2021 World Juniors Were a Success for Germany

And possibly one of the more exciting teams to put on a show at the 2021 World Junior tournament, Team Germany leaves Edmonton following a quarterfinal loss to the Russians with one word on their tongues. After all, that’s exactly what they should be considered after falling 2-1 to Team Russia on Quarterfinal Saturday. While the loss might sting a little, at least for the players and their coaching staff, the tournament as a whole has to be looked at as a true success for a German squad that has never seen playoff action at this particular tournament. Let’s be honest, it wasn’t looking pretty for the Germans after their first two games of the round robin. Heck, even prior to taking the ice for their first game against Finland, the team was undermanned due to players testing positive for COVID-19.