Ice hockey national coach
The contract of the 43-year-old Finn expires after the World Cup in Helsinki next May. Talks about a possible extension were recently postponed. “You should decide after the Olympics at the latest,” said Reindl of the German press agency before the start of the Germany Cup in Krefeld.
The German Ice Hockey Federation definitely wants to extend the contract with Söderholm. “Toni is a great national coach,” said Reindl. “Everything happened exactly as we hoped it would.” At the end of 2018, Söderholm surprisingly became the successor to Marco Sturm, who switched to the NHL as assistant coach of the Los Angeles Kings after the sensational win of the Olympic silver medal. Back then, Söderholm was only known to experts as the Oberliga trainer of SC Riessersee, but it cemented Germany’s place among the world’s best and led the national team back to a World Cup semi-final in Riga in May for the first time since 2010.
“I’m open to everything,” said Söderholm after the first discussions with sports director Christian Künast. However, there still seems to be a need for discussion. After initial discussions, both emphasized that “they have no pressure”. Söderholm is internationally sought-after and also has ambitions to switch to the NHL as a coach in the future. Most recently completed an internship with the Florida Panthers. “No door was closed for me,” Söderholm reported afterwards. “The interest in German ice hockey has definitely grown.”
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