It took joining a website’s free article service in German to find this one, but Moritz Seider spoke with Mannheim Morgen today to discuss his draft and development camp experiences, and here’s his conversation with Jan Kotulla, roughly translated from German:
Moritz Seider: “I only hoped that I wouldn’t trip”
Mortiz Seider will never forget the moment whe nhe received his Red Wings jersey from Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman at the draft.
Mannheim. On Monday, Moritz Seider returned from Detroit and is back in Mannheim–and what is the 18-year-old hockey whiz kid going to do? He’s planning on spending his summer training on the ice. This past weekend was one highlight after another for the defenseman of Adler Mannheim.
The moment when he was drafted 6th overall in the draft, the junior sitting for an evening waiting to join the North American professional league, the NHL, with the Detroit Red Wings, all of that is burned into Seider’s memory. “There are a few words left out,” Seider explains in a conversation with this newspaper. “I don’t know how to describe it that way. Actually, you just hope that on the way to the stage, you don’t trip, because you’re already so excited,” he says as he looks back upon the decisive evening in Vancouver, Canada.
The atmosphere in Rogers Arena was unique. “You have your own seat with your name tag on it, which is really only for you. Then you just wait. You’re full of anticipation, and it was a great feeling to finally be able to put on the jersey,” he explains.
Next steps toward the dream
Detroit’s general manager, Steve Yzerman, had personally watched the “Best Young Defenseman of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga” during the season, and he praised him in the highest regard: “When I saw him for the first time, I was surprised. I expected a young guy in Germany, not this hockey IQ. ” Seider’s teammates and Adler coaches had repeatedly emphasized his level of understanding of the game.
And Seider showed it during a five-day training camp for the top talents of the Detroit Red Wings. “The development camp was a great experience. I met a lot of new people there,” says the defenseman. “And there were topics like, ‘How do I claim the puck?’ How to deal with puckhandling a little bit better? But there were also many presentations,” says the DEL champion, describing his impressions and adding: “It was about what is required of a professional hockey player. Also, that you have to give your body a bit of rest.”
How does this fit in with probably the most exciting week of your life, and then immediately following it up with training in Mannheim?
Seider looks relaxed. “You wait for the moment when you have nothing to do for a day or two. You have the weekend off. Since you try to do relaxing things with your friends. You go out or go to the movies together. You can find one another in a phase where you’re relaxing,” he explains.
He makes it clear that one of the top talents in the DEL won’t simply stand out. “I know that this was just a very, very small step toward my dream. Now it’s time to get to work, to accelerate and to see where the journey goes,” Seider says. When asked what he took out of Detroit’s camp, the 18-year-old says, “You have to work hard every day, because there are so many players who want to get the job for themselves.” His life motive is, “There are simply no excuses. You have to prove yourself every day. You have to try every day to get better. If you want to succeed, you have to work hard. I think that will be rewarded in the end.” That’s why Seider is still considering his school career. “Schooling is still an issue. That can be done during the holidays. It’s Plan B,” he says.
But of course ice hockey is in the foreground. “I figure that the next invitation to Detroit will be toward the end of August,” says the defender, who obviously enjoys putting on skates and skating on the ice with his Adler colleagues. “There’s nothing wrong with summer preparations here in my home country. And if you worry about the possible risk of injury, you should just stop playing hockey.” For Seider, that’s unthinkable.
