from birch to danny surprisingly there

After a weak season at EHC Munich, Aus den Birken should fly as only number three this year, behind Matthias Niederberger of Isberen Berlin and Felix Bruckmann from Adler Mannheim. The Pyeongchang silver winner recently lost his regular spot in Munich and has never been named by Söderholm since late 2018.

On the other hand, the ERC does Pieta from Ingolstadt: the Krefeld native was also out of key tournaments under Söderholm and most recently participated in a World Championships in 2018 under then-national coach Marco Sturm. Pieta never went to the Olympics.

The Olympic team is led by Kölner High captain Moritz Müller. The 35-year-old was also part of the silver team four years ago and is one of three candidates to be the German flag bearer at the opening ceremony on February 4 this year. The ice hockey tournament in Beijing begins on 9 February, with Germany starting a day later against co-favorites Canada.

Soderholm relies on cohesion and identity

“Since we knew we would be in Beijing, I envisioned a team for the tournament that is defined by cohesion and identity and works that way,” Söderholm said when the team was announced. “We are now at a point where we have gained as much experience as a team as well as having the right people in the dressing room. This is a good starting point for our journey to the Beijing Olympics “