Germany comes into this year’s IIHF World Championship in a position it hasn’t been in for several decades – a reigning medalist. But whether last year’s silver medal was a fluke or not, the trip back to the final won’t be an easy one. On Tuesday, after its last pre-tournament game against France, the German Ice Hockey Association announced its 25-man preliminary roster.

The big news on the roster is the absence of Moritz Seider and the inclusion of Lukas Reichel after it was initially believed he’d decline.

Seider, who doesn’t have a contract with the Detroit Red Wings for the upcoming season, opted out of the World Championship after being unable to come to an agreement on an insurance policy with the German Ice Hockey Association. Seider was the Top Defender in the 2021 World Championship and made the All-Star Team in 2021 and 2023, so he’s been a big performer for Germany internationally.

As for Reichel, it was believed he would be in the same boat. However, the Chicago Blackhawks announced on Tuesday that they’d signed the 21-year-old winger to a two-year deal and, in the same announcement, said that he “is set to compete with Team Germany at the 2024 IIHF World Championships in Czechia.”

Reichel will be one of four full-time NHLers on the German roster, the others being goaltender Philipp Grubauer and forwards J.J. Peterka and Nico Sturm. As well, Polish-born defenseman Maksymilian Szuber played one game with the Arizona Coyotes but spent the rest of the season in the AHL. The roster also includes ex-NHLers Dominik Kahun and Marc Michaelis, who both now play in Switzerland. The rest of the roster plays almost exclusively in the domestic Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

“The intensive weeks of preparation have fully served their purpose,” coach Harold Kreis said after Tuesday’s game in Weisswasser. “The final two games against France were exactly the right mood for the World Championship, as both games were fast and physically challenging.We are very happy that we are now heading to Czechia. It counts from Friday and that’s exactly what we want as a team now.”

Germany’s first game against Slovakia could be a crucial one for quarterfinal positioning.