I'm sick and wanted to do something other than work for a moment, so I thought it would be interesting to look at the goalies this year with regard to the national team. With all our best goalies not getting any younger there are some encouraging signs from the younger ones.
Outside the DEL, Greiss is no longer a factor and Grubauer is 30.
In the DEL we have the "old guard" (33+):
aus den Birken (37)
Endras (37)
Keller (33)
Jenike (34)
I don't think any of these guys will be a factor on the national team going forward, and some have probably already retired from the team. I always forget to make a note when a player retires from the national team.
The more or less established regulars (27-32):
Niederbeger (29)
Strahlmeier (30)
Brückmann (31)
Reich (27)
Treutle (31)
Weitzmann(27)
Cüpper (28)
Niederberger and Strahlmeier will likely continue to be regulars on the national team, Brückmann may be an option for while. Treutle is probably only an emergency option at this point and unfortunately Reich, Weitzmann and Cüpper have not yet established themselves as starters for their teams, but there is still some upside and they play mostly solid when given the chance. But I doubt any of them will be the future of the national team.
The young-ish options with upside (at least potentially) (22-26):
Pantkowski (24)
Franzreb (26)
Hane (22)
Brenner (25)
Franzreb is basically in the same situation as Reich and Weitzmann. Pantkowski is probably the best bet to become a regular for the national team. He is doing ok so far with a starter's workload, his stats are not spectacular, but that is not just on him.
Hane is in a more difficult situation. Last season he was almost in a 1a/1b situation with Pantkowski. Now he is barely getting any starts with Haukeland being the clear starter, but his talent is still there.
Brenner will likely never be a factor, but he has been exceeding my expectations and might make it as a regular backup, not just for a couple of years, but for the long term.
The prospects (21 and under):
Ancicka (21)
Tiefensee (20)
Bugl (20)
Quapp (19)
Lunemann (20)
Dietl (18)
Doubrawa (21)
Quapp is injured and has not played a game yet. Neither has Lunemann, and Dietl has only played a few minutes in relief.
Doubrawa got to play several games due to injuries and the results were not that great, but he is still young and can improve, though he is unlikely to ever suit up for the national team.
Ancicka is the starter in Berlin and doing a decent enough job. Obviously he cannot replace Niederberger at this point, but his development is still looking good.
Bugl appears to be in the process of winning the starter job in Straubing. He has been playing really well this season and will likely only get better. Of course it helps having a strong team in front of you.
Tiefensee has been outstanding as of late. He got the chance, because of injuries I believe, but his numbers in the last 5 games are just insane. Like Bugl he is in a good situation playing behind a strong team, but he is absolutely making the most of it.
Obviously, the sample sizes for all of them, even Ancicka, are still very small, but it is good to see some more young goalies doing well at this level. If only one of them could turn into a stud goalie to take over when Grubauer, Niederberger etc. retire, it would be great.
Here are the stats for the U23 goalies:
Goalie | Team | Born in | GP | Minutes | GA | Saves | Shots | Sv % | GAA | W | OTW | OTL | L |
Tobias Ancicka | Eisbären Berlin | 2001 | 13 | 843:11 | 43 | 421 | 464 | 90,73% | 3,06 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Florian Bugl | Straubing Tigers | 2002 | 8 | 438:36 | 16 | 179 | 195 | 91,79% | 2,19 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Philipp Dietl | Straubing Tigers | 2004 | 1 | 07:54 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 66,67% | 7,59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Leon Doubrawa | Bietigheim Steelers | 2001 | 7 | 360:00 | 27 | 186 | 213 | 87,32% | 4,50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Hendrik Hane | Düsseldorfer EG | 2000 | 3 | 176:43 | 8 | 80 | 88 | 90,91% | 2,72 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Juho Markkanen | Eisbären Berlin | 2002 | 4 | 239:12 | 13 | 105 | 118 | 88,98% | 3,26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Arno Tiefensee | Adler Mannheim | 2002 | 7 | 419:34 | 13 | 190 | 203 | 93,60% | 1,86 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 |