Luca Hauf skates in the German jersey during the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.
photo: Matt Zambonin / IIHF
Luca Hauf readily admits that his skating wasn’t up to par. While many kids start learning to skate at the age of three or four, Hauf didn’t get on the ice until the age of 8. Until that point, his focus was primarily on inline hockey as a child growing up in Krefeld, Germany.
Today, he’s one of the players to watch on the German team at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. And strong skating is part of the package he brings to the rink every day as a strong, two-way winger who can set up his teammates and score goals but also backcheck with the best of them and break up plays in the defensive zone.
Hauf chuckles on getting his start in the game late and the work he had to put in to get to this stage.
“When I was eight years old, I had a skate with the school, we went to a rink and skated there with the class. Then, the guy who was leading it told me that I should come for a hockey practice and that’s how it started,” says Hauf. “Skating was pretty hard. Stopping on skates was so hard for me because it’s totally different than on inline skates. At the beginning, I was always one of the worst skaters on my team. That’s how my game evolved as well. I had to think with my head. I wasn’t faster than most of the guys so I had to make plays with my head and know where my guys are and use my hockey sense to be a good player.”
His hockey intelligence is one of the attributes that scouts and fans have no doubt noticed about Hauf, who is playing in his second World Junior Championship, after appearing in two games at the 2022 summer juniors in Edmonton. That tournament gave a young Hauf a taste of what this event means and the high pace and level of hockey it takes to win games. At the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax and Moncton, Hauf has a much bigger role and will be counted on if the Germans are to nab one of the four top spots in Group A and move on to the quarter-finals.
Germany dropped its opener at the tournament, 1-0 to heavily-favoured Sweden, and then fell 11-2 to Canada. The Germans face Austria on Friday in a game that could very well decide which of those two teams move on to the quarter-finals.
Although Hauf got a later start than most in the game of hockey, he began to excel around the age of 12, when he started playing with older kids. Hauf says he primarily played in the Krefel system with players a year or two older and, sometimes, his teammates and competitors were up to three years his senior.
His stats in Krefeld are impressive, including a 92-point season in 36 games with the under-17 team in 2019-20 (when Hauf was 15) and, also, a season later when he was almost a point-a-game player with the under-23 team. This season, Hauf is a member of the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings. He has 15 points in 29 games on a young, rebuilding Oil Kings team.
“I’m more of an offensive-minded forward. I like to use my hockey sense to make plays and I like to set up my teammates. If there’s a good chance, I always like to score, of course,” says Hauf. “That’s my game. I like to play in transition, set up my teammates and know where they are before I get the puck.”
With a description like that, it’s no surprise that Hauf’s heroes in the game are Tim Stutzle of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers. Stutzle, just a couple of years older than Hauf, grew up closeby and the two played with and against many of the same players over the years. As for Draisaitl, Hauf was thrilled to get the chance to meet one of Germany’s finest hockey exports earlier this season in Edmonton.
“It’s a funny story. The first day of camp with the Oil Kings, I was just sitting in the hallway (of Rogers Place) and, all of a sudden, Leon comes off the ice and I was like ‘hey, what’s up’ in German,” says Hauf. “He was so surprised, he was kind of confused. My coach saw that and went up to him and asked if Leon had a minute to talk to our new player from Germany. Then we talked for a bit.
“He’s such a smart player, I could have asked him for one hour, there were so many questions I had. But I didn’t want to take up too much of his time.”
Hauf was eligible to be taken in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft but was passed over. He’s still eligible for the 2023 draft but isn’t too worried about whether he’s taken. His focus is with the Germans at the World Juniors and surprising some pundits and opposing teams. And, after that, he’ll return to Edmonton and the Oil Kings to try and continue his success in the latter half of the WHL season.
“I’m kind of getting used to the smaller ice. It’s a different kind of hockey in North America than we play,” he says. “It’s the perfect situation for me, as I can get a lot of ice time, play a big role and get better each day. It’s a good opportunity for me and for the Oil Kings to hopefully play for another championship in the coming years.”
Today, he’s one of the players to watch on the German team at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. And strong skating is part of the package he brings to the rink every day as a strong, two-way winger who can set up his teammates and score goals but also backcheck with the best of them and break up plays in the defensive zone.
Hauf chuckles on getting his start in the game late and the work he had to put in to get to this stage.
“When I was eight years old, I had a skate with the school, we went to a rink and skated there with the class. Then, the guy who was leading it told me that I should come for a hockey practice and that’s how it started,” says Hauf. “Skating was pretty hard. Stopping on skates was so hard for me because it’s totally different than on inline skates. At the beginning, I was always one of the worst skaters on my team. That’s how my game evolved as well. I had to think with my head. I wasn’t faster than most of the guys so I had to make plays with my head and know where my guys are and use my hockey sense to be a good player.”
His hockey intelligence is one of the attributes that scouts and fans have no doubt noticed about Hauf, who is playing in his second World Junior Championship, after appearing in two games at the 2022 summer juniors in Edmonton. That tournament gave a young Hauf a taste of what this event means and the high pace and level of hockey it takes to win games. At the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax and Moncton, Hauf has a much bigger role and will be counted on if the Germans are to nab one of the four top spots in Group A and move on to the quarter-finals.
Germany dropped its opener at the tournament, 1-0 to heavily-favoured Sweden, and then fell 11-2 to Canada. The Germans face Austria on Friday in a game that could very well decide which of those two teams move on to the quarter-finals.
Although Hauf got a later start than most in the game of hockey, he began to excel around the age of 12, when he started playing with older kids. Hauf says he primarily played in the Krefel system with players a year or two older and, sometimes, his teammates and competitors were up to three years his senior.
His stats in Krefeld are impressive, including a 92-point season in 36 games with the under-17 team in 2019-20 (when Hauf was 15) and, also, a season later when he was almost a point-a-game player with the under-23 team. This season, Hauf is a member of the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings. He has 15 points in 29 games on a young, rebuilding Oil Kings team.
“I’m more of an offensive-minded forward. I like to use my hockey sense to make plays and I like to set up my teammates. If there’s a good chance, I always like to score, of course,” says Hauf. “That’s my game. I like to play in transition, set up my teammates and know where they are before I get the puck.”
With a description like that, it’s no surprise that Hauf’s heroes in the game are Tim Stutzle of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers. Stutzle, just a couple of years older than Hauf, grew up closeby and the two played with and against many of the same players over the years. As for Draisaitl, Hauf was thrilled to get the chance to meet one of Germany’s finest hockey exports earlier this season in Edmonton.
“It’s a funny story. The first day of camp with the Oil Kings, I was just sitting in the hallway (of Rogers Place) and, all of a sudden, Leon comes off the ice and I was like ‘hey, what’s up’ in German,” says Hauf. “He was so surprised, he was kind of confused. My coach saw that and went up to him and asked if Leon had a minute to talk to our new player from Germany. Then we talked for a bit.
“He’s such a smart player, I could have asked him for one hour, there were so many questions I had. But I didn’t want to take up too much of his time.”
Hauf was eligible to be taken in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft but was passed over. He’s still eligible for the 2023 draft but isn’t too worried about whether he’s taken. His focus is with the Germans at the World Juniors and surprising some pundits and opposing teams. And, after that, he’ll return to Edmonton and the Oil Kings to try and continue his success in the latter half of the WHL season.
“I’m kind of getting used to the smaller ice. It’s a different kind of hockey in North America than we play,” he says. “It’s the perfect situation for me, as I can get a lot of ice time, play a big role and get better each day. It’s a good opportunity for me and for the Oil Kings to hopefully play for another championship in the coming years.”