Thuringian Pioneers | Sports Thuringian General

At that time, when the blocks were clearly separated politically, at the start of the World Ice Hockey Championship, the matter was almost written in stone: on the way to the title, no one could easily bypass the Soviet Union. Most recently, the favorites circuit has remained at least manageable. Russia, Canada, or Sweden usually take turns taking the crown in the ski slits. But with the NHL North American Professional League not only in full swing, but the Coronavirus also weakening the ranks, the outcome of these title fights in Riga is completely open and therefore more exciting than ever.

If the quarter-finals were once an ambitious goal, the top eight tournament is now only on paper as a stopover for the German national team. After all, the team already proved with the silver at the 2018 Olympics that they are perfectly capable of capitalizing on the moment.

But the old successes do not count, especially since NHL superstar Leon Draisaitl is missing a top major performer. However, the World Cup will now be interesting due to the Thuringia component. Moritz Sider, who was about to jump into the NHL and was just named Defender of the Year in the Swedish league, once learned ABC ice hockey at EHC Erfurt. Ironically, the 20-year-old is now ready to pave the way for the World Cup coup in Germany. Even experts trusted him to make his mark on the World Cup.

An inaugural victory over Italy was just a mandatory task. How far will the road to the top actually be shown through the preliminary round against Vice World Champion Canada on White Monday.