Two months before the start of the 84th Ice Hockey World Championship in Riga (May 21 to June 6), national coach Toni Söderholm is expecting a good tournament despite the ongoing corona pandemic. "We are still waiting for feedback on the rules regarding Covid-19. But otherwise it looks OK. I think it will be a very good World Championship," said the DEB-Coach on the occasion of an exclusive Fan-Talks with supporters of the EHC Red Bull München.
The conversation was broadcast via livestream. Also the Fans had the opportunity to ask the former Red Bulls player questions. When asked about the past few months, the Finn said: "It was a difficult time, just like for everyone else. We planned a lot, but were only able to do a little. We had to discuss practically everything over the phone."
Even when he visits the stadium, Söderholm is currently unable to communicate with anyone in person. "When I'm at games now, I don't meet anyone. I can't contact players at the moment. It all happens over the phone now." Nevertheless, Söderholm, who won the first German championship in the club's history as a defender with Red Bull Munich in 2016, is looking forward to the upcoming World Cup tournament with optimism: "We now have six or seven preparation games on our radar. We'll fly to Latvia about a week before the World Cup starts."
Söderholm began working for the German national team in January 2019, after they celebrated their historic win of the Olympic silver medal in Pyeongchang in 2018. He said it was a "stroke of luck" to take over as coach after the greatest success in German ice hockey history. "The players were rightly confident. They experienced something wonderful and learned how to achieve something at a major tournament," explains the 42-year-old. Söderholm wants to use these experiences: "We definitely want to preserve the positive feeling that is in the national team and in the dressing room. That is a good basis for us to develop further."
Source: EHC Red Bull München