Seidenberg...A Rookie In Name Only
Draftee from Germany makes Opening Night roster
By Pat Smyth, PhiladelphiaFlyers.com
Hockey has never been the sport of choice in Germany.
The game has traditionally been brushed aside with all the hype and attention that the country pays to soccer and tennis. Considering that Germany has won three soccer World Cups and has produced the likes of stars Boris Becker and Steffi Graf on the tennis circuit, it’s understandable that hockey’s popularity has suffered.
Flyers rookie defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, a native of Germany, believes hockey gets about as much attention as handball in Germany.
Handball?
“That’s the sport you call it, right?” Seidenberg said. “Hockey, handball and basketball have always been so-so in Germany.”
Seidenberg’s move to the United States to begin his Flyers career this summer at training camp was a chance to display his talent to audiences much larger than the ones he played in front of in Germany. The 6’1”, 190-pound 21-year-old defenseman has not disappointed by earning a roster spot with the team.
His two goals during the preseason tied for most among Flyers defensemen, including one scored on the power play. Seidenberg’s hard slap shot and ability to move the puck quickly have made him an immediate asset to the Flyers’ ever-improving power play.
“That’s what they want me to do: when I get the puck, try to get it to the net,” Seidenberg said. “So far it has worked out pretty good.”
Flyers Head Coach Ken Hitchcock said that Seidenberg has been one of the biggest surprises of camp.
“I know right now that based on performance, he deserves to be with the team at the start of the year,” Hitchcock said. “How many people can get a shot away like he scored [against the New York Islanders Oct. 2] that’s hard and accurate off the back foot going away?
“There aren’t five defensemen in the League that can put it with that type of authority on the net.”
Scouts knew that Seidenberg had an above average shot for a defenseman prior to the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Many were concerned, however, that Seidenberg was too small to ever contribute at a high level. This concern was echoed on draft day as Seidenberg slipped into the sixth round before the Flyers called a German name for the first time in team draft history with the 172nd overall pick.
His defense partner for most of the preseason has been Dan McGillis, who at 6’2” and 234 pounds, easily makes up for Seidenberg’s small stature. McGillis doesn’t foresee Seidenberg’s size as being a problem.
“I don’t think he’ll have a problem with that because his speed more than overcomes it,” McGillis said. “He’s had some national experience and everyone knows that and some Olympic experience, too. He is very poised out there and looks experienced out there.”
Seidenberg’s play during the 2002 Winter Olympics turned many heads and helped an upstart German team advance to the medal round of the tournament. There, he held his own against the likes of current Flyers John LeClair, Jeremy Roenick and Simon Gagne.
The Olympics weren’t the first time that he has gone up against NHL players. The league that his Adler Mannheim team was a part of in Germany, the DEL, was populated with former NHL players.
His teammates have included former Flyers Yves Racine, Mark Pederson and Todd Hlushko and former NHL players Rene Corbet and Stephane Richer.
“It’s not that much difference here. There are some guys here almost twice my age,” Seidenberg said. “I could learn a lot from them because they have quite a few games in the NHL.”
Bringing with him the experience of playing with NHL players on a regular basis helped Seidenberg make a nearly seamless transition to the NHL. Although his name wasn’t even mentioned at the start of camp to step into the position left vacated by Luke Richardson, he gradually became the front-runner of the organization’s three talented young defensemen vying to make the team.
His play has resulted in Bruno St. Jacques being sent to the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, and Jeff Woywitka being returned to his junior team, the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. He has left his coach bubbling with excitement when discussing his potential.
“I think we have to start looking at him as maybe this guy that can be a significant player, not just a young guy making the team,” Hitchcock said. “Because he sure looks like it to us right now."
Sunday, October 06, 2002
Méschda Hoschbess holy
...und nichts ist wie es scheint!!...visit: broadstreetbully´s or the flyer´s seats or flyers.com
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, und der erst mit der 25
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