Here’s Rogle BK’s Lasse Mauritzson’s Q and A with Mortiz Seider, roughly translated:
“It will be fun to kick off the season”
He is one of German hockey’s great future names. But the autumn of 2020 has not been normal for Moritz Seider–at home in Germany they are still waiting to start the hockey season. Now the wait is over for Seider, who will play in Rögle in the SHL. “It will be fun to start the season,” says Moritz.
At last summer’s NHL draft, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman surprised many when he used the team’s first choice, No. 6 overall, to select German defender Moritz Seider and signed a rookie contract with the well-built right-handed defender.
Expectations are high on the very promising defenseman and he is predicted to have a brilliant NHL career.
“It is always a player’s dream to be selected in the NHL draft, and I was very happy when it happened. I hope to be able to get there, but I know that it is a long road and a lot of hard work that must be put in for it to become a reality. I take it step by step; I am very happy about the opportunity to come to Rögle and the SHL and have the opportunity to learn a new culture, and develop as both player and person, and gain new experiences that can be valuable to me in the future,” says Moritz.
Last season he played in Detroit’s farm team Grand Rapid Griffins, in 49 games he accounted for 22 points (2 + 20) as a rookie.
“It was a change to come to a new league and smaller rinks. It took a while to get used to it but in the end it’s hockey that it’s about.”
This year the idea was that he would start with his old team, Adler Mannheim, but in Germany the season start has been postponed several times.
“It has been stressful not to know. I have had a really good summer and pre-season, and I feel impatient to start playing games. So when the proposal for Rögle came up, I was very happy. It’s been a positive dialogue with everyone involved, and I am very excited about getting in place and being allowed to start training and playing games,” he says.
“It’s been a while since I played a game, it was in March before the corona pandemic struck and the league closed down. So now it’s about getting in game shape as soon as possible.”
What do you know about Rögle?
“I have had good conversations with both general manager Chris Abbott and defense coach Cory Murphy. I know Cory since he was part of Germany’s coaching staff at the World Championship in 2019. I have understood that it is a top team in the league and a good organization where players have good opportunities to develop.”
Can you describe yourself as a player?
“I like to play physically, I consider myself a two-way defender, have a good first pass, I see the game well and like to jump on the offense when given the opportunity.”
What do you want out of a season in Sweden?
“First of all, it will be fun to get to know new players and a new culture. Then I hope to play a lot of games and that the team is successful and that we get a long playoff run. And that I earn new experiences and can continue to develop into a good NHL player in the future.”
When we tell him that there may be a little more of an audience at the games in the future in Sweden, he is happy:
“It is a good first step. Hopefully in Rögle we can play well so they can enjoy seeing us in the stands, and in the future I hope we can have more fans in the stands.”
