This is how April went for the German professionals in North America

An eventful month of April in the NHL is behind us. As always, there were some notable player changes between the 12 teams at the trade deadline on April 31th and due to the Corona outbreak in the Vancouver Canucks team, the season was extended until May 19th, at least in the Canadian division. In the USA, however, the picture is completely different: with the exception of the United Center in Chicago, all arenas reopened their gates to a limited number of spectators. With the World Cup in Riga, Latvia starting soon on May 21st, there is at least hope for players like Tim Stützle, Tobias Rieder and Moritz Seider, who plays for Rögle BK in Sweden, to take part in the World Cup.

If you would like to get your own impression of what is happening in the best league in the world, you can watch two games with German participation on SPORT1+ next Monday to Tuesday:

• May 4, 02:00 a.m.: Minnesota Wild vs Vegas Golden Knights
• May 4, 04:30 a.m.: San Jose Sharks vs Colorado Avalanche

Philipp Grubauer (Colorado Avalanche)

Thanks to his outstanding performances, Philipp Grubauer was the undisputed number one goalkeeper for the Colorado Avalanche throughout the season. In order to be prepared for a possible loss by the Rosenheimer, the team from the mile-high city of Denver “exchanged” the San José Sharks’ top Canadian goalkeeper, Devan Dubnyk, at the trade deadline. The organization probably made the right decision at the right time, because just two days later Grubauer had to take a break due to a corona infection. Grubauer only celebrated his comeback on April 30th with a shutout against the Sharks (3-0).

Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)

A highlight for the Cologne native was certainly the hat trick in the win (4:2) against the Ottawa Senators on April 7th. However, Leon Draisaitl's 488th NHL point will not be forgotten. On a pass from Canadian Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, he sank the puck into the Winnipeg Jets' goal with a powerful one-timer last Tuesday, passing the previous German NHL top scorer Marco Sturm. “Players like Christian Ehrhoff, Marcel Goc and Marco Sturm were players I looked up to back then. We have a lot of good players who come from Germany and there will be many more to come. “So it makes me proud to be at the top of this list,” said Draisaitl in an interview after the game.

Nico Sturm (Minnesota Wild)

Nico Sturm's Minnesota Wild won seven games in a row in April. As a result, the team from Hockey State earned a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2018. Sturm himself contributed four goals to the success this month. Among other things, the Augsburg player scored against the San José Sharks on April 18th in Patrick Marleau's record game, who passed the great Gordie Howe in this game and has now played the most NHL main round games in history with 1.774. Sturm continued his success last night. In his Wild's overtime victory, he scored the 3-2 lead by deflecting the puck out of the air in front of the goal.

Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators)

Two goals and four assists make up Tim Stützle’s personal points tally. The bottom line is that he won seven of 14 games with the Ottawa Senators in April. Most recently, Stützle was on the ice in the second row with the American Colin White and the Russian Evgeni Dadonov. In the podcast “The Ice Hockey Show” he said: “I try to improve from game to game and I’m still learning. I once had a short dry spell where the puck wouldn't go in. But now I have found my self-confidence again and I am happy with my last games.” Stützle also scored last night. After a successful faceoff win, he scored with a powerful wrist shot against the Montreal Canadiens.

Marc Michaelis (Vancouver Canucks)

It was a very tough and unpleasant month for Marc Michaelis and his Vancouver Canucks. A total of 25 players and staff members were infected with the corona virus, some of them were hit quite hard in terms of health, which made it impossible to return to training for a long time. In the end, the team from the province of British Columbia had to take a two-week break, which meant that the main round in the Canadian division was extended until May 19th. Michaelis played for the Canucks in the team's comeback game against the Toronto Maple Leafs (3:2 OT) and again against the Ottawa Senators (0:3).

Dominik Kahun (Edmonton Oilers)

Dominik Kahun may not be as noticeable in the points this season as in previous years, but since he can be used flexibly in the wing position in the first three rows, he is still an important building block in the Edmonton Oilers team. Most recently he played in the front row alongside NHL top scorer Connor McDavid and Finn Jesse Puljujärvi. A special success: With the 3-1 win against the Ottawa Senators, the Edmonton Oilers won all nine meetings this season with the team from the Canadian capital.

Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings/Rögle BK)

Although Moritz Seider isn't playing in the NHL yet, he shouldn't go unmentioned here because the Detroit Red Wings draft pick is in the national championship final for the second time in his young career. Rögle BK defeated Frölunda Indians 4-0 in the quarter-finals and won the decisive fifth game against Skellefteå AIK in the semi-finals. With his Swedish club, to which the Red Wings had loaned Seider at the start of the season, he now faces the Växjö Lakers, Dominik Bokk's former team. The SHL final is played in a best-of-seven format. The team from southern Sweden lost game one 1:2. Seider scored his team's only goal. He was also named the league's best U20 player of the season. He is the first foreign player to receive this award.

Tobias Rieder (Buffalo Sabres)

After Ralph Krueger was fired, the Buffalo Sabers recovered from their lows under Don Granato. The club from the East Division won seven games in April and even beat the top teams from Boston, Pittsburgh and Washington. Tobias Rieder was also part of the National Hockey League's first official Pride game last month, where the league set an example for equal rights for everyone.

Thomas Greiss (Detroit Red Wings)

The season is still anything but positive for goalkeeper Thomas Greiss and his Detroit Red Wings. The team, which is currently in transition, is currently in seventh place in the Central Division and therefore actually has no chance of reaching the play-offs. Greiss has eight wins so far this season, four of them this month against strong teams like the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning. He recorded a shutout in each of his last two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning. He is the first Red Wings goalkeeper to achieve this since the Czech Petr Mrazek in 2018.

AHL

The American Hockey League (AHL) announced last Thursday that it will not play playoffs for the traditional Calder Cup this season due to the league's COVID-19 protocols. Each of the five divisions was given the opportunity to independently implement their own play-off format. Only the teams in the Pacific Division will end the 2020/21 season with a small tournament to decide the championship.

Lean Bergmann (San Jose Sharks/San Jose Barracuda)

Things are also going well for the San José Baracuda team at the moment. German striker Lean Bergmann is also involved. After two goals and four assists last month, he and his team are fighting for the top spots in the Pacific Division. With 31 games and 34 points, his team is currently in fourth place and still has a good chance of making it to the final tournament.

Tom Kühnhackl (Bridgeport Sound Tigers)

Five points in eight games – that is the record for Tom Kühnhackl, who is under contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers this season. For example, although the Landshut player has scored points in four consecutive games, the Atlantic Division team has so far only managed six wins out of the 21 games played and thus last place in the group consisting of three teams.

Dominik Bokk (Carolina Hurricanes/Chicago Wolves)

Personally, the month of April went very well for striker Dominik Bokk. With three goals and three assists, he helped his team, the Chicago Wolves, further extend their lead in the Central Division. A strong season so far for the Schweinfurt native, who after 22 games can now record a total of seven goals, seven assists and therefore 14 points.

Leon Gawanke (Winnipeg Jets/Manitoba Moose)

The Manitoba Moose and the native Berlinhe Leon Gawanke are currently in second place in the four-team Canadian division. After 28 games so far, the team with the elk as its emblem has now 14 wins and is 13 points behind first-place Laval Rocket – the former team of Adler Mannheim striker Markus Eisenschmid