Ice hockey: Christian Ehrhoff:”There’s a hype in Germany”.

After the sensational Olympic silver medal from Pyeongchang, international player Christian Ehrhoff has noticed a change in the perception of his sport in Germany:”There is a hype,”the long-time NHL professional told ZDF at a performance in the current sports studio. Ehrhoff added:”One is recognized and addressed on the street, people say thank you. It’s really great to see that.”

The team of national coach Marco Sturm, with their outstanding performances in the victories against Sweden (4:3) and Canada (4:3) as well as the dramatic final defeat against Russia (3:4), had captured the hearts of the German sports fans and swept away an audience of millions. On their return from the Winter Games, the team had been enthusiastically received:”It’s the big goal that hockey is just getting bigger,”said goalkeeper Danny from the Birken.

Sturm promised that the DEB would “do everything possible to inspire more children and young people. Ice hockey is cool, it would be a shame if you miss it,” The 39-year-old will be helping out, a job in the North American top league NHL “is not a thought at the moment, I’m enjoying this time here,”he said.

Ehrhoff, however, would understand Sturm’s departure:”The NHL is the dream of everyone. If he gets the chance, no one’s gonna say, now you have to stay with us.”

Sturm also warned against too high expectations for the World Cup in Denmark (4. until 20. May) and renewed dreams of medals:”You have to stay on the carpet. We’re not the big hockey nation. We have to prove ourselves all over again and stand in line,”said the DEB coach.

Ehrhoff also put the biggest success in German ice hockey history into perspective:”We expected a lot from Olympia, but that won’t be the case at every tournament, you have to stay on the ground,”said the defender.

Nevertheless, Yannic Seidenberg said:”We have shown that we can beat the best nations when we show our best ice hockey. But he wants to concentrate on the play-offs around the championship with the EHC Munich:”I want to win the title, I’ll deal with the world championship afterwards”.