Seider wants Germany to 'challenge all the big names' at Olympics

NHL players will participate in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 this February, the first time since 2014 the best players in the world will be on the Olympic stage. NHL.com will post a story each Monday to count down to the 2026 Olympics. Today, a look at Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, who will try to help Germany elevate its status on the international stage and contend for a medal.

Moritz Seider is already a fixture on the ice for Germany's national team, but the Detroit Red Wings defenseman said he believes the best is yet to come for his nation as it prepares for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The 24-year-old said he, and his teammates, are ready for what lies ahead.

"I know we're a small country, but we want to challenge all the big names out there and just try to get better as a team, also as individuals," Seider said. "Honestly, you want to make a name for yourself overseas. Hopefully we have more and more people joining us and making it a little bit of a brand over there."

Germany will enter the Olympics with some recent success to draw on.

It won silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and again at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, its first medal at the event since the introduction of playoff rounds in 1992, and the first German medal of any kind at the event since West Germany won silver in 1953.

Its biggest stars will be available in Milano Cortina, too.

In addition to Seider, Germany's roster will feature forwards Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), Tim Stutzle (Ottawa Senators), Lukas Reichel (Chicago Blackhawks) and Nico Sturm (Minnesota Wild), and goalie Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken). Each was named to Germany's preliminary roster on June 16.

"I think it would be fun to have us all on one team eventually and show what we're capable of," Seider said. "It's a big credit to them in the first place. Overall, we want to make names for ourselves, be leaders on our own teams, and then if we have a chance to, then come together, and then it's even more fun coming here."

The Olympics will be a chance for Germany to take the next step in its international competitiveness. It also has the potential to show how much the program has grown since being relegated to Division I, Group A at the World Championship after a 17th-place finish back in 2005.

"You look at the two silver medals they accomplished and won," Grubauer said. "I think it speaks to youth hockey and how they develop guys. I think it speaks for how many players and young players are over in the NHL. You look at Leon, you look at Tim, you look at JJ (Peterka of the Utah Mammoth), you look at 'Mo' ... they all have pretty important roles with their clubs. German youth hockey is doing something right to get guys over, and the more we get over, the better it is for German hockey."

Seider, who has played in five World Championships and three World Junior Championships for Germany, will play a key role in any sort of achievement for his country.

He had 46 points (eight goals, 38 assists) and averaged 25:04 of ice time with Detroit last season and was the lone Germany-born defenseman to suit up for NHL games in 2024-25.

Selected by the Red Wings with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Seider has 180 points (29 goals, 151 assists) in 328 games with Detroit. He's already fourth all-time in NHL games played by a Germany-born defensemen, behind Dennis Seidenberg (859), Christian Ehrhoff (789) and Uwe Krupp (729).

Seider is also fourth in that category in points, trailing Ehrhoff (339), Krupp (281) and Seidenberg (251).

"He's so important," Reichel said of Seider. "We all know what he can do on the ice. Off the ice he's such a pro. He wants to know everyone and wants to get to know everyone on the team and what they think. He's talking to everyone and trying to help them out. I think that's big for him."

Seider, who was Germany's captain at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, said he hopes to do his part.

"I just try to be the in-between guy connecting different generations," he said. "That's my challenge, getting everyone on the same page, do stuff with each other and get a positive vibe in the locker room. Everything else will get figured out as we go. Especially on the ice ... there's no need to do more than you're used to. You just want to be yourself and I think that's good enough."

The overall expectation, according to Seider, goes beyond just being able to participate at the Olympic level.

The bar is set high for a German group he feels is on the rise.

"Very high," Seider said. "We're a team that plays with a lot of passion and a lot of heart, and a lot of will, too. I think we also want to have a good time. That message should be delivered every single time because it's a big privilege being on the biggest stage that is there right now.

"Just enjoy it and go out there."