The German Ice Hockey Association (DEB) has announced that its superstar Leon Dreitel will not participate in the World Cup due to scheduling problems.

“The player as he is, he will face the media after such a departure. It is his responsibility,” sporting director Kristian Kunst said in Riga on Thursday.

Dracitel was eliminated on Tuesday night with the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the NHL play-offs. The next morning, the 25-year-old was one of the players who spoke extensively to reporters. “You need a player on site who is available to answer questions,” explained DEB president Franz Rindl, “that he could fly only afterwards.”

Arriving at the World Cup in Riga, the mandatory six-day quarantine would have made it impossible to play in the preliminary round. “Imagine now: we won’t reach the quarterfinals, then he will reach, go through the process, not play and have to go back to quarantine in Canada for 14 days,” Rindle said.

Leon Dreitel has already traveled to the DEB team five times.

Driesett traveled to the World Cup five times after the 2014 season ended in Canada to play for the national team. “Of course he wants to, but he has to fulfill his obligations,” explained Rindl: “He is a national player and through this, we should not blame Lyon, we should blame the circumstances.”

Dreitel’s Oilers teammate Dominic Kahun, who did not appear in the last two play-off games, immediately agreed to DEB. The 2018 silver medalist arrived in Riga on Wednesday and is expected to play against Latvia in the final preliminary round match next Tuesday (7.15pm / Sport1) after being quarantined.