Freeze the "Freezers"

And yet another European Trophy game in the O2 World. Its still not cold, I know but still the home of the Eisbären is about to Freeze or is it? The Hamburg Freezers are desperately looking for their first win in the European trophy and they have not looked good. Even though Berlin is almost like a home game (O2 World and O2 World) Berlin is anything but home. The Freezers have not been successful at all over the last couple of years and are arguably one of the most disappointing teams. Hamburg should naturally be a decent market for hockey and "Anschütz" has brought at least some hockey flair to the "Hansestadt". Nevertheless Berlin´s sister team is not as successful as its bigger brother. The more important it is to show what they can do early in the season even if its just a pre season game. So what can we expect?

Surely after the successful season last year the Freezers are looking to at least reach a play-off spot this year. Most impressive seems the addition of goalkeeper Dimitrij Kotschnew, who with 220 DEL games , should provide a secure spot at the goalie position. Hamburg has also greatly added to its lingering defense that cost them the 4:1 loss against the Adler Mannheim during the playoffs. I would watch for James Bettauer, Mathieu Roy and the NHL experienced Duvie Westcott to provide good protection in front of the net. As for goals, I felt like the Freezers needed to add far more power. Brandon Reid, old but experienced, is coming back to Hamburg as he played for them during the 04/05 season. I am more excited about Julian Jakobsen. The Danish player, who also plays for the Danish national team is young and very explosive. He seems especially dangerous behind the net and is very versatile on the outside and in front of the net. We´ll see what he can do. Defense was a focus for the Freezers but they could also provide for a balanced and quick offense.

On the Hamburg Freezers homepage, they all are part of the team and Freezers from the heart up. If you click on the roster, all players are introduced with a "Freezer" as their middle name. Julian Jakobsen quickly becomes "Julian Freezer Jakobsen". A nice gag to promote the Freezer attitude but is it going to help them play hockey against the undefeated Eisbären?