In just a week from now, the eyes of the hockey world will turn to Edmonton, Alberta.
Even without fans in the rink, the 2021 World Junior tournament figures to be one of the best in recent memory. At this point, any competitive hockey would look incredible but when you consider the talent on display, this has the potential to be an incredible couple weeks.
And while the focus will be on tournament favourites like Canada, Russia, United States, Sweden and Finland, hockey fans in the Nation’s Capital will be paying close attention to Team Germany.
Tim Stuetzle, Ottawa’s third overall pick in the 2020 Entry Draft, will suit up for the Germans in what is his first competitive hockey in months. He’s spent the last eight weeks rehabbing from a hand injury he suffered back in mid-October.
Stueztle spoke to TSN’s Brent Wallace yesterday and it’s pretty clear he’s excited to get this thing going.
The Germans are in tough in a group with Canada, Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland but as we saw at last year’s tournament, Stuetzle is still more than capable of standing out, even on an overmatched German squad.
Germany opens the tournament against Finland on Christmas Day at 4:00 PM. Canada plays their first game against Stuetzle’s German squad on December 26th.
Towards the end of this interview, Brent Wallace also asks Stuetzle about the upcoming season with Ottawa.
Stuetzle makes it pretty clear that his goal is to play in Ottawa this season. While he mentions that there’s still work to do on his contract, it sounds like that’s mostly a formality.
From Ottawa’s perspective, they want to see a firm plan in place from the NHL before securing his release and signing an Entry Level Contract. And considering last night’s updates on that front, you can see why the Senators want to hold off until there’s something more official.
Let him dominate at the World Juniors. Secure his release and get that ELC signed when the return to play plan is in place.
Then he can come to Ottawa’s Training Camp, whenever that is…wherever that is…
