National coach Kreis wants to see simple ice hockey at the World Cup. Hardly anyone stands for it as much as NHL striker Sturm. The fourth storm row is also convincing. There are clear announcements for the first row.
It took NHL striker Nico Sturm four weeks on his World Cup debut to become the leader of the national ice hockey team alongside Captain Moritz Müller. The Augsburger leads the way in Tampere with performance and commitment, implements the requirements of national coach Harold Kreis like no other and does not hold back verbally either.
After the tedious 4:2 (2:1, 1:0, 1:1) against Austria, the San Jose Sharks attacker accused some teammates of making “too many faxes on the blue line”.
National coach Kreis: “Play our game”
It was not difficult to guess who Sturm was referring to in the first place. While Sturm and his companions Samuel Soramies (Augsburg) and Alexander Ehl (Düsseldorf) have been convincing so far, the first row of storms – the supposed parade attack – mostly disappoints at the World Cup in Finland and Latvia. The appearances of the former NHL striker Dominik Kahun (Bern), the multiple DEL player of the year Marcel Noebels (Berlin) and NHL talent JJ Peterka are characterized by the lack of a move to the goal and a much too complicated game. There were two clear signs from Kreis on Friday.
First, the national coach left the player with the greatest potential from this series – Peterka from the Buffalo Sabers – on the bench in the last third and then made a clear announcement for him. “Play our game,” the 64-year-old said repeatedly to his first formation, he reported.
Other series implement this game much better. The nominal fourth row, which gets more and more ice time at the tournament, didn’t just shine on Friday. Wojciech Stachowiak from runner-up Ingolstadt, who experienced a convincing World Cup premiere, was named the best German player on Friday. “It’s the greatest experience I’ve had in my ice hockey career so far,” said the 23-year-old, who, like his neighbor Parker Tuomie from the Straubing Tigers, scored once against Austria. “We keep the game simple. Today was our game,” Tuomie said of his row, almost understating it. Throughout the tournament, his formation is responsible for the aha moments in the German attack.
Focused Storm a role model for everyone on the team
“They do an outstanding job. I liked them from the start,” said Captain Müller, praising his team-mates Stachowiak, Tuomie and Justin Schütz from champions EHC Red Bull Munich. “These are types of players that you can only like.”
This applies in particular to Sturm, who is a great role model for many teammates and is currently the top German World Cup goalscorer with three goals. “Nico is absolutely professional in the preparation, in the weight room,” praised Kreis. “He says himself that he asserts himself in the NHL because of his hard work, because of his fitness. We see it in the meetings how focused he is in preparation. He’s really a role model for everyone on our team. “
The Augsburger was never the most talented, but is now a Stanley Cup winner. Last year he won the championship with Colorado. The very thoughtful 27-year-old realized early on that he could stay in the best league in the world with certain skills. These include his outstanding face-off game, his physique and, above all, something that all North Americans are into: simple, straightforward game and move to the goal – there, where it sometimes hurts.
Sturm: “It will be a brutally tough game”
So far, Kreis has hardly seen that from his front row at the World Cup. It is quite possible that the national coach will change the offensive lines for the mandatory task against Hungary on Sunday (3.20 p.m. / Sport1 and MagentaSport). “We have to see how the team is now. We’ll see if we can make changes,” said Kreis meaningfully.
He should be able to rely on his most convincing storm formations. “It’s going to be uncomfortable,” Sturm warned of what seemed to be the weakest opponent in the group, and Tuomie said: “It’s going to be a brutally tough game.” Sturm had previously made another clear announcement to some teammates. One would do well to realize that the remaining tasks will also be difficult. “Simple ice hockey” is required for success.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
