Moritz Seider shines in NHL
“Phenomenon” is a huge stroke of luck for the DEB team
05/10/2022, 7:17 p.m
At just 21 years old, Moritz Seider is the new hope for the Ice Hockey World Championship. The DEB team is lucky that their NHL club misses the playoffs. Still, he could be voted the best NHL rookie in the league. He wants to pinch himself every now and then.
“Mo is a phenomenon for me.” This is how the captain of the national ice hockey team, Moritz Müller, expresses his fascination and amazement at his namesake, Moritz Seider. What the veteran is talking about is Seider’s rapid rise to become one of the top defenders in the NHL. Seider is one of the most exciting and important – if not the most exciting and important – player in the current German World Cup team.
In his debut season in the world’s strongest league for the Detroit Red Wings, he made a powerful impression. The hype surrounding him is likely to continue to grow in the coming years. At only 21 years of age, Seider is still a long way from the end of his development. From the point of view of national coach Toni Söderholm, the potential seems limitless.
“Are there any?” The coach countered the question of possible limits in Seider’s development in an interview with the German Press Agency and predicted himself: “I don’t think so.”
From Friday on, Seider wants to try everything at the World Cup in Finland so that the inexperienced German national team reaches the quarter-finals despite all the failures. In the first preliminary round game in Helsinki on Friday (7.20 p.m. / Sport1) against record champion Canada, he is also in the spotlight. “Every athlete has the approach of wanting to be among the best in the world – I try to live up to that. But you have to pinch yourself from time to time and be proud of what happened,” says Seider, who is on the The best way is to become a similar world-class player to star forward Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers.
Will Seider make the price premiere?
There were no signs of adjustment difficulties in his first NHL season with the former Mannheimer Seider. Instead, he completed all 82 games, provided 43 assists and scored seven goals to reach the 50-point milestone. Very rare numbers for such a young defender. Seider could become the first German to receive the award for best NHL rookie.
He is driven by perfectionism. With self-confidence and impressive composure, he convinced right away, played ripped off and made impressive checks. The strong and 1.93 meter tall Seider doesn’t shy away from top stars. Even national goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer looks at highlight videos from Seider and judges: “Beast Mode!”
“The respect is there, of course,” says Seider. “But you try to make a name for yourself. That’s why I don’t need to bend over backwards, I go onto the ice with a big chest. I want to put my stamp on every game and they should be based on me.” Even the increasing hype doesn’t get him out of step. There were several reasons to take off. But Seider himself says he has no idea what distinguishes him from other talents.
Missed playoffs lucky for Germany
A lot has happened in recent years. After he had attracted attention in Mannheim in a short time in the DEL and stood out right away at his first World Cup in 2019, he was drafted in the NHL: in sixth position – unusually early for a defender who, moreover, does not come from North America.
He first played in the second-rate AHL and last season in Sweden – and was named the best defender in the strong Swedish league. Only after the 2021 World Cup with the brilliant semi-finals, the award for the best World Cup defender and election to the All-Star Team did he come to the NHL.
The fact that Detroit does not have a playoff class is now lucky for Söderholm. Otherwise Seider wouldn’t have time for the World Cup.