World Junior 2015 Preview: Germany hopeful work ethic, goaltending enough to stay up

GROUP A: GERMANY 

2014 finish: Ninth, defeated Norway 2-1 in best-of-3 relegation round
2014 round-robin record: 1-0-0-3, 7 GF/24 GA

Yahoo! Canada Sports has asked North America-based players, some of whom are playing in the world junior championship, to break down their national teams.

A byproduct of the IIHF's one-up, one-down promotion system is that Germany has a better grasp of what an underdog hockey nation needs to do to stay in the top flight.

Mostly that involves grinding and goaltending, along with being opportunistic. Germany, which is in the Canada-Finland-U.S. group, doesn't have a NHL draft pick up front since the Edmonton Oilers are not loaning 19-year-old centre Leon Draisaitl. Germany is confident it will be a pesky team, although it will understandably need to scorev more than the seven goals it had in four round-robin games 12 months ago in Malmö, Sweden.

"We all believe in ourselves in believe that this team is one of the better teams Germany has had," says forward Parker Tuomie, who plays for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League. "We're trying to compete with every team, trying to do the best that we can. Of course, it helps that we won a couple games last year [over Czech Republic and Norway] and that will give us even more experience to try to win this year."

Along with current and former major junior forwards Markus Eisenschmid, Dominik Kahun and Max Kammerer, Tuomie is also a tough-to-play-against wing. The fact Germany was competitive in a 5-2 pre-competition game against Jack Eichel-less Team USA on Sunday in Kingston was considered a promising sign. 

"It was the first step toward our goal," said WJC third-timer Frederik Tiffels, who plays for former NHL coach Andy Murray with the Western Michigan Broncos. "We improved every single period [against the U.S.] and scored some nice goals at the end.

"We're not the most talented team but that doesn't mean we can't compete every single night,"adds Tiffels, one of 10 players on the preliminary roster who has played junior in North America. "We have to compete the hardest and battle for every single puck and block shots."

Germany returns four defencemen with ex-London Knight Tim Bender, Ohio State's Janik Möser, Dorian Soeftel and Fabio Wagner. As a group, it will have the challenge of matching the tempo of attackers from Group A's Big Three along with Slovakia.

"It always helps if you have experience," Tiffels says. "They have to take the next step, show the others what it's like.

Germany was graced in goal by current Shawinigan Cataractes overage Marvin Cüpper for the past two years. Returnee Kevin Reich and Ilya Sharipov are vying for the No. 1 spot.

Germany plays Canada and the U.S. back-to-back in 8 p.m. games on Saturday and Sunday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tim Bender and Janik Möser (D, EHC München — DEL; Ohio State Buckeyes, NCAA)

The former London Knight Bender and current collegian Möser have the most North American experience among the four returning defencemen.

"They've played together for a long time and know each other really well," Tuomie says of Bender and Möser who are each 19 years old. "They're, for sure, going to be huge for us. They've both played in really high-paced leagues."

Markus Eisenschimid (F, Medicine Hat Tigers — WHL)

Second-time world junior has battled injuries this fall but has contributed to the Tigers leading the WHL's Central Division.

"He's great centre," Tuomie says. "He works hard, does the right things — finishing hits and getting pucks deep."

Dominik Kahun (F, EHC München — DEL)

Undersized but skilled forward is now a 19-year-old pro who has spent part of the season as a teammate with Bender. Kahun played 101 games over two seasons with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves.

"He has a lot of experience and is a really good player who has a lot of international experience for us," Tiffels says. "He's going to be huge for us."

Ilya Sharipov (G, EC Salzburg II — MHL)

The limber Sharipov was impressive during the pre-competition game vs. Team USA in Kingston.

"Reich is more of a bigger goaltender who fills the net," Tuomie relates. "Ilya is more of a quick goalie who plays butterfly. Both of them are competing for the spot right now. They're both really good."

Frederik Tiffels (F, Western Michigan Broncos — NCAA)

Tiffels potted a pair of goals in 2014 when Germany got salvation by beating the Czechs. He's expected to play with Kahun and be a first-line wing.

"They're big leaders on the team, Kahun and Tiffels," Tuomie says. "They lead by example and they're showing the younger guys how it's done."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.