World Cup conclusion: “Compactness and straightforwardness were missing”

Mr. Künast, how long did it take you to process the disappointment of the World Cup group stage exit and to be able to enter analysis mode?

Christian Künast: "The disappointment is normal; otherwise, we would be out of place in our sport. Over the past five years, I've always been able to include in my summary the sentence that reaching the quarterfinals is not a given for Germany. Unfortunately, I can't include it this year—but it helps me because it helps me put our performance into perspective. On Tuesday, I have a big meeting with Harry (national coach Harold Kreis; editor's note), where we'll go over everything one last time."

Do you leave the exchange with the players after a World Cup entirely to the national coach, or do you also seek out the discussions yourself?

Christian Künast: "Harry does most of it; that's his job. But I also talk to one or two players. It's more about how the players perceived certain things in our collaboration. Harry discusses the content, tactics, and sporting aspects with them. It's also important for me to wait a bit after the World Cup. I've learned in recent years that two or three days after the tournament, many things that seem very positive or now negative are still fresh. If you let it sink in a bit, you sometimes get a more nuanced picture."

What were the main reasons for the elimination in the preliminary round in your analysis, which you will discuss with the national coach on Tuesday?

Christian Künast: “My main point remains the compactness that has always distinguished Germany in recent years and was missing this time. By that, I simply mean playing compactly in all zones for 60 minutes. We saw in the first three games we won that our lack of compactness allowed us to create chances, especially against Norway."

What other weaknesses did you identify?

Christian Künast: "My second main point is the straightforwardness of the offense. We weren't as dangerous as in recent years because our first thought wasn't to score, but to pass when we crossed the blue line."

Would it have been easier in the group stage to have one of the “big ones” earlier or not have to overcome all the big hurdles in a row in the final sprint of the group?

Christian Künast: "It would have been really helpful for us if we'd had a different start. But it's not a wish list. We tried hard to influence the schedule this time as well. For example, Denmark had two days off before their match against us. But that's the organizer's right. And they deliberately scheduled it that way and did everything right. So we were at a disadvantage this time."

Do you attribute the lack of compactness to the absence of key defensive players such as Kai Wissmann and Moritz Müller or two-way center Nico Sturm?

Christian Künast: "Compactness is a puzzle made up of several pieces. It certainly has to do with the players who weren't there, but it's the case everywhere that one or two players are missed from time to time. Nevertheless, the team was very, very well-positioned. In the silver year, the compactness was present throughout the entire tournament, even during the defeats. The following year in Ostrava, it was also present for large parts of the tournament. This year, I didn't have that feeling from the start."

Did it also play a role that some of the younger leaders simply lack the experience to not want to solve things alone in difficult phases?

Christian Künast: "That's absolutely true. There comes a point for younger players taking on leadership roles where they simply have to have that experience. And the experience of that close call, of not making it to the quarterfinals via penalty shootout in the final game, will help us for the future and also the individual players in their careers."

The fact that Tim Stützle and Moritz Seider, in particular, put a lot of pressure on themselves as young leaders and NHL stars was evident throughout the World Cup. What are you and the national coach taking from this for your discussions with the NHL pros?

Christian Künast: "I almost have to smile a little, because it was part of our conversation at every meeting that they didn't have to carry the burden alone. We even discussed it with them again during the tournament. But I definitely take away from that, perhaps even more, more concrete, and different interventions to relieve this pressure. To some extent, though, it will always remain that way. These are players who are where they are because they want to take responsibility and contribute. Let's take Tim Stützle, for example. He's coming off his first playoff experience with Ottawa and was a target in this series, which is clear because he's one of the best, or even the best, players in Ottawa. Nevertheless, he comes to us and is determined to take responsibility, even though many people tell him that he's not solely responsible. It's a learning process – for the player, but also for us, so we can take an even more targeted approach to ensuring that things don't go that way."

With Lukas Reichel, the team lost a key part of their offensive production early on: After his injury, the impression arose that not only was his individual class lacking, but also that the chemistry of the attacking formations never again achieved the same level of quality as in the first three World Cup matches…

Christian Künast: "The loss hurt us in every way. With Lukas, we had already seen that things were going well and his line was working – and then you suddenly start building. It was a bit of a line search."

Photos: City-Press

One player who has consistently performed well for the national team recently is Wojciech Stachowiak, who has now been rewarded with an NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. A few words about him and his overall development.

Christian Künast: "During the World Cup, I had a conversation with Mathieu Darche (former Assistant General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now General Manager of the New York Islanders, editor's note). He specifically asked me about Stachowiak. It was an interesting exchange in which I praised Stachowiak and noted that it was worth giving a player like him a chance in the NHL. Of course, a contract isn't automatically a guarantee of making it to the NHL. But I'm happy when national players even dare to make the jump to North America, regardless of the national team's performance. That shows the importance of German ice hockey."

One of the discoveries during the PENNY-DEL season was Korbinian Geibel, who also confirmed this with the national team…

Christian Künast: "I perhaps didn't quite expect him to continue at this level during the World Cup. And of course, we're also pleased that players who weren't on our radar this year or last year are candidates for us next year. That shows that we've come a long way since we were ten years ago."

And conversely, it also shows the players that they still get the chance even if they haven't been part of the national team for three or four years...

Christian Künast: "So it would be presumptuous to say that we're a nation that can say, 'This is our area and no one can get in.' We're just not as advanced as other nations, not even as far as the Swiss. The Swiss are more broadly positioned, more advanced than we are in the seniors' area. We still have room for improvement there. But it's much better than it was in my time or before 2015."

Looking at the tournament as a whole: To what extent did you continue to follow the course of events after the DEB-Teams?

Christian Künast: "I actually watched almost every game afterward, including both semifinals, the third-place match for a third, and almost the entire final. I fell asleep a little bit in between because it was so late—I'm really an early riser. (laughs). But I was awake again for the final period and overtime."

What do you say about the new world champion?

Christian Künast: "It was a surprising World Cup win. A very good team made up of NHL players, of course, but they developed during the tournament. And the USA had this compactness. In the semifinal against Sweden, there were scenes that reminded me of the golden age of the Finns."

How do you view Switzerland’s renewed runner-up title at the World Championships?

Christian Künast: "Switzerland would be next in line, in my opinion. I have a WhatsApp conversation with Lars Weibel (Editor's note: Director of the Swiss national teams) in which we wrote three years ago that one of our nations could also become world champions. And I rarely feel sorry for the Swiss—I think that's part of our rivalry. But I really felt sorry for them this time."

Where does the German team stand in comparison to the teams mentioned?

Christian Künast: "We're eighth in the world rankings, including the new one—and that's where we belong. It doesn't take much to lose to numbers ten, eleven, twelve, or 13—and consequently miss out on a quarterfinal spot. But it's also entirely possible for us to beat numbers one, two, three, four, or five."

Is there any progress regarding the contract extension for Harold Kreis as national coach?

Christian Künast: "We had, I can say quite openly, a loose conversation about how we want to move forward. In July, we'll sit down for another open discussion to ask the questions: What do both sides want? Do both sides already have a clear plan? 

By when should a decision be made in this regard?

Christian Künast: "I'd prefer it to be finalized before the next World Cup. So, a good window for the decision is between the Olympics and the World Cup next year. It shouldn't be later. In the area we work in, all of today's results are worthless if anything goes in a different direction. I think the plan is sensible: an initial meeting in July so we can align our mindsets, and then we can work through the hockey year."

Finally, a current look at North America. Marco Sturm has been named head coach of the Boston Bruins. What comes to mind when you hear such news? 

Christian Künast: "We are delighted with the news we received from Boston. Marco had a major influence on the development of German ice hockey during his time as national coach. He is largely responsible for changing the mindset of the German national team into a team that believes in itself. This was the basis for our shared silver medal success in 2018 and has continued even after his tenure. We wish Marco much success with the Bruins."