SAN JOSE/BERLIN (DPA) – For Stanley Cup winner Nico Sturm, German ice hockey is on the right track: “You can see in international tournaments that Germany has become highly competitive in the last ten years,” said the 27-year-old. Old Old Augsburger at a video press conference on Thursday. On Tuesday, the attacker will be on the ice for the first time in his home country: he will then play a friendly with his new team, the San Jose Sharks, at Isberen Berlin (8 p.m. / ProSieben Max).

In the Colorado Avalanche’s jersey, Sturm won the most important title in ice hockey the previous season as only the fifth German in the National Hockey League (NHL). Although he moved to North America as a teenager, the national team’s upward trend did not leave him: “It seems to me that the quarter-finals for the German team have become the minimum goal at the Olympics and even at the world championships,” Kendra said. Said, which has never been used in a national jersey before for scheduling reasons. “And it wasn’t always like that. When I watched ice hockey as a young kid and Germany played Canada or the USA, defeat was really inevitable. I think the attitude has already changed.”

Sturm also sees the growing presence of German professionals in the NHL as a reason for the change. “You still have players and that certainly helps,” he said. Leon Dresitl has long established himself as a superstar in the world’s best ice hockey league, with defender Moritz Cedar receiving the Calder Memorial Trophy for best newcomer in the summer. Forward Tim Stutzl is a top performer for the Ottawa Senators, and the next talents on the horizon are JJ Peterka and Lucas Reichl.

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