Germany, Slovakia and Latvia – what goals have you set for the Germany Cup?
Peter Schneider: “It’s a high-class tournament, with teams from the top 10 in the world rankings who always deliver top performances at the World Cup and are now also qualified for the Olympics. They will use this tournament to test the best players for the Olympics. It will be three incredibly difficult games.”
How valuable are these games for your development as a team?
Peter Schneider: “It’s not everyday that you get to play against such strong teams in the regular season. These are games at the highest level. It’s an important step for us as a team in the development with a view to the World Cup. Also on an individual level. We have some young players with us, for them these are important missions in order to get to know the level, to keep up and not have to hide.”
How well have you found each other in such a short time?
Peter Schneider: “The first ice training already looked very good. We had a very high tempo and have good chemistry in the team. Some of us have known each other for a long time. The young players make a good impression both on and off the ice. The team spirit is very good and that is important. We want to carry this through the week well and take a step forward every day. Not everything will work perfectly in a short time, but what is important is that we get along well and approach the matter with joy and passion. Then the results will be right.”
The Germany Cup is already part of the newly introduced European Cup of Nations. Does that change anything for you in terms of expectations?
Peter Schneider: “The European Cup of Nations is an attempt to upgrade the tournaments during the breaks by providing a ranking. For us, the attitude doesn’t change much because we go into the tournament anyway with the idea that we want to recommend ourselves for the World Cup. It makes no difference to us. We always want to deliver the best performance.”
You lead the national team as captain. How does this role feel for you?
Peter Schneider: “It always depends on who is there. Thomas (note: Raffl) is not there. He is our captain. But it is of course a great honor for me that I can take on this and I hope that I will do the job well.”
eishockey.at Image: ÖEHV/Bernd Stefan
