For the hockey team, the tournament in Germany will be at the same time for game practice / Article / LSM.lv

For the Latvian national team, participation in the German Cup over the weekend will be very useful, as it will allow hockey players to gain important playing practice, the experienced striker Mārtiņš Karsums told Latvian Television.

Most of the players in the team have been left without significant gaming practice, Karsums explained. He emphasized that the team followed all Covid-19 protocols and that in Germany the organizers would ensure an adequate level of epidemiological safety.

“It’s ideal for us to go out and play a game to get a taste of hockey more,” said 34-year-old Karsum about the opportunity to go to Germany.

After seven seasons in the clubs of the Russian capital, Karsums negotiated with Riga “Dinamo” in the summer, but the parties did not agree on the agreement. Thus, until now, Karsums played the last game in March as a member of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) club “Spartak” in Moscow.

The national unit has two trainings before going to Germany. To the Latvian national team 27 players have been invited, in addition, Covid-19 tests were performed on hockey players, coaches and service personnel. All test results are negative.

The General Secretary of the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF) Viesturs Koziols informed that during the training the participants of the national team have two changing rooms and thus the maximum safe conditions, because there is a distance of more than two meters between the players.

Koziols stressed that the tournament in Germany is also necessary for hockey players, keeping in mind the 2021 World Cup, because many lack the experience of playing. The Hockey Federation also hopes that a number of non-contracted players will be able to be picked up by potential employers at the tournament in Krefeld.

Previously, the national teams of Switzerland and Slovakia, as well as Russia and Norway, refused to participate in the German Cup, so Latvia will have a national team of hosts and an Olympic U-23 national team. The head coach of the German national team Tony Sederholm will not lead the team in the tournament because he fell ill with Covid-19.

You will also be able to watch the German Cup games live on LTV7 and replay.lv. The first game against the German Olympic U-23 national team will be on Friday at 17.50.

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