Ice hockey - DEG sports director Mondt: DEL playoffs not yet written off
Head of Sport Niki Mondt of Düsseldorfer EG is confident that they can still reach the playoffs of the German Ice Hockey League. "Of course we know that we are currently closer to the bottom of the table than tenth place. So we are well advised to play better and collect more points. But I haven't written off tenth place yet," said Mondt in an interview with the "Rheinische Post" (Thursday).
Tenth place at the end of the main round would at least entitle the team to take part in the play-off qualifying round. Halfway through the DEL preliminary round, DEG are in twelfth place in the 14-team league with just 28 points after 26 games. The eight-time German champions are seven points behind tenth place and five points ahead of last place. If the DEL2 champions fulfill the economic requirements for promotion, the team in last place in the first division will be relegated.
Mondt cited bad luck with injuries and poor performances from supposed key players as the main reasons for the difficult season. Despite the poor start to the season, he largely excluded coach Thomas Dolak from the criticism. "If I wasn't convinced by his work, I would have sacked him long ago with such a points average. Of course, we reviewed everything internally and turned it inside out, but we never blamed the coach," said former international Mondt.
Mondt interview
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- If DEG manages to improve their performance and collect more points, Mondt believes they still have a chance to secure tenth place in the German Ice Hockey League's main round, which would qualify them for the play-off qualifying round.
- Despite being in twelfth place with only 28 points after 26 games in the DEL preliminary round, the eight-time German champions are not yet out of contention for the playoffs, thanks to Niki Mondt's optimistic outlook.
- In an interview with the "Rheinische Post," Mondt, the head of sport for Düsseldorfer EG, highlighted bad luck with injuries and poor performances from key players as major factors contributing to their challenging season.
- Commending coach Thomas Dolak's work, Mondt stated that although they had conducted internal reviews, he had not considered dismissing the coach due to the team's poor points average, implying his belief in Dolak's abilities to turn the team's fortunes around.
Source: www.stern.de
