Suddenly a regular in the quarterfinals after 3 straight appearances, Team Germany entered last year’s event as the biggest underdog on paper save for Team Austria. Long gone were the entries with names such as Tim Stützle and JJ Peterka, or even Maks Szuber and Benett Rossmy, and the staff was well aware of the uphill battle at hand as they made their way to Maritimes. With relegation once again part of the whole kit and caboodle, both Austria and Germany entered tourney action with December 30th encompassed by big red circles in their calendars. As preliminary round opponents, each knew to reckon with the victor of that game most likely avoiding relegation round play. Fortunately for Team Germany, despite spending the third period doing everything it could to grab defeat from the jaws of victory, a 4-2 triumph meant that the class had been maintained. The ensuing 8-1 loss to Czechia and 11-1 thrashing in the quarterfinal match-up against the US meant little in deterring from the achievement of earning a return ticket.
Germany is now entering this year’s event with some good vibes after strong summer showings and a recent 3-game bout against a group of selects from Finland, losing each contest by just one goal, with one game having gone to overtime. Granted, key returnees Rayan Bettahar (broken jaw) and Phillip Krening (having missed the entire season due to an undisclosed injury) aren’t going to be part of the fray, but Coach Abstreiter will be able to welcome four North American legionnaires to the line-up, with Arizona’s 2022 2nd rounder Julian Lutz being the most prominent of them. In addition, a line featuring former OHLer Moritz Elias, captain Roman Kechter, and current Detroit Red Wings 5th rounder Kevin Bicker went bonkers against Finland in the aforementioned test games, each accumulating between 6-8 points. All three are taking regular shifts in the DEL and will be joined up front in that capacity by Veit Oswald and Eric Hördler, with Oswald currently the DEL’s shooting “youngstar”. In fact, of the roster nominees playing in Germany, all of the forwards are gaining experience at the pro level this season.
Which brings us to the blueline, where we regret to inform you that there are no Mortiz Seiders to wonder at. In fact, the only returnee from last winter’s squad looks to be Philipp Sinn, a Red Bull Juniors regular who made highlight reels last winter with mindboggling defensive miscues. Spearheading the defensive efforts should be Buffalo Sabres 7th rounder Norwin Panocha and DEL youngster Lua Niehus, both of whom were go-to players for the U18 squad, which - we must mention - was unceremoniously relegated last spring. The scouting community would love to see 2024 prospect Paul Mayer, who has gained plenty of DEL experience this season (despite minimal minutes), in action, but he’s not even a lock to be in the top 6. Jakob Weber has been a DEL surprise this year, suiting up 20 times for reigning champ Red Bull Munich, while 6’2” Niklas Hübner brings not only DEL and DEL2 experience, but also spent 23 games in Finland’s top U20 circuit last season. Don’t be surprised to see Michael Reich or Samuel Schindler in the equation as the two program faves have been playing pro hockey all season, with the latter actually making a good bit of music as an Oberliga producer from the blueline.
What is as clear now as with last winter’s squad, is that any German goaltender seeing ice time simply has to reckon with more shots against than his peer on the other side of the ice. Probably far more. Had you asked us this time last year, we’d have said 6’3” Simon Wolf was the given #1 goaltender and he still should be, but his outings for Germany’s U20 squad simply haven’t been impressive this year. Phillip Dietl has been a bright light in Germany’s junior scene but is coming in with precious little pro playing time to date this season. He’s even splitting goaltending duties on his junior team. Third stringer Matthias Bittner has also spent most of his time in goal this season at the junior level but does have a 2-2 record and decent stats in 5 DEL2 outings.
Long story short, none of these guys is a Nikita Quapp, but as with years past, the team likely needs just one preliminary round victory to avoid the relegation round. That win will most likely have to come against Team Latvia, because odds are that group opponents Canada, Finland, and hometown favorite Sweden are simply a number too big. Weighing heavy for Germany could be the fact that Latvia has not only done extremely well against German U20 and U18 outfits over the past decade but is also bringing perhaps its most solid U20 team ever to Gothenburg later this month. While contemplating how Germany fell to Norway at the U18 Worlds last spring, we can’t help but think that Germany may have no choice but to try and return the favor early this January in the relegation round. Or will the cross-program shellshock vis-a-vis the Norwegians be too much to overcome? Without wanting to paint the Norwegians as a lock for the relegation round, you might want to plan with Team Germany being a relegation round participant if the squad doesn’t have any surprises up its sleeve in the preliminary round.
10 to Watch plus a Sleeper
Julian Lutz F
As a 2022 2nd rounder of the Arizona Coyotes, Lutz comes in as Germany’s clearcut go-to player. Truth be told, he’s finally giving his NHL organization a reason to experience a collective sigh of relief. After all, last season was anything but promising and gave reason for concern as he once again dealt with undisclosed injury issues while only producing very modestly with little sustained ice time at the DEL level. His 2 assists in last year’s WJC did little to inspire confidence as well. Now he’s in North America playing for the Green Bay Gamblers and seems to have a new lease on life, already registering 23 points in 19 games. As nice as that is, it’s nothing off the charts for a 19-year-old in a league geared towards producing NCAA players. For sure, Lutz has the power, skating, and offensive wherewithal to be a cog if this German team is going to push its way into a quarterfinal spot. But for that to happen, we’re going to pretty much need to see the best version of Julian Lutz we’ve seen to date.
Roman Kechter C
When Kechter was 16, he jumped down from Swedish juniors to spend the bulk of the pandemic-impacted DEL season with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, looking like a terribly exciting prospect along the way. He hasn’t been able to build upon that since, despite renewed time with the Rögle organization, a U18 Worlds, and 3 points in 5 games at last winter’s WJC. Now 19, he’s entering this tournament as the team’s captain and he’s, well, red hot. With 15 points in 5 U20 test games this fall, his international play is only confirming his strong DEL showing, where he’s been a 3rd line catalyst for Nuremberg, collecting 5 goals and 12 points in 26 games. Put simply, Kechter is arriving as a serious pro player and he’s exactly what Team Germany needs in Sweden, where he’ll be lining up against a number of players he’s competed against in years past. There’s little talk about Kechter as an overage draftee option, but that could change real quick if he can spearhead an unexpectedly successful tourney for this underdog.
Luca Hauf C/LW
Similar in build and style to Kechter, Hauf is joining Team Germany all the way from Seattle, where he plays for the Thunderbirds of the WHL. It’s his second season in the WHL, having chipped in 21 points in 45 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings last year. He’s upped the ante a tick this season with 10 goals and 16 points in 25 games, but for this German squad, he’s going to need to play bigger. Already a heavy Oberliga contributor as a 16/17-year-old, Hauf has been looked to by the German program to assume a productive role up front, something he did well at the U18 Worlds (3 goals in 4 games) and not so well at this tournament last winter (only 1 assist). But there’s no time like the present for him to make more of his tools and simply be a hard player to defend against. His experience will surely be key, especially as a player who has often been lined up with Lutz in past international events. A first line role is there to be had.
Julius Sumpf C
Half Canadian, Sumpf comes in as Germany’s top overall playmaker and one of the few German players in recent years to have had such a successful transition to CHL hockey.
Currently 5th in scoring for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL with 28 points and +12 in 30 games, Sumpf has been pivoting one of the top two lines since preseason action. For Germany, he was one of the few noticeable players at last spring’s disappointing U18 Worlds, serving as the team’s topscorer with 2 goals and 4 points in 6 games. What he won’t have in Gothenburg are linemates he’s all that familiar with, although he’s a lock for the top 6 and likely scheduled to line up next to Julian Lutz and Luca Hauf as a trio of North American legionnaires. We’re inclined to think that a strong WJC followed by a big second half push with a solid Moncton team could see Sumpf hear his name taken in next summer’s draft. He’ll have to show his true colors a few times in Sweden for Germany to have any real shot at avoiding relegation.
Norwin Panocha D
Without a doubt, Panocha was the fastest rising talent in Germany last winter. Featuring skating mechanics that may remind a few of Phil Housley, Panocha’s combination of mobility, puckhandling, and strong on-ice awareness allowed him to be a dominant figure in Germany’s junior league while sticking out as one of few German defensemen of international class throughout the season. The Buffalo Sabres snagged him last summer at the top of the 7th round and within weeks, he was scheduled to head to Chicoutimi of the QMJHL, where he’s taken on a regular role and collected 11 assists in 30 games. Granted, only two of those points have come in the last 10 games as Panocha has settled into more of bottom-3 style defensemen after an eye-opening preseason camp with the Sabres and a strong offensive showing in Chicoutimi’s preseason games. At this tournament, Coach Abstreiter will surely have a top 4 role in store for Panocha, even if Abstreiter generally looks to lean on his older players with bigger minutes. Thinkable is that Panocha will man the point on one of the powerplay units, something precious few of his blueline colleagues have been doing this winter.
Kevin Bicker LW
We won’t blame you for being surprised to see Bicker’s name in last summer’s draft, much less as a 5th round pick of the Detroit Red Wings and the first of 3 German players selected. Some may even think that whatever sold the Red Wings on Bicker, they saw it at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where Bicker had his speed and strong offensive skills on display with 4 points in 4 games for a heavily undermanned German side. His 22-23 season wasn’t all that bad, but definitely marred by injury, and featured a single game of pro play outside the DNL, where he did clip at over a point per game. His drafting was followed by a surprising DEL contract with Frankfurt, with whom he’s managed to suit up 24 times this season, despite just a single goal. Internationally though, Bicker has always contributed and is currently on a 3-game international U20 heater, collecting 8 points along the way. He’s here to outskate the opposition and ideally, continue to gel with Kechter and Moritz Elias in an offensive capacity. Enjoy what you see because Bicker can really turn on the turbo when heading up ice.
Veit Oswald RW
Oswald is a bit of a curiosity because all he’s done to date is excel at every step of the way. During his draft year, he was the German DNL’s topscorer and followed that with a solid U18 Worlds performance (3 points in 4 games) in his native Landshut. The next season saw him get into 23 DEL games while looking very comfortable in a secondary scoring role in the nation’s 3rd pro circuit. Now still just 19, he’s been a regular for Red Bull Munich all season long, delighting fans with 5 goals and 7 points in 24 games. More importantly, he’s a joker who has shown himself to be full of intangibles, something that has led to the coaching staff feeling very comfortable about putting him on the ice in all situations. We can expect Coach Abstreiter to lean on this attribute as well with serious top 9 minutes at this tournament. Oswald remains undrafted but there’s little doubt that he’s in the notebooks of scouts throughout the NHL. Will this tourney push him into “surefire overager” territory?
Simon Wolf G
Wolf is a big man who covers a lot of net. He can look hauntingly stoic only to be surprisingly quick on his feet while smothering pucks. Unfortunately, there are times when that puck-smothering turns into rebound city. There are also questions about his ability to read attacks through traffic. Either trend could lead to some ugly results at a WJC. After seeing Arno Tiefensee be drafted as a double overager last summer, Wolf definitely has some incentive in using this tournament to throw his name in the hat this time around. Unlike Tiefensee, he’s not spending this season splitting duties in a DEL net, but rather with Austrian Thomas Pfarrmaier for the Red Bull Juniors. There, Wolf has played 13 of 23 games including 4 of the last 5, putting up an 8-5 record with a 2.52 GAA and 9.15 SV%. He also got into two games a league higher for Salzburg, standing tall with a 1.92 GAA and .933 SV% in those outings. Alas, Wolf has been part of the program for several years now, even being the starter at the 2022 U18 Worlds, but it hasn’t been good. In fact, he hasn’t sported better than a 5.00 GAA in the past 4 years. Ouch!
Moritz Elias RW
A member of the Saskatoon Blades to kick off the 21-22 season (8 points and -8 in 28 games), Elias packed his tent and headed home by the holidays that season, proceeding to collect 15 points over 71 DEL2 games in two seasons before getting picked up last summer by expected DEL bottom-feeder Augsburg. Now officially one of the biggest junior surprises of the DEL season, the 5’8”, 172-pounder has already put up 9 points in 26 games in a lower line capacity, displaying savvy and confidence every step of the way. More importantly, the strong-skating battler has found a niche on the U20 squad together with captain Roman Kechter and Detroit 2023 5th rounder Kevin Bicker, having put up 7 points in 4 test games this fall. Elias will have to be a quiet generator in the background for Team Germany if a playoff spot is going to be a realizable goal.
Paul Mayer D
One of very few German defensemen currently considered to be of draft interest next summer (Edwin Tropmann being the other), Mayer was basically force-fed into DEL play this season by a Mannheim Adler team that has been losing many of its junior talents in recent summers. Only getting a handful of minutes at a time, he then spent 10 games with the team’s DEL2 partner in Bietigheim where he got plenty of action for a struggling team. Two more games with Mannheim, including a showing with almost 15 minutes of ice time, were put on the resume before joining the U20 squad in Gothenburg. For Mayer, this tournament will be less about excelling and more about showing that he can do a lot more swimming than sinking. Despite gobs of size, he just turned 18 three months ago and will see peer competition he’s seldom been exposed to. Germany’s blueline has precious little to offer, so it’d be telling if he isn’t taking a regular shift.
Sleeper
Lia Niehus D
Understandably passed over in the draft last summer, Niehus is a player insiders have been watching closely, and favorably, the past few years. After a fantastic DY-1, he failed to deliver with another step in progress in his draft year, even doing precious little in preventing Germany’s U18 team from relegation last spring. The surprise was rather large around ice hockey Germany when Niehus nonetheless received a DEL contract from regional rival Frankfurt, for whom he’s now suited up 15 times while also getting in 5 games of Oberliga play with farm team Stuttgart. What he’s shown though is that he’s an incredibly confident and shifty defenseman with strong overall mobility and a keen ability of getting pucks to the net. In two recent test games against Switzerland, Niehus was seen manning the point on the power play and jumping out as one of the top overall skaters on the ice. If he doesn’t end up being the sleeper on this club, then 6’3” forward Eric Hördler will be.
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Q&A with defenseman Norwin Panocha
Here at McKeen’s Hockey, we were thrilled to watch mobile defender Norwin Panocha go from relative anonymity to a player deemed draftable by the NHL within a season’s time. Poise and maturity were regularly put on display in a junior league not quite on par with most of the circuits out there from which players are drafted, but we saw enough to know that what he was doing was above and beyond the norm. Ultimately ranking him 203rd overall in our draft guide, Panocha was selected 205th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in Nashville and proceeded to display his finest traits in the organization’s camp last fall, even getting to suit up for the NHL team for a preseason game in which he went +1.
Expected to be a cog on Germany’s blueline at the WJC, we conducted a short Q&A to get his thoughts on a variety of pertinent topics.
McKeen’s Hockey: Norwin, you find yourself in Sweden where you will be participating in your first ever WJC as a member of Team Germany. When you think about this opportunity to represent your country at this renowned tournament, what goes through your mind?
Norwin Panocha: It’s always a great honor to get to represent your county in any tournament and I’m now all that much more excited to get to do just that at this incredibly important event where we’ll be testing our metal against the best players in the world at this level. I’m also really excited about playing in this tournament with the class players ahead of me - those born in 2004 - and facing the challenges ahead with them.
MH: Your Group A opponents are Canada, Finland, Latvia, and hometown Sweden. It’s a group where no opponent can be taken lightly. Quite the opposite, in fact. What should spectators expect to see from Team Germany over the next 10 days?
NP: A strong team that is very unpleasant to play against. We’ve got a lot of character in this locker room and no matter who the opponent is, they’re going to have to battle hard for every inch out there.
MH: What are you looking forward to the most in the days to come in Gothenburg?
NP: I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to spend the Christmas holidays with my teammates. We’ve got a fantastic group of guys here and I can’t wait to go to war with them and put in a strong performance at this tournament.
MH: This past year has been anything but quiet for you personally. You developed in leaps and bounds with the Eisbären Berlin organization back home. Then you played at the U18 Worlds in Switzerland. Then you got drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and took part in their rookie camp. Now you’re playing for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL, a league that regularly produces NHL stars. How have you grown as a player and person over this period of time?
NP: Oh yes, this past year has been an unbelievable ride and a ton of fun. I’ve met so many new, interesting, and admirable people, all of whom I’ve been able to watch and learn something from.I’m truly thankful for everything I’ve been able to experience, both on and off the ice. I think it’s all helped me a lot in becoming a more mature and responsible player in every facet of the game.
MH: Looking back at the U18 Worlds, a tournament where a lot happens in a short period of time, what does a player go through when his team is relegated at such an event?
NP: It was a very disappointing and frustrating experience in a lot of ways, but especially in knowing that the next generation is now going to have to battle its way back up out of the D1A group. It’s not going to get show what it can do against the best at the highest level. Personally, and perhaps also due in part to the outcome, the U18 tournament in Switzerland was a very positive experience that taught me quite a bit moving forward. Also in preparation for this tournament.
MH: This season, you’re playing for Chicoutimi in the QMJHL. How’s it been going with the transition to a new league and life in a francophone region of Canada?
NP: It was admittedly quite an adjustment at the beginning. In comparison to the junior league I know and am familiar with back home, the game here is much faster and harder, it’s more aggressive, and the competition is generally much larger in size. However, I think I’ve slowly started to arrive in the league and figure everything out.
My life off the ice is running smoothly. My billet family and the people in the organization are wonderful. And I’m at a point where the language isn’t a problem anymore.
MH: With a good 30 games under your belt, what are you expecting from yourself and your team in the second half of the QMJHL season?
NP: I now know what to expect when I head back for the rest of the season. I’m actively trying to improve myself and develop from game to game and shift to shift. Our team is very young but is getting better from game to game as well, and we keep getting more close-knit. It’s all coming together just in time to put in a good playoff push. The experience of this WJC will help me as well moving forward.
MH: What kind of feedback have you received to date from the Buffalo Sabres?
NP: Most particularly after the main camp, but also during the regular season since then, I’ve been hearing from them and getting very positive feedback.
MH: We’re curious. What did you hear from current Buffalo Sabre and German national team member JJ Peterka, perhaps in the days following the draft?
NP: Yes, I got to know JJ at camp with the Sabres. He’s one of my big role models and I can't emphasize enough how cool it was that he promptly congratulated me on getting drafted and offered me his help and support with everything I’ll be encountering in this new environment. That means the world to me.