Simone Gnip (left) always shows her complete commitment in her games in DEL. The following season, the young Neurotinger will defend for ERC Ingolstadt. Pa Photo: Andreas Gora / DPA

Simone Gnip (left) always shows her complete commitment in her games in DEL. The following season, the young Neurotinger will defend for ERC Ingolstadt. Pa Photo: Andreas Gora / DPA

Neuroting am in for Simon Gnip (19), it is from the Rhine to the Danube. The young professional ice hockey player is returning to Bavaria. After five years he leaves Cologne EC and joins ERC Ingolstadt. “That will do me good,” he says happily about returning home.

In 2016, Pratibha dared to jump from EVE Landshoot to a sports boarding school for the children of Cologne. Gnip matured as a national player with Hahn, and has now played 57 international matches from the U16s to the U20s. In addition, the defender also celebrated its premiere in DEL in Cologne’s dress in December 2018, which to date has been followed by 40 other missions in the German upper house. In addition, with a so-called sponsorship license for Cologne’s farm team EC Bad Nauheim, he played 65 times in DEL2, so he currently has 107 matches in German professional ice hockey.

“Otherwise you will always be an apprentice”

“It was time to take the next step. The club you grew up in, you usually stay as an apprentice,” says Rainer Gnip, explaining the reason for his son’s departure from the Rhineland. The 40-year-old is a former ice hockey crack and has also taken up his scope as a player mentor under his wing. He should now “develop more and get stuck in Delhi” with his new club. Especially after the U20 World Cup in Canada at the beginning of the year, where Simon Gnip surprisingly reached the quarter-finals with DEB selection, the 19-year-old was, according to his father, in a “difficult situation” and between Bad Nauheim. Hai team and he was followed back and forth. At Ingolstadt he should now find a permanent game home and only play in DEL.

“Cologne did everything possible for me, for which I am very grateful,” emphasizes Simon Gnip, who describes the Rhine metropolis as a “second house” and says he has “many friends” here. Still, he did not want to extend his expulsion contract as he saw better prospects in Ingolstadt: “He has a team that can play there and beat opponents like Munich and Mannheim.” Here, the Upper Bavarian continued, he “could have taken a big step in the next two to three years if I worked hard on myself”.

You can read about this in the sports section of the PNP on Tuesday, April 20 (Online kiosk) – or after free registration Pnp plus.