German ice hockey team readies for Olympics sans NHL players

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's ice hockey team launched their preparations for next year's Vancouver Winter Olympics without any of the players active in the National Hockey League (NHL), the national federation said on Monday.

The German Ice Hockey (DEB) federation said all Germans who play for NHL teams had signed up for the training camp but were forced to pull out after the NHL and the league's players' association demanded salary guarantees that were far too high.

"I feel it is a pity that our players who are active in North America cannot take part," said DEB General Secretary Franz Reindl.

"The players had accepted the invitation for the summer camp and were looking forward to it. But these financial guarantees on top of the existing insurances were too high to pay for just a training camp."

The federation gave no financial details.

Eight German players in the NHL would have taken part in the camp while a further player was recovering from injury, the DEB said.

The camp started on Monday and runs until July 24.

(To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)