When the German Ice Hockey Association (DEB) appointed Harold Kreis as men’s national team head coach three years ago, many observers called it a no-brainer. By then the Winnipeg native had seen and done it all in German hockey.
Kreis’s arrival in West Germany was not without controversy. He came to Mannheim in 1978 at 19 as one of several Canadian recruits brought in to help the newly promoted side compete in the top league. That an influx of North American players — some eligible for West German passports — unsettled parts of the fanbase was clear.
“In Mannheim we were welcomed with open arms, but when we played in other rinks, not so much,” Kreis told DW. He recalls one night in Rosenheim when a fan heckled him during warmups; Kreis confronted him and pointed out Rosenheim’s own Canadian-born goalie, Karl Friesen, and the heckling stopped. “I think it was something that people simply weren’t used to, this big influx of ‘Ausländer’ — even though we were all of German heritage.”
Kreis became a Mannheim stalwart, spending 18 seasons with the club and making 180 appearances for the West German national team. He was named to the initial roster for the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics but was dropped at the last minute over a West German passport technicality — an episode he now laughs about but still finds strange. He later played at the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics and retired as a player in 1997 after winning a second title with Mannheim.
He moved into coaching immediately, serving as an assistant to Lance Nethery at Mannheim and building a successful second career. Kreis won two Swiss championships as a head coach and, after being named Germany’s national coach, led the team to a silver medal at the 2023 World Championship — his first major tournament in charge.
The question of foreigners in German hockey persists. The DEL now allows nine imports per team, a sharp contrast with the two allowed in 1978. Germany captain Moritz Müller once stirred controversy by calling a rival side a “Canada 1c national team” on live TV. Kreis believes the influx ultimately helped raise the league’s standard, even if it may have limited some opportunities for individual German-born youngsters. To balance that, the DEL has introduced rules requiring two U23 German players on rosters to give prospects more top-level ice time.
Now 67, Kreis heads to the Olympics as head coach for the first time. This German squad is widely seen as the strongest ever — the NHL is permitting players to participate for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games. Germany brings six NHLers to Milano Cortina, including Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, Ottawa’s Tim Stützle, Utah’s JJ Peterka, Detroit’s Moritz Seider, and Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer in goal.
Despite that talent, Germany are not among the favorites; traditional powerhouses like Canada, the USA and Sweden have deeper pools of NHL stars. Many German players, like Draisaitl, have waited years for a true best-on-best Olympic tournament.
Kreis credits a lasting shift in mentality to former coach Marco Sturm, whose leadership helped Germany win Olympic silver at Pyeongchang in 2018. “Sturm brought a completely different mindset to the dressing room — to the entire German Ice Hockey Association,” Kreis said. “No longer was Germany happy with a 3-1 loss to Canada, for example. His attitude was that this is not acceptable. We can do better, we intend to do better.”
Kreis declined to specify a target for the tournament but views advancement from a group that includes the United States, Denmark and Latvia as achievable. He singled out Denmark and Latvia as familiar opponents against whom Germany traditionally perform well and noted their similar numbers of NHL players. “Our goal is to achieve the best possible result for us. To play our very best ice hockey in each game. And then we’ll see where we stand at the end.”
Germany open their Olympic campaign against Denmark on February 12. Edited by: Matt Pearson