Leon Draisaitl leads Germany's squad. © APA / CAMERON BARTLETT

Plenty of NHL power: Germany's Olympic squad

Germany's ice hockey federation announced its Olympic squad on Wednesday. There were a few surprises along the way.

07 January 2026

From: dpa/det

The best possible German Olympic ice hockey team, featuring all the NHL top stars, is complete. However, the best German DEL scorers have been lost to this first Olympic gathering of world stars from the North American league since 2014.

When world-class professionals like Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stützle, Moritz Seider or Philipp Grubauer all play together for the national team for the first time at the Winter Olympics in Milan in a month, several DEB stars of recent years will be missing.

NHL star Moritz Seider. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GREGORY SHAMUS

“We will have the best team of all time. But so will our opponents. It’s a good test for German ice hockey,” said forward Nico Sturm of Minnesota Wild – one of nine North American professionals participating in the Olympics.

What will happen to Wissmann?

However, two runners-up at the 2023 World Championships, Daniel Fischbuch (Mannheim) and Marcel Noebels (Berlin), are missing. Top forwards Leo Pförderl (Berlin) and Yasin Ehliz (Munich) – both Olympic silver medalists from 2018 – were also not selected. On the other hand, former NHL forward Tobias Rieder (Munich) is a prominent player who has been included in the roster for a major tournament for the first time since 2022.

National coach Harold Kreis is taking the biggest risk by nominating Kai Wissmann, who has been sidelined for months with an Achilles tendon injury. Contrary to Kreis's expectations, the key defenseman for the Eisbären Berlin is still unable to play, but is expected to see action in the DEL in the coming weeks.

Preparation in Bolzano

Although it's unclear whether Wissmann will be fit in time, the German Ice Hockey Federation recommended him to the German Olympic Sports Confederation, which will officially announce the squad on January 20th. "We are confident that the injured players will get four or five games before we go to training camp," said Kreis. From January 31st to February 7th, the men's team will prepare for the Olympics in Bolzano without the NHL players. A test match against Italy is scheduled for February 4th at the Sparkasse Arena.