Nico Sturm is indispensable for the German national team. The coach cannot say when the NHL player will be able to be on the ice again at the World Cup.
The 1:6 defeat against the USA is bearable for the national ice hockey team, but the impending loss of Nico Sturm for further World Cup games would be a bitter setback. It is unclear when the 29-year-old San Jose Sharks striker as well as the ailing defenders Maksymilian Szuber and Fabio Wagner will be able to play for the runner-up world champion again. “We have the expectations and hopes that they will be fit again soon,” said national coach Harold Kreis.
Exact injury diagnoses or return dates are almost never communicated in ice hockey. Kreis confirmed the injury, but he left it open whether one of the trio could be back in the third group game against co-favorites Sweden on Monday (8:20 p.m./ProSieben and MagentaSport). “We’ll see how the recovery is,” explained the Canadian.
Sturm had already been an enormously important performer at the sensational runner-up world championship last year. The NHL professional was also one of the most noticeable players in a good DEB selection in the 6:4 opening win against Slovakia. “Every injured player is a loss for us,” said Kreis. This is especially true in storms, both on and off the ice.
The former DEL coach didn’t want to dramatize the failures. “The fact that all players play every game is unusual at a World Cup,” explained Kreis.
Source: Stern
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