Frankfurt:
F – Markus Schweiger (2002) 15GP 2G 0A 2Pts
F – Kevin Bicker (2005) 14GP 1G 0A 1Pts
D – Simon Gnyp (2001) 11GP 0G 1A 1Pts
D – Lua Niehus (2005) 10GP 0G 0A 0Pts
Oh look, another 2002 born player having a pretty good season. Schweiger’s ice time went down a little after starting the season in the top6, but it has stabilized at pretty decent level and he is doing a good job. His point totals could and should be higher, but that should take care of itself if he keeps playing like this. Bicker’s ice time has been at a low-end 4th line level most of the time with a few outliers up and down. His play has been inconsistent (not surprising for an 18-year-old), but it has improved as of late and he got rewarded (or rewarded himself) with his first DEL goal. It’s still too early to tell, but it looks like he is starting to get used to this level of play.
Gnyp is starting to run out of time, if he really wants to make it in the DEL. He turned 22 at the start of the season and will soon no longer benefit from his status as an U23 player. Unless he can establish himself as a DEL regular, he may soon find himself in the same situation as many other former U23 players where he cannot get a deal with a DEL team.
Niehus has actually played more than I thought he would when he signed with Frankfurt. However, the last 6 games he did not dress for 4 of them sat on the bench for 60 minutes in one of the remaining two and played only 51 seconds in the other. I am not a fan of playing these young men 2-3 minutes or less, but at least Niehus already had 3 games where he played 10, 14 and 16 minutes respectively. Those games can really help him. And he is only 18, so he still has time.
Schwenningen:
F – Daniel Neumann (2002) 13GP 1G 4A 5Pts
D – Arkadiusz Dziambor (2002) 4GP 0G 0A 0Pts
F – Filip Reisnecker (2001) 10GP 2G 0A 2Pts
F – Philip Feist (2003) 12GP 2G 0A 2Pts
D – Kai Zernikel (2003) 9GP 0G 0A 0Pts
Ever since Neumann returned from Switzerland where he played junior hockey for 5 and a half years (also some SL and even 8 games in the NL) he has been a pretty good player for Schwenningen. Already, at 13 games played, he is only 1 assist away from matching his point total of last season, when he played 33 games. And of course, he was born in 2002, just like Arkadiusz Dziambor who just joined Schwenningen after not getting any play in Mannheim this season. It’s only been 4 games, but so far, his ice time increased in each game, getting up to 15 minutes last game. Like many other 2001 born players Reisnecker really needs to step up if he wants to continue to play in the DEL. He always had the talent, but injuries have set him back multiple times. Right now, it’s not looking that good for him. The solid play from Philip Feist and the acquisition of Dziambor have made things even more difficult for Reisnecker, since most of the time teams don’t play (or dress) more than the mandatory three U23 players.
Munich:
F – Filip Varejcka (2001) 12GP 0G 5A 5Pts
F – Veit Oswald (2004) 16GP 4G 2A 6Pts
F – Nikolaus Heigl (2003) 8GP 0G 3A 3Pts
D – Jakob Weber (2004) 12GP 0G 1A 1Pts
D – Sten Fischer (2003) 1GP 0G 0A 0Pts
Varejcka is one of 5 to 8 guys born in 2001, who I expect to really stick in the DEL at this point. Despite some injuries along the way, he has developed very well and is probably the most skilled ’01 forward we have. Veit Oswald is adding to a growing group of 2004 born players that are making some noise. His minutes aren’t that crazy, but he is getting around or above 10 minutes consistently and he is clearly outproducing his ice time. And his game is becoming more and more well-rounded. We could have a future national team player on our hand here.
Nikolaus Heigl is the Heigl twin who is getting DEL games this season, a couple of seasons ago it was Thomas who got a first taste. Heigl really adjusted quickly to the league. Seeing a little less ice time than Oswald so far, Heigl is producing well within his limited role.
Jakob Weber started the season fairly strong in limited minutes and last game he actually got to play over 14 minutes. His play hasn’t been spectacular, but that he is getting to play this much at all is somewhat impressive, and while the 2004 forwards have been doing great this season, the defensemen have been a bit of a letdown. Weber is a rare exception so far. It would be nice if a dman from that birth year would pan out and as of now Weber has as good a chance as any of them.
Ingolstadt:
F – Philipp Krauß (2001) 16GP 3G 5A 8Pts
F – Enrico Henriquez-Morales (2001) 16GP 2G 2A 4Pts
D – Jan Nijenhuis (2001) 13GP 1G 0A 1Pts
F – Noah Dunham (2002) 4GP 0G 0A 0Pts
D – Daniel Schwaiger (2002) 9GP 0G 0A 0Pts
Krauß has been a pleasant surprise the last couple of seasons. I never paid much attention to him in juniors, so his development into an almost established DEL player, who is regularly contributing is quite unexpected to me. Henriquez-Morales on the other hand was a player I followed during his junior career he is also pretty established at this point. The other three are not really big factors so far.
Straubing:
F – Joshua Samanski (2002) 15GP 4G 3A 7Pts
D – Adrian Klein (2003) 16GP 1G 3A 4Pts
D – Mario Zimmermann (2001) 16GP 0G 1A 1Pts
F – Linus Brandl (2005) 2GP 0G 0A 0Pts
G – Florian Bugl (2002) 6GP 2.14 GAA .916 Sv%
I had actually hoped and expected a little more from Samanski, but he is still doing well and remains one of the top U23 players in the country. Klein has really exceeded my expectations to this point and he is getting rewarded with a decent amount of ice time. His trajectory is looking good and I hope he can keep it up.
Zimmermann on the other hand is playing less than last year. He wouldn’t be the first guy who looks good at 19 or 20 and then sees his ice time and scoring decrease and then ending up in the DEL2 or Oberliga. But I thought Zimmermann would not be in danger of that given his solid performances for the national team as well as the club. Hopefully he can bounce back.
Brandl has only played a few minutes in a couple of games recently. We will have to see if he gets more chances and any real ones.
Bugl continues to duel with Tiefensee for the spot of the best 2002 goalie. I have Tiefensee slightly ahead, but Bugl is getting a good number of starts this season and keeps performing very well. It is good to know we have some strong young goalies coming up. That was a position of great concern for me a couple of years ago.
Dusseldorf:
F – Bennet Roßmy (2003) 16GP 2G 6A 8Pts
F – Alexander Blank (2002) 16GP 1G 3A 4Pts
F – Josef Eham (2002) 16GP 1G 1A 2Pts
F – Jakub Borzecki (2002) 16GP 0G 0A 0Pts
F – Edmnd Junemann (2004) 3GP 0G 0A 0Pts
What a season from Roßmy so far. The move to Dusseldorf has really paid off for him. He is flourishing and is now clearly the top skater of the 2003 birth year. His game has translated very well from junior to the pro level and we should see him play in many World Championships in the future.
Alexander Blank had a very slow start to the season, but has picked it up in recent games, just as I was starting to doubt him again. Eham kind of went the other way. He started fairly well, but his play and his ice time took a dive after the first few games. He averaged more than 16 minutes through the first 4 games, but only about nine and a half minutes in the 12 games since.
Borzecki is not really progressing much as far as ice time or scoring are concerned compared to the previous season.