GERMANY ADDS BLACKHAWKS 2020 FIRST ROUND PICK TO THEIR ROSTER

Team Germany is adding two names to their 2022 IIHF World Championship roster. Winnipeg Jets defensive prospect Leon Gawanke and Chicago Blackhawks 2020 first round pick Lukas Reichel are both joining the German national team in Finland.

Note: the following is translated from German.


Gawanke, 22, spent the entire 2021-22 season in the American Hockey League with the Manitoba Moose, where he tallied 36 points (ten goals, 26 assists), nineteen penalty minutes and was a minus-one in 65 games. He added four points (one goal, three assists) in five playoff games.

As for Reichel, he spent the majority of his season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs, putting up 57 points in 56 games. He also appeared in eleven games with the Chicago Blackhawks where he had one assist.

Both Reichel and Gawanke played for Germany at the 2021 World Championship in Latvia where they finished fourth, losing to the United States in the Bronze Medal Game.

Germany will be back in action on Thursday taking on Denmark. Both players are expected to arrive in Finland tomorrow, and likely will be in the lineup on Friday against Italy.

Toni Söderholm: «Leon kann uns auf jeden Fall im Aufbauspiel noch besser machen, das hat er bei der WM im vergangenen Jahr bewiesen. Lukas ist ein Spieler, der bereits seine Reife auf internationalem Level unter Beweis gestellt hat. Seine Kreativität ist ein Trumpf für uns.»— Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (@deb_teams) May 18, 2022