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Hockey 2026 Olympics Milano, Germany (The Hockey Writers)

Germany Announces 2026 Men’s Olympic Roster

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 12:29 PM ET

On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the German Ice Hockey Federation announced its men’s team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Germany will be in Group C with the USA, Denmark, and Latvia. Their first game will be on Thursday, Feb. 12, against Denmark at 3:10 pm Eastern. Their final roster consists of nine players from the NHL, one from the Swiss League, and 15 from the top German league (DEL). That said, who made it onto the final roster for Germany ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Representing Germany in Italy

On Wednesday morning, national team coach Harold Kreis made the announcement of the roster he will bring to Milan-Cortina:

NHL Players: Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken), JJ Peterka (Utah Mammoth), Lukas Reichel (Vancouver Canucks), Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings), Joshua Samanski (Edmonton Oilers), Wojciech Stachowiak (Tampa Bay Lightning), Nico Sturm (Minnesota Wild), and Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators)

Swiss League: Dominik Kahun (Lausanne HC)

PENNY DEL (Germany): Maximilian Franzreb, Alexander Ehl, Leon Gawanke, Lukas Kälble, Marc Michaelis, and Justin Schütz (Adler Mannheim). Korbinian Geibel, Jonas Müller, Frederik Tiffels, and Kai Wissmann (Eisbären Berlin). Mathias Niederberger, Fabio Wagner, and Tobias Rieder (Red Bull Munich). Moritz Müller and Parker Tuomie (Cologne Sharks).

When asked about the goal for Germany at the upcoming Winter Olympics, Kreis stated, “Our task in squad planning was to define the distribution of roles in the Olympic team and, from our point of view, to fill it in the best possible way. We are convinced that with this line-up we have now found the ideal composition of the squad for the Olympic Games. Now we are all looking forward to working with this group and making the most of the time spent preparing together in Bolzano and Milan for the start of the tournament.”

What gives Germany a shot at making some noise, especially within their group, is the additions of the nine NHLers coming from North America. Most of them are participating in the Olympics for the first time. Seven of the players from the squad played at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing (Kahun, Jo. Müller, Mo. Müller, Niederberger, Rieder, Tiffels, and Wagner). Out of those seven, Kahun, Jo. Müller, and Mo. Müller won the silver for Germany in Pyeongchang at the 2018 Games.

When discussing how the German league has become important for the national team for the Olympics, Christian Künast, Board Member for Sport at the DEB, stated, “The composition of the Olympic squad was challenging due to the increased number of national players from the PENNY DEL, and we have been working intensively on it in recent weeks. After careful consideration, we deliberately chose these players because we are convinced that we have optimally cast all roles. Our goal is to appear as a compact unit at the 2026 Olympics.”

The DEL has grown over the last few years as a great European league to play in. The fact that they are sending 15 players to the 2026 Winter Games shows how important the league has become and how its development has changed over time.

If Germany finds a way to handle Latvia and Denmark, it could be in a good spot within the Group C matchups. Obviously, their biggest test will be against a stacked USA team, minus some talent they left at home. However, with the NHL players coming to the 2026 Winter Olympics, it could be the boost Germany needs to progress further in Milan-Cortina.