Goc emerges from behind the mask
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Updated: 2001-05-10 10:42

But things are set to change.

The 17-year-old Goc has been making his mark at the ice hockey world championship and looks ready to create an impression in the National Hockey League (NHL) as well.

Germany has long been recognised as one of the top producers of world-class soccer talent but when it comes to ice hockey the country imports more players than it exports.

Washington Capitals' netminder Olaf Kolzig, San Jose Sharks' forward Marco Sturm and St Louis Blues' Joachim Hecht represent the total sum of Germany's current contribution to the NHL.

Goc, the youngest competitor at the world championship, may have only just started shaving but he is already being billed as the potential saviour of ice hockey, capable of raising the sport's profile both abroad and in Germany after several years of declining popularity.

Wayne Gretzky, considered the greatest player ever to lace on a pair of skates, knows about Goc and believes others soon will as well.

"I don't know many German players but I know who he is," said Gretzky, the man charged with assembling Canada's team for these championships and next year's Salt Lake City Olympics.

Currently ranked 12th on the NHL central scouting list of European prospects, Goc is projected as a late first or early second-round pick in June's annual draft.

Although his favourite player is Pittsburgh Penguins' Jaromir Jagr, Goc's game draws comparison with Gretzky's from German coaches.

BROKEN COLLARBONE

Except for the cage helmet, which under International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) rules he must wear until he is 18, Goc has not looked out of place on the world championship's rinks over the last four weeks, facing off against established NHL stars such as Ottawa Senators' Alexei Yashin and New York Rangers' Radek Dvorak.

Such is the faith in his ability that coaches did not hesitate to insert the teenager into Germany's top line when Mark MacKay broke his collarbone in the opening game against Switzerland.

"He's a good kid with only hockey in his head," said German coach Hans Zach. "His strengths are all things.

"Gretzky said years ago that it was better to be 90 percent at everything than 100 percent at one thing.

"He does not have the greatest shot, he is not the greatest skater but all things are very good. He is real stable in the battles and has very good eyes, very good vision.

"He's a real good player and in my opinion has the same chances to go to the NHL as Marco Sturm did."

Certainly Goc possesses the necessary pedigree to excel.

His father played in the old German Oberliga and brother Sacha is a minor leaguer with the Albany River Rats, recently called up by the New Jersey Devils for their Stanley Cup run.

GOOD CHANCE

Since graduating from the German equivalent of high school two years ago, Goc has focused all his attention and energy on hockey, leaving time for little else.

This season he represented his country at the German Cup, the Olympic qualification tournament, the under-20 world championship and the under-18 world championship and still managed 60 games for the German league's Schwenningen Wild Wings.

"(Zach) called me on my way to the airport in Finland after the world under-18s two weeks ago and said come to Cologne to practise with the German national team and if I wasn't tired I had a good chance," said Goc, still more self-assured on the ice than off it in the interview area.

"I just want to play my best hockey here and maybe score a goal."

While Goc appears to have all the necessary skills for a professional career, physically he remains at a disadvantage and is still easily knocked off the puck and out-muscled along the boards by hulking opponents.

Goc admits that the one thing that would improve his chances of playing in the NHL would be a bit of extra weight on his slender, 1.85-metre frame.

"To play at this level he has to improve his skating and get bigger," said Detroit Red Wings European scout Hakan Andersson. "But he's a very creative player."

The leap from teenage prodigy to the NHL has been made before.

Martin Havlat, the last 17-year-old to play at the world championships, moved directly to a starting job with the Ottawa Senators where he is among this season's top rookie-of-the-year candidates.

"I don't think about the draft now, I'm just concentrating on these championships and then I will think about the draft," said Goc. "But I want to play in the NHL. That's for sure."