Brett Breitkreuz wound up his Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Vancouver Giants in the spring and then began to investigate his hockey future.
The investigation would eventually take Breitkreuz to Europe, and more specifically Germany."It started out as a tough decision to come over here, but in the end, it turned into an easy one if that makes sense," he said via an email interview with Yorkton This Week. "I always dreamed about playing in the National Hockey League, and still have that dream and aspiration. So last year, after my 20-year-old season in the WHL I had a few options as to where I wanted to go. I could try out the American League, as I was in discussions with a few teams there, but I would most likely end up in the East Coast league, being an undrafted player who wasn't on a two-way NHL/AHL deal.
"I also knew that with my German heritage, I could qualify for a German passport, seeing as my grandparents and three of my father's siblings were born in Germany."
With his heritage to open the door, Breitkreuz said it still wasn't an easy decision to cross the ocean."I didn't want to leave North America at such a young age, because I felt that if I left, it would be giving up on my NHL dream," he said. "But, after talking with my good friend Keegan Lowe's father, who happens to be Mr. Kevin Lowe of the Edmonton Oilers, and my agent, I was convinced it was the right step for me. Mr. Lowe told me about the globalization of the game, and that the AHL wasn't the only way to get where you wanted to be anymore. It took hearing that from someone of that stature to ease my mind that I was making the right decision.
"Obviously, with the fact that I now hold dual German/Canadian citizenship, Germany became the obvious choice of where I wanted to play. I don't count as an import, as you are only allowed to have a maximum of 12 non-Germans on your roster, and only 10 can play at a time. And with Germany holding a special place in my family's history, I thought it would be a good experience to come here and work on my game."
Breitkreuz said the league certainly has a strong Canadian flavour.
"There are a lot of Canadians on my team actually, a few guys in the same situation as me -- Canadians with a German pass," he said. "All the rest of our team is made up of Canadians, Germans, and a few guys from other European countries. We also have one American, who happens to be my best friend on the team, and I never let him forget that America is like the empty room underneath the party!"
It helped too that there was interest coming for the team he would finally settle with in Cologne."The former coach and GM of our team, the Kolner Haie (or Cologne Sharks in English) was a Canadian guy, who had a lot of ties to the major junior and semi pro system in Canada," said Breitkreuz. "He knew who I was, and started watching me and contacting my agent around Christmas last year. Then he flew to Edmonton to catch a game live just before I was traded to the Vancouver Giants, and it kind of took off from there."
Breitkreuz said there were a few bumps on the road but everything eventually fell into place.
"I had a few delays in getting my passport, as they are tightening up the regulations as to who can get them, but it was just a matter of finding the right paperwork that proved my Grandparents were who they said they were," he said. "It was a pretty hectic experience at times, but the lawyer who did all the paperwork for it was a real professional, and she really helped me with the process. I am currently playing in Cologne, we play in the DEL, or German Elite League, the top league in Germany."
Breitkreuz said once he got to Germany the real adjustment took place for the young hockey player."The hockey is a lot different," he said. "It's not so much about size and physicality anymore, but more about speed and positioning. It was an adjustment, it's quite a step up from the WHL!"The step up was one Breitkreuz admitted he stumbled on to start with.
"I had a few issues early in the season, where I would be out of position going to finish a hit, or maybe taking some penalties that I would usually get away with back home," he said. "I had a reputation for being a hard guy to play against when I was in the WHL, and it took some adjusting to be able to play that style here, while still being an asset to my team."
It's a case where the level of competition in Germany is high, said Breitkreuz.
"The league here is really good, there are a lot of ex-NHL players and AHL all -stars filling import cards," he said.
With the season now well under way Breitkreuz said he is settling in the level of play.
"We are right around half done our season, so it's gone by pretty fast," he said.
"We had our struggles at the beginning of the year, we fired our coach, and then had some issues finding consistent goaltending. But lately things have been going really well, our assistant took over, and changed some of the culture in the room. It has really helped, as we are climbing into the playoff picture, as we have gotten points in our last six games, and are undefeated in five."
Breitkreuz said the team's new coach is making a difference because he expects his players to put in a good effort every game.
"Our coach is Niklas Sundblad. He took over after the team fired Bill Stewart, the guys who brought me in. Nik really looks for hard work and consistency," he said, adding his role is one to develop, not lead. "I have an easy job in a way, because being so young for this league I'm not really counted on to provide offence. He told me I need to be good in my own end, and work on being a two-way player, and the details in my game. Little things make a big difference, especially in pro hockey. He just expects me to work hard, and be accountable on and off the ice."
Breitkreuz said on the positive side he still pots a few goals.
"Scoring for me has never really been a huge problem for me, and I've managed to chip in a little bit this year as well," he said. "But it's a little bit of an adjustment going from playing top line minutes every night, and being one of the guys expected to carry the mail, to a third/fourth line player. Being a rookie again also has its challenges, although the older guys have been pretty good to me! I know I will get my chance, I just have to be ready for when it comes."
While Breitkreuz said the German game is different, and tougher, he added overall he feels he adapted rather well based on being ready to play.
"The transition for me on the ice wasn't as tough as I expected," he said. "I prepared pretty hard this summer, and I didn't feel out of place with my speed, strength, or conditioning. The biggest issue for me was adjusting to the Olympic size ice, and the extra skating and thinking it takes to be in position to not get beat.
"Also, it's more about speed and quickness then strength over here, because of the bigger ice, so that was an adjustment. I had a few smaller defencemen make me look silly early on, because I was used to them playing the man more than the puck in North America.
"I adjusted quickly, and a lot of the veterans on our team helped me out after practices, showing me adjustments I could make to protect the puck, etc."
Breitkreuz said he feels good about the start of his pro career.
"I'm pretty satisfied with how I've been playing," he said. "I feel I've played well when given an opportunity. I got my first point, and then scored in back-to-back games at the end of November, so that was a nice pick me up.
"The key for me is to be ready to play every night, and to not take anything for granted. It's now a job, and even though it's a fun one, guys still have families etc. to provide for and it makes it a lot more intense. The good thing about hockey is that it's a global language. Even though it's in a different country, the fundamentals of the game are still the same.
"And a hockey dressing room is still my favourite place to be, and with the joking and pranks we play on each other daily, it quickly became a comfort zone. It's been a fun adjustment."
Of course there was also an adjustment off the ice in moving to Germany for hockey.
"The biggest transition for me was off the ice," said Breitkreuz. "It was fun at first, being here, and I went through the stage of being sort of a tourist, being to a new country etc. I had been to Europe before (Sweden/Finland) so I had a rough idea of what to expect. The language barrier was tough, even though I understood a bit of German before I came over."
Then life set in, and Breitkreuz found things were not always as simple as in Canada."The everyday things that you take for granted, going to get a cell phone, setting up internet in your apartment, going to the grocery store and knowing exactly what you are buying, ordering from a restaurant, and even driving, are all huge differences," he said. "The no speed limit thing is pretty awesome though!"
But even off the ice Breitkreuz said he is settling in.
"I struggled for awhile, but I am feeling a lot more comfortable now," he said. "It's definitely an adjustment, and this will be the first time in my life I won't be home for Christmas. But my parents were just here, and my brother is coming to spend a week over the holidays with me, which will be an awesome time." He added, "don't worry Terrier fans, I will send him back in one piece."So as in hockey, Breitkreuz said off ice life is becoming easier too.
"I think I've managed to adjust well, and I started taking German lessons, which has been a fun challenge, and I've met some good friends both with the team and some who are not," he said.
Asked how long he might play in Germany, Breitkreuz said he's not planning anything too far ahead."I'm really not sure how long I will be here," he said, adding, "I have a two-year contract, this season and next, so at least that long. I still would like to possibly return to North America if the fit is right, but with the lifestyle, the schedule, and the opportunity to make a very comfortable living, it wouldn't be a bad thing to stay over here as long as possible and try to carve out a real solid career.
"Also, with being a German now, playing one day for the German National team has become a goal. It's a tough team to make, Germany has really come along as far as hockey goes."
Asked if there was anything additional he wanted to add, Breitkreuz chose to use the opportunity for what he said were overdue thank-yous.
"I would really appreciate if you gave a thank you to some people in the Yorkton area that played a huge part in my career and life. Springside Minor Sports, where it all began for me, thanks for looking the other way every time me and Clarke went into the rink to skate when it was supposed to be closed. Gary Lamb and Shane Kustra, who coached me with the Key Chev Bantam AA Terriers, Keith and Brooks at Thoens for the support, and Mr G (Gawryliuk) at the YHRS (Yorkton Regional High School). I never really got a chance to properly thank those people," he said.
