Canada, Finland, Austria and the Czech Republic are the opponents for the German U20 men's national ice hockey team at the IIHF U20 World Championship in Edmonton (Canada). The season highlight will take place from Sunday, December 26, 2021, to Wednesday, January 5, 2022. In an interview, U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter talks about the World Cup preparations, the opponents in the group phase - and the team's Christmas plans.
Tobias, before we talk about the upcoming IIHF U20 World Championship in Edmonton, can you give a little review of the U20 year? How did your year go?
Tobias Abstreiter: The highlight of the year is of course still to come. But we had three good measures this year: a slightly shorter one in June, in July we were at the four-nation tournament in Füssen (editor's note: opponents of the Germans - Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia). In November we played against Norway, the Czech Republic and Switzerland at the four-nation tournament in Lillehammer (Norway) and won the tournament.
How did the measures go for you? How has the team developed – also with a view to the World Cup?
Tobias Abstreiter: We have re-viewed and examined several players. We paid attention to the composition of the squad for the World Cup. It is important to have a good mix in the team. Some players were at the World Cup in Edmonton last year. With these players we knew they had the experience we needed. But of course we also continued to follow their development. Some of them have been playing in the DEL since this season, so it was interesting to see how they find their way in the DEL.
The main thing for us this year was to familiarize ourselves with the system and get to know the structures and anchor them in the minds of the players. We're not reinventing ice hockey on the international stage, but there are some things that are special internationally. We have to get this into our heads, movement sequences and automatisms.
You will meet in Füssen on December 13th. What's on the agenda before you fly to Edmonton on December 15th?
Tobias Abstreiter: The boys will arrive during the course of Sunday. On Monday morning, everyone will have to undergo a PCR test - and then hopefully we will quickly get the go-ahead to go on the ice with the whole team in the afternoon. In two intensive sessions, we will train 5-on-5 system content, power play and shorthanded play. We will make sure that we deal with the most important things in the sessions, because we only have one and a half training sessions in Canada before the first preparation game.
How do you prepare well with very little time?
Tobias Abstreiter: The most important things have already been discussed beforehand. When preparing for the World Cup, we repeat the most important things to anchor them in our minds. Fine-tuning is important, especially for the international stage. That's why we're still looking at details, for example the positional play on the small ice. The players have even less time and even less space on the small ice. That's why it's important that the boys concentrate on playing even more intensely and faster. The boys have zero point zero time on the ice. The opponent is always there, the duel is always there.
Your opponents in the group stage are Finland (on December 26.12th), Czech Republic (on December 27.12th), Canada (on December 29.12th) and Austria (on December 31.12st). How do you rate the teams?
Tobias Abstreiter: The ice hockey nations Canada and Finland are very strong - not just in the young talent category, but always. I also think they are very strong for this World Cup, and in the past they have always been in direct contention for the title. They will be the strongest opponents in our group. The Czechs are also good opponents. They have good players and can surprise top nations. The Austrians are actually behind us in the world rankings, and we definitely want to beat them.
What is your goal for the IIHF U20 World Championship?
Tobias Abstreiter: Of course we want to stay in the A group and not be relegated. We also want to put good games on the ice and develop further. It's realistic to say that the next step should be reaching the quarter-finals.
A completely different question that has nothing to do with ice hockey: Do you celebrate Christmas?
Tobias Abstreiter: We will order special food to the hotel and sit down together. That's what we've done in previous years. But there won't be a big celebration, because we're not in Canada to celebrate - we want to put in a good performance at the World Cup and that's our focus.