that the Atlantic Division with Bridgeport only consists of three teams. The Providence Bruins and Hartford Wolf Pack will soon know Kühnhackl inside and out.
Leon Gawanke (Winnipeg Jets/Manitoba Moose)
After six games in the PENNY DEL for the Eisbären Berlin Leon Gawanke was called back to Winnipeg, Canada, where he plays for the Jets' partner team, Manitoba Moose in the AHL. He already played a full season here last season and impressed. “I am very grateful that I am in Berlin “We were allowed to train and play,” said Gawanke, who played last November Deutschland Cup played his first international matches. The right-handed shooter has had three assists in nine AHL games so far, and the team record is mixed with four wins and five defeats.
Dominik Bokk (Carolina Hurricanes/Chicago Wolves)
With the start of the AHL season, the Carolina Hurricanes ordered Dominik Bokk to North America, where he will play his way into the NHL's spotlight with the Chicago Wolves. What is interesting here is that due to three teams not taking part in this year's AHL games, the Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes are sharing the Wolves as a farm team. Development players from both franchises are therefore on the roster of the team from the state of Illinois. Although Bokk hasn't managed a goal yet, he has recorded three assists in seven games played so far.