The Steelers speak of a certain point where they couldn’t have kept up with the competition. Was it financial?
Anyone who knows me knows that I never went anywhere just for the money. I moved to Bietigheim four years ago and I was completely convinced of this step, even though I had to cut back financially. Back then, too, there were people around me who said it was too early to come home. But I knew what I had at home and what to expect.
Was the unresolved trainer question also an argument for your departure?
Of course it would have been interesting for me to know who would become the coach. But nobody could tell me that at the time, which I can understand and don’t think is a bad thing. At my new club, I know who’s approaching me, what’s expected of me and what I’m getting. I’ve already worked with the coach there in my career.
What else spoke for the new club?
That was the whole package. A big task awaits the team. I can play a very good role there again. If I deliver what I can, I will succeed. I’m looking forward to the new sporting challenge.
How many meetings have you had with Steelers officials? And how did these go?
There were four or five talks, the first together with Danny Naud (Sporting Director, editor’s note) and Rupert Meister (Head of Sporting Development and Strategy). Already during the season I was signaled that the club wanted to continue with me. The talks were absolutely fair on both sides.
Do you have a good relationship with Danny Naud?
We had a huge success together with the rise, which at the time probably only a few believed. This is an experience that will bind us together forever. Last year there was the awkward moment when we split from Danny as a coach, but even after that we could still look each other in the eye. In any case, nothing stood between us in our conversations. In general, however, I still have a good relationship with everyone in the club. There is no bad blood.
After relegation, the club declared that they wanted to keep as many German players as possible. But now an exodus is looming. Rumor has it that Captain Constantin Braun is now even moving to Nuremberg. Do you have an explanation for the emigration wave?
The time as a professional is limited, so you can’t and shouldn’t blame a player for changing clubs – especially not if he can stay in the DEL. “Tine” Braun has already made many games there, and there will probably be a few more to come. If you get another chance like this at 35, you have to take it. Or Jimmy Martinovic, who at the age of 21 will play for a top club (the Grizzlys Wolfsburg, editor’s note). He will be encouraged and challenged on a completely different level. He deserves the chance because he’s a great boy who works hard every day. This change certainly has nothing to do with Bietigheim either. There are players who have made an impression in the two DEL years – including Cody Brenner.
The SCB has given a playoff place as a goal for the new DEL2 season. Do you think that is realistic given the current circumstances?
It’s not my job to judge such things. I wish the Steelers a successful season, because SCB is my home club and has played a large part in my sporting vita. Without Bietigheim and without taking my first steps here on the ice, I wouldn’t have gotten this far.
Is the DEL still a goal for you?
I’ve now played over 440 DEL games. Reaching 500 would be a nice milestone. Let’s see what the future brings.
What sticks in Bietigheim after four years as a professional?
I am happy and also proud that there were moments that nobody can take away from me and that I will always remember fondly – even if there have always been many critics of me. These include promotion in 2021, the decisive goal in the fourth final game against Kassel one and a half seconds before the end or the last Bietigheimer DEL goal for the time being on the last day of the main round in Cologne.
Can you imagine stepping on the ice again for the Steelers one day?
Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed of wearing the Bietigheimer jersey and playing for my home club, where I grew up and whose players I always looked up to. Of course it would be nice if I could and am allowed to end my career here at some point. At 32, I’m a bit older now, but I don’t think I’m finished yet. I’m fit and still have a few good years ahead of me.
Personal details: Tim Schüle
The man with the number 40 wore the jersey of the Bietigheim Steelers from 2019 to 2023. Tim Schüle played 81 games in the DEL2 (18 goals, 55 assists) and exactly 100 in the DEL (3 goals, 24 assists) for his home club. Further career stations were the Düsseldorfer EG, the Wolves Freiburg, the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, the Tölzer Löwen and the Löwen Frankfurt. A total of 442 first division appearances with 25 goals and 57 templates are in his vita.
Educated was the student born in Bietigheim at the SCB. In 2007 he moved to the DEG Youngsters in Düsseldorf. From 2008, Schüle was a regular in the German U20s and was selected for the Junior World Championships in 2009 and 2010. The left-handed shooter is married and has a one and a half year old daughter.
