The best players in the world are set to face each other in an official best-on-best tournament for the first time in over a decade. The prize on the line is Olympic gold. In this edition of 2026 Winter Olympic Roster Projections the focus in on Team Germany. Each team can bring three goaltenders and 22 skaters for a 25 man roster. Submission to the International Olympic Committee is due on New Years Eve. Just as with every team qualified to the Olympics, the first six players were announced previously. For Germany the selections are Leon Draisaitl (F), Philipp Grubauer (G), Lukas Reichel (F), Moritz Seider (D), Nico Sturm (F), and Tim Stuzle (F).
Team Germany Winter Olympic Roster Projections Starting in Net
It’s a bit obvious who the management team for Germany consider their number one goaltender. They named him in the first six to begin with and will ride Philipp Grubauer to any success they could achieve. He is also the only German goaltender in the National Hockey League. It’s likely that they’ll bring in someone from the DEL to fill out the roster.
Philipp Grubauer (SEA)
Nikita Quapp (AHL)
Mathias Neiderburger (DEL)
Neiderburger has some of the best goaltending numbers this season in the DEL with his team EHC Red Bull Munchen. With an 8-5-2 record and a goals against average of 2.71. However, don’t expect either goaltender to play in this tournament, and if they do, expect it to be their second game against Latvia.
Defence Projections
With just one defenceman in the NHL in Moritz Seider, the options on the backend are limited. One name that has jumped out is hybrid defenceman and left winger Marcel Brandt of the DEL’s Straubing Tigers. Brandt was also featured on the last German Olympic roster in 2022. The possible pairings are as follows.
Left Defence – Right Defence
Marcel Brandt (DEL) – Moritz Seider (DET)
Maksymilian Szuber (AHL) – Korbinian Holzer (IceHL)
Konrad Abeltshauser (DEL) – Leon Gawanke (DEL)
Moritz Wirth (DEL) – Kai Wissmann (DEL)
The last name on this list, Kai Wissmann has been a significant presence on the German roster for a few years now. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe Achilles injury in the offseason. There’s some hope that he would be able to return for the tournament.
Forwards
Like many nations already covered in this series of projections, the forward group is by far the strongest and deepest part of the German hockey program. Being led by a number of NHL stars including Leon Draisaitl, the goal for Germany is obviously to outscore any issues. The lines that Germany could throw out on the ice could include the following.
Left Wing – Centre – Right Wing
Tim Stutzle (OTT) – Leon Draisaitl (EDM) – J.J. Peterka (UTA)
Lukas Reichel (VAN) – Nico Sturm (MIN) – Leo Pfoderl (DEL)
Wojciech Stachowiak (AHL) – Manuel Wiederer (DEL) – Andreas Eder (DEL)
Alexander Ehl (DEL) – Tim Fleischer (DEL) – Dominik Bokk (DEL)
There’s a name that many, if not all, German hockey fans will recognize. Leo Pfoderl has been a part of every single international tournament for Germany since 2015, including the past two Olympics, and several World Championships. He was named DEL Player of the Year last season as part of the championship winning Eisbaren Berlin. This season he has 17 points in 19 games so far.
Germany has won a total of 16 international medals. The highest honour of which has been silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Germany’s tournament begins in Milan on February 12 against Denmark.
Photo by Andy Devlin/ Getty Images
The post 2026 Winter Olympic Roster Projections: Team Germany appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.