2024 World Junior Championship Preview: Team Germany

Credit: Team Germany (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

It’s been an exciting few years for German ice hockey.

Between just missing out on gold at the 2018 Olympics, the rise of some high-end NHL talent and silver at the 2023 World Championship, the Germans have established themselves as a team to watch internationally.

And that goes for their junior national team, too. They’ve avoided relegation the past four years, including consecutive sixth-place finishes in Edmonton in 2021 and 2022. They have never round a quarterfinal matchup, but after spending four years in Division IA, including almost getting demoted to Division IB in 2016, this the type of consistency a developing program needs.

But it’s not going to be easy this year. There’s an argument to be made that they’re a step behind Latvia, and maybe even Norway. That might hurt in the race to stay alive for 2025, and if we learned anything about their 2005-born group from the U-18 World Championship last year, it’s not going to be easy if they manage to stay up, anyway.

But you just never know. There are a few notable names that could keep things spicy for the Germans, but they’ll need to really step up if they’re going to advance to the quarterfinal for the fourth straight year.

Goaltending

After getting into two games at last year’s event (ignore the 12.64 GAA and .776 SV), Simon Wolf is back for another go-around. One of the best young goaltenders to come through the German system in quite some time, Wolf is no stranger to heavy workloads, and he’ll need to make 40 saves a night at least if Germany is going to steal a game or two along the way. He’s playing against men with the Red Bull junior team in the AlpsHL, where he has played some solid hockey. Hopefully, that helps here.

Playing time has been hard to come by Matthias Bittner, but he has looked good when called upon in the second-tier German league. He has a handful of starts with Germany over the past few years, but, like most other goaltenders, those are never easy games. The same goes for Philipp Dietl, one of Germany’s goalies at the 2022 U-18 World Championship. It’s hard to forget how well he played against Canada despite allowing eight goals in his first game of the tournament. It’s unlikely that he’ll play, but he’s no slouch.

Defensemen

*Norwin Panocha (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)*

This will be the team’s weak spot, which is difficult when you’re likely to spend most of a game inside in your own zone. The Germans were dealt a big blow early this year, with Rayan Bettahar getting knocked out with a long-term injury. He would have been Germany’s top defenseman on a team that needed all the help they could get.

Phillip Sinn, a mobile two-way defender, had a decent showing at the tournament last year and will likely get a lot of ice time this around. He’s been spending the year with Salzburg’s men’s team and while it hasn’t been anything to write home about, he’s been getting better throughout the year.

Nobody will confuse Niklas Hübner with being an offensive specialist – he has three points across all levels in two years of hockey – but he can shut things down. He moves well enough at 6-foot-2, blocks shots and plays a steady game in front of his zone. He’ll be a top-four defenseman for this squad.

With Bettahar injured, one of the players I expect to see step up is Paul Mayer – more on him later. Norwin Panocha (BUF) is the lone defenseman on this squad with an NHL affiliation. He plays with the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens, where the playmaking defenseman has looked good. I thought he was one of the few bright spots on the German blueline at the U-18s last year, and he’ll have a chance to take on a bigger role as the team’s No. 1 defender in 2025.

Beyond that, it’s going to be a struggle. The Germans will have a difficult time in their zone, but they might have the goaltending to make it work.

Forwards

*Julian Lutz (Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports)*

It’s a far cry from the 2020 world juniors when Tim Stutzle, Lukas Reichel and JJ Paterka did everything possible to keep the underpowered German squad in the top division. But they still have a pair of NHL Draft picks in Julian Lutz (ARI) and Kevin Bicker (DET).

Lutz is the big draw, with the 6-foot-2 winger returning to build on a solid first showing at this tournament. He can definitely skate on the bigger ice, but he’s going to have to re-adjust after moving over to the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers this year. Still, he’s been excellent there and should lead Germany’s charge offensively like he has already done in some spot international duty this year.

For Bicker, he has had a difficult year in the top German league, scoring just one goal in his first 22 games. But with the U-20 team, nobody has been better with eight points in three games. Playing against men can be difficult for a junior-aged prospect, no matter the league. But against his own age group, Bicker is excellent. Let’s hope to see more of that.

One player that is thriving this year is Julius Stumpf. The Moncton Wildcats center was passed over at the 2023 NHL Draft but is playing at a point-per-game pace in his first season in North America. He was great at the U-18s last year, mainly as a playdriver. Fellow CHLer Luca Hauf will bring some grit and energy to the team’s forward group in his third tournament with Germany, likely in a top-six role.

Heading back to the homeland, Moritz Elias has produced well for a U-20 player in the DEL. He had nine points in his first 24 games, his first year in the top German league after getting spot duty with Adler Mannheim last year. He hasn’t produced much for Germany in other international events, but he has looked excellent with the U-20 team already this year.

Another big name will be Roman Kechter, who was one of Germany’s more impactful wingers last year. His numbers with Germany’s U-20 team are ridiculous, scoring four goals and 15 points in five games. He and Leon Sivic seemed to work well together, so they’ll likely make uip part of the team’s top-six.

One last name to watch is Veit Oswald, another returning skater. Oswald has spent most of the past two years playing against men, and his ice time with EHC Munchen has been decent for a player his age.

2024 NHL Draft

It’s been a difficult season for Mayer, one of the older first-year eligible prospects out of Europe. He’s still seeking his first point with Adler Mannheim, although scoring isn’t really his thing, either. Once considered by some scouts as a first-round threat, he hasn’t looked too comfortable against men this year, and hasn’t stood out against his own age group, either. Could this be a good chance to Mayer to prove scouts wrong? On this German back end, absolutely.

Projection

I’m not expecting a good tournament out of this German team. There’s no standout star that’s going to drag this team forward, and Latvia has the advantage over them in Group A. That Dec. 30 game between them will mean everything because it seems unlikely they’ll steal a crucial point away from Canada on the final day. At best, they’re going to just squeak into the playoff round. Realistically, though, the Germans look like a team that must rely on Wolf to save them from getting relegated.

Round-Robin Schedule

Local/ET Time

Dec. 27 vs. Finland – 14:30/8:30 AM
Dec. 28 vs. Sweden – 19:30/1:30 PM
Dec. 30 vs. Latvia – 19:30/1:30 PM
Dec. 31 vs. Canada – 19:30/1:30 PM

Discover Betano.ca – a premium Sports Betting and Online Casino experience. Offering numerous unique and dynamic betting options along with diverse digital and live casino games, Betano is where The Game Starts Now. 19+. Please play responsibly.