Ice hockey talent Tim Stützle: will this 18-year-old be the next Draisaitl?

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The top German talent Tim Stützle was selected in third place by the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night in the NHL draft

Photo: Sportfoto Zink / Thomas Hahn / imago images / Zink

Tim Stützle was not drawn first.

And the German ice hockey talent from the Mannheimer Adlers did not find a club as a second player in the distribution of the worldwide young players to the 31 clubs of the North American professional league NHL on Tuesday evening - although many experts had rated him so highly in advance.

But the Los Angeles Kings preferred the beefy Canadian Quinton Byfield.

And yet Tim Stützle from Viersen am Niederrhein was a special feature of this talent bazaar, which was held virtually for the first time.

When the Ottawa Senators picked him third, they did not, like the other clubs, communicate it through their manager, who was sitting in an open plan office with his scouts.

The senators from Canada's capital recorded a video with Alex Trebek to introduce their newcomer.

Since 1984, the Canadian has hosted the popular US edition of the quiz show "Jeopardy", in which candidates are tested for their knowledge. It is about speed and about formulating the answer in the form of a question.

This time there was only one category - the NHL.

"In third place in the 2020 draft, the Ottawa Senators selected this player," Trebek read out. Since he was alone in the studio for this special edition, he of course also gave the answer. "Who is Tim Stützel?"

It is not uncommon for him to misrepresent the last name.

There was a lot of talk about the German striker in the run-up to the draft.

But in North America they should soon have ample opportunities to work on correct articulation.

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In the jersey of Adler Mannheim, Stützle was promoted to "Rookie of the Year" with seven goals and 27 assists last season

Photo: Frey-Pressebild / Deines / imago images / Thomas Frey

The Ottawa Senators have not reached the playoffs since 2017, have lost or given up many top performers and are striving to rebuild.

Support should become one of the cornerstones.

He played on the left wing in Mannheim and served as the center of the German junior national team.

This versatility will benefit him in the NHL, says ice hockey expert Pierre McGuire from the US broadcaster NBCSN.

"With him Ottawa gets someone who creates an immediate attack. There are never many wingers who are also playmakers. He can not only score goals, but also create a game," said McGuire, who sees Stützle as a "multi-dimensional weapon" "Ready for the NHL" despite her 18 years.

The 1.83 meter tall and 85 kilogram attacker is considered the best European of his year.

The Canadians Alexis Lafreniere and Byfield were selected before him in this draft, but they are now facing men on the ice for the first time.

Stützle, however, already knows this from the previous season at Meister Mannheim.

He could have moved to the US and played against his peers at college.

But Stützle stayed in Germany, in the usual environment with friends and family.

This helped him a lot in his development, said Stützle.

In the DEL he played against sometimes ripped off men who were already in the league when he made his first attempts at walking on the ice in Krefeld at the age of four.

What sounds like unequal duels, Stützle describes as "a huge advantage, because you also play against men in the NHL."

He not only played in Mannheim and got a few minutes from coach Pavel Gross every now and then. Stützle had his permanent role with the Adler in a storm series with the NHL experienced Ben Smith (2013 Stanley Cup champion with Chicago Blackhawks) and the Finnish old hand, Tommi Huhtala.

On the trail of Leon Draisaitl

Stützle was on the ice in 41 of the 52 main round games and was involved in 34 hits (seven goals, 24 assists).

Of all strikers, he got the sixth most ice age with an average of 16:06 minutes per game.

Ex-NHL professionals Ben Smith and Andrew Desjardins or David Wolf and Matthias Plachta, two silver medal winners of the 2018 Winter Games, had more.

Only one German has been drawn as early as him in the history of the NHL draft: Leon Draisaitl.

The Edmonton Oilers had chosen him third in 2014.

The native of Cologne was also considered the best European of his year at the time.

Six years later, Draisaitl was voted NHL top scorer and journalists as "Most Valuable Actor" (MVP). His team-mates and opponents also named him the "outstanding professional" of the season.

It would be unfair to expect something similar from Tim Stützle.

A career is not only about talent and the right attitude to work, but also about staying reasonably healthy.

North America's experts don't compare him to Draisaitl anyway, but to Patrick Kane.

It is said that Stützle has a play structure similar to that of the Chicago Blackhawks superstar.

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