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?