The contingent of Men's national team The start of preparations for the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Denmark and Sweden has been confirmed. National coach Harold Kreis has a total of 25 players nominated, which will meet in Regensburg next Monday, April 7, 2025. As part of the first phase of World Cup preparations, DEBselection will play two international matches against the reigning world champions, the Czech Republic.
These will take place on Thursday, April 10 (19:30 p.m.) and Saturday, April 12 (17:30 p.m.) in the "das Stadtwerk.Donau-Arena." Tickets for Thursday's game are still available at DEB-Ticketshop, the second match on Saturday is sold out. All matches will be live and free on MagentaSport transfer.
Three goalkeepers, eight defenders and 14 strikers form the squad for the start of World Cup preparations. Eight players already have World Cup experience (Maximilian Franzreb / Fischtown Pinguins, Colin Ugbekile / Iserlohn Roosters, Alexander Ehl / Düsseldorfer EG, Dominik Bittner, Patrick Hager, Maximilian Kastner, Nicolas Krämmer and Filip Varejcka / all Red Bull Munich). With striker Elis Hede (Straubing Tigers) is also a debutant in the team, Patrick Hager is the most experienced player with 155 international matches.
The Coaching Staff for Phase one consists of national coach Harold Kreis: Thomas Dolak, Jan Barta (assistants), Adam Mitchell (video), Dennis Endras (goalkeeper) and Christian Bachmann (athletics). DEB-Assistant coach Alexander Sulzer will be joining the team from the second week of preparation.
Next Monday the team will arrive in Regensburg and will participate in the first training session on the ice. Further preparations for the start against the Czech selection are also scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. After the two international matches against the world champions, there will only be a short break. Already on Monday, the DEBThe team will travel to Slovakia to prepare for its next two matches. These will take place on Wednesday, April 16, and Thursday, April 17, in Piešťany. Both matches kick off at 18:XNUMX PM. The team will return to Germany on Good Friday. Phases three (Zell am See / Rosenheim) and four (Düsseldorf) of World Cup preparation will then continue.
Harold Circle for squad nomination and the Opening match against the Czech Republic"We are confident that we have the right mix of experience and energy in the team to start preseason. All players now have the opportunity to showcase their skills and contribute their qualities against a top international team. The Czechs will play with a high tempo and aggressive forecheck whenever the opportunity arises. They are a strong opponent for us, and we can see where we stand right away. When nominating players for the first phase, we did not consider a few players who are still recovering from minor injuries sustained in the playoffs. They could join us at a later date."
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast on the start of the World Cup preparations: "From our point of view, we have put together a balanced World Cup preparation that challenges us in every phase. The games represent an important assessment for us in order to develop further and build a strong squad for the World Cup. In the composition of the coaching staff, we continue to follow our DEBphilosophy of giving the nominated coaches a chance to be with us at international level in the early stages of preparation and to gain valuable experience for their development. At the same time, we also appreciate the impetus they provide for our preparation for the World Cup. Furthermore, we are particularly pleased with the outstanding response to our four home international matches. For us, the Fan-Support is important before the start of the World Cup, it gives the team a lot of momentum on the way to Herning."
World Cup preparation of the German men’s national team:
10.04.2025/19/30 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany– Czech Republic (Regensburg)
12.04.2025/17/30 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany – Czech Republic (Regensburg)
Aug 16.04.2025, 18 | 00:XNUMX p.m. | Slovakia – Germany (Piestany)
Aug 17.04.2025, 18 | 00:XNUMX p.m. | Slovakia – Germany (Piestany)
Aug 24.04.2025, 19 | 00:XNUMX p.m. | Austria - Germany (Zell am See)
26.04.2025/17/00 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany – Austria (Rosenheim)
04.05.2025/17/00 | XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. | Germany – USA (Düsseldorf)
All World Cup preparation matches will be broadcast live and free of charge on MagentaSport transfer.