When it comes to national ice hockey coach Harold Kreis, one word is never far away: gentleman. Kreis is polite, approachable, has wordplay. There is only one thing that should not be deduced from this: that this Harold circle shies away from hard decisions. If something goes against the grain for the 64-year-old, it can happen quickly. This is what happened these days at the World Championships in Tampere, Finland.
The German team played against Austria, and although they won 4-2, Kreis liked all this less, especially the appearance of John-Jason, called JJ, Peterka. In the final third, he had less than two minutes of ice time, whenever the front line jumped over the board, Peterka had to sit and watch. Afterwards, Kreis criticized his entire parade series, saying they had not played "our game". In other words: too complicated, too much for the gallery. No coach likes that.
Back on the ice
On Sunday, Peterka was allowed back on the ice. Germany played against Hungary and won again, this time 7-2. And this was also due to Peterka. The Munich-born player scored one goal himself and set up three more. "I was more motivated to show what I can really do today," said the 21-year-old, who is now Germany's top scorer at this World Cup with seven goal involvements.
So just in time for the decisive phase of the tournament, he is in form. This Tuesday (11.20 a.m. on Sport 1 and Magentasport) is the last group game against France, and if everything goes smoothly, it continues on Thursday with the quarter-finals against the previously outstanding Swiss.
The German team needs a Peterka in top form. Because the winger belongs to a rare species in the squad: He earns his money in the National Hockey League (NHL), the strongest ice hockey league in the world. This season, for the first time, Peterka played 77 games for the Buffalo Sabres, scoring twelve goals and setting up 20 more.
Kreis expects more from such a man than from others. And if he doesn't show that, there are consequences. Consequences that did not fail to have an effect. "JJ must have been," Nico Sturm knew. "Today he showed that if he makes the right decisions, he's our best striker."