Article Translation!

Finished! Termine! Done! Is it a perfect, exact translation? Not a chance! Do I care? Not one bit! For those of you that don't know, Kev had an article in the arena magazine this past month (see here). I had been attempting to translate it to English so our family and friends could understand it. I would probably have given up if I hadn't promised Harry/Pop (Kev's grandpa) that I would finish it for him. By Wednesday night. Well, it's now into Thursday here, but thank goodness for that 6 hour time difference because it is only 6:30 p.m. (or 5:30 if we want to do Wisco time!) on Wednesday back home! I made the deadline. So here it goes and no one is allowed to make fun of me for things that sounds silly, I did my best! :-)

Kevin Schmidt - Hamburgs Next National Player? (Kevin Schmidt came in the Summer from the second division club Hannover Indians and has in a short time been considered by the National Coaches)

It was October 21, when national coach Jacob Koelliker took a seat in the O2 World for the first time and looked for himself at the potential national player of the Hamburg Freezers. By the 3-2 victory against the Hannover Scorpians, a man stood out, who hadn't actually been on his radar. After the game, Koelliker asked the GM Stephane Richer about Kevin Schmidt. Not without reason: the defenseman is one of the rising starts of the current season. Many believe the new addition will make the jump to the national team. Certainly, the statue allows DEB Schmidt to become a national player in the middle of 2012, he must be an active pro for 2 years in the nation before he becomes eligible for "Team Germany."

"There aren't many good German Offensive-defensemen and Kevin is still young. He has a promising future for himself," says Richer. Schmidt himself takes such praise with much goodwill if equal to knowledgeable about the national team topic, almost a little embarrassed. "It would be an honor for me, to be able to represent my country on the ice. And I fully admit this is a goal I pursue," says the German-Canadian, who has a German passport since 2010. His father, Horst, was born in Stuttgart and emigrated at the age of 3 months to Canada. From there, the Schmidt family pursued ice hockey, now the career of their 25-year old son. The defender regularly reports to his parents and especially his brothers, Jamie, Michael, and Matt, who all played hockey, how well it is going for him with the Freezers and how much he likes and can learn from Ex-NHL-players Schubert and Traverse. "My family, of course, is very happy for me. It was a big step in the DEL and I'm very happy that I'm off to a good start here," says Schmidt, grateful that he gets so much ice time and is able to be in the Powerplay. "I want to justify the trust of Benoit Laporte. I work at it every day."

It was already clear to Schmidt at a young age that hockey would take him to Germany, sooner or later. Due to lack of perspective in North America, he moved to Germany in 2010. Actually, it was hoped by the defensman, he wanted to make the direct jump into the best days of German ice hockey. In retrospect, he is glad to have taken a detour in the second division. "It was good to gain experience on the big ice surface. Perhaps the direct jump to the DEL would have been too great. The hockey is just different here than in North America," says Schmidt who achieved 11 goals last season for the Hannover Indians. (I couldn't understand the next sentence but it said something about not yet scoring a goal in the higher league but waiting to do so and is still a hit in the Freezers jersey.) "The guys naturally joke about my stoppages (?)," says "Schmidty," as his colleagues call him. "In which: So I'm not completely without a goal. In the game against the LA Kings, I've finally taken care of a goal!" he makes clear. "That was a very special moment, I will probably report (?) for a long time: Jerome Flaake saw me at the far post, passed, and then it was easy!"

Similarly, it was easy for the defensive talent to makethe move to the Elbe. With girlfriend, Autumn, the 25-year olds like to explore the city, go shopping, or enjoy a coffee. "Hamburg has a great history, amazing architechture, and is just worth living," says Schmid, who grew up just outside of Toronto and is an avid supporter of the Maple Leafs. So it's not surprising that the high-school-graduate was early on skates. At three years old, he took his first steps on the ice. He practiced on a frozen lake with hs grandfather. As a teenager, Schmidt also tried in the meantime to be a Lacrosse player. "Who knew, I would become as well as professional. But today, I am happy about my career as a professional Hockey player," says Schmidt who makes no secret of hw ambitious he is. He's part of a team that has a chance at the title, he says. "And that, I always dreamed of. That was my goal!"

SO! I'm so glad that's done. It's just too bad that I have to thank Google Translate way more than I had hoped. Sorry about things that sound silly or completely incorrect. It's definitely not the perfect translation, but I hope it is close and even more, I hope you all enjoyed my attempt! Seeing as it is now almost 1 a.m. and I'm exhausted from German, I'm headed to bed. Gute Nacht!!!