V2010: Germany

It's been announced today that the Germans will invade North America next month with this roster. There are plenty of WWII barbs to be made but I will refrain and keep it to pucks.

There are a few NHLers on the roster and just one in the most important position: goal. With Olaf Kolzig's retirement, there are no NHL-level starting netminders to backstop the German side but Thomas Greiss, the backup to Evgeni Nabokov in San Jose, will be called upon to take the mantle. Greiss had good showings his last two Sharks games and is still learning the ropes but he should be able to keep the Germans competitive. His old buddy from their AHL days Dimitri Pätzold is currently playing in the DEL and should back him up.

Outside of the German crease there is some NHL players but not too many. Marcel Goc plays with Nashville nowadays and has been red hot of late. He has 10 points in his last seven games and should be a nice complement to Boston's Marco Sturm. Shockingly (to me at least) Buffalo's Jochen Hecht was left off the roster - leaving Sturm and Goc as the only NHL forwards. On defense Christoph Schubert was left off but there will at least be Christian Ehrhoff and Dennis Seidenberg to help Greiss out. Goc's Nashville teammate Alexander Sulzer is also on the German blueline but despite watching six Predator games this season, I have no idea who he is. So that says something I believe.

Greiss will have to be on his toes as the Germans will have a tough road out of the opening round. They open with Sweden on February 17th, face the Finns on the 19th and end up against Belarus on the 20th. Two almost certain losses and what should be a tough battle against the Kostitsyns that I feel the Germans will lose. Like WWII. Haha.

How Did We Miss This??

A British friend just alerted me to some pretty neat news - the Germans will be hosting an outdoor hockey game of their own:

On May 7, 2010, history will be made as the opening game of the 2010 IIHF World Championship will be played in a football (soccer) stadium with a potential capacity of 75,976.

Should the Germans sell out the game, it would create a new world record for hockey attendance in a single game, breaking the current record of 74,554, which was set between American University teams Michigan State and Michigan in East Lansing, Michigan in 2001. Tickets for the opening game are already available and cost 19 Euros (standing). The lowest priced seating ticket is 29 Euros.

Here is a good news piece on it, sorry I couldn't figure out how to encode it. This is good news, of course, as hockey will be seen by many more eyes. Let's face it, Chicago will be awesome (I'm going!!) but it won't catch the international eye the way a match at a football stadium would. This year's world championship is being held in Bern, Switzerland - the same arena that the Rangers won the Victoria Cup in. That is a nice building but as any Euro will tell you, there is nothing like a football match for atmosphere. And to have, say, Germany face the Russians or the Canadians on Shalke's pitch should be incredible!

Hmm, I wonder how much the flight will cost ... better start saving now ...