Ice hockey striker Lukas Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks will strengthen the German national ice hockey team at the World Cup. According to the German Ice Hockey Association, the 21-year-old professional from the North American professional league NHL will arrive in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Friday.
However, a deployment at the start of the World Cup against Slovakia on the same day (4.20 p.m./ProSieben and MagentaSport) comes too early. Reichel will not be on the ice for the runner-up world champion for the first time until the second group game on Saturday (8.20 p.m./ProSieben and MagentaSport) against the USA. So far, Reichel has been active for the DEB selection in 2021 and 2022.
After Nico Sturm (San José Sharks), John Jason Peterka (Buffalo Sabres) and Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken), the former Berliner is the fourth professional from the NHL. Maksymilian Szuber (Tucson Roadrunners/AHL) also made his debut in the best league in the world this season for the Arizona Coyotes.
On Tuesday, Reichel extended his NHL contract with the Blackhawks until 2026. Reichel will earn $1.2 million (around €1.1 million) per year. In the last NHL season he scored five goals and prepared eleven goals in 65 appearances. After the end of the season, he played for the Rockford IceHogs in the playoffs of the second-tier AHL.