Karl-Heinz Fliegauf, EHC Wolfsburg's General Manager, wants to reach the Spengler Cup semi-finals.

Spengler Cup novice EHC Wolfsburg is looking forward to spending the Christmas season in Davos. "Davos is the perfect place," says General Manager Karl-Heinz Fliegauf. But above all, the German team wants to play successful hockey: "It is our goal to reach the semi-finals."

Karl-Heinz Fliegauf, the Spengler Cup will start in about ten weeks' time. Is there already a sense of anticipation within your team?

Yes, absolutely. The Spengler Cup has been one of our main topics since we learned that we'd be among this year's contenders. It is a great honour for us to be participating in the Spengler Cup, and the games in Davos will be a welcome diversion from everyday league life. Davos is a great place to be spending the Christmas season and playing hockey in such a wonderful atmosphere is a reward for us.

League rivals Adler Mannheim have managed to pull away in the German championship table. What does Grizzly Adams EHC Wolfsburg need to improve to get back to the top?

Before the start of the current season, we introduced twelve new players to our team. Some of them are very young and we've lowered the team's overall age average by almost three years. It will take some more time for the players to find their place within the team and get to know each other on the ice as well. So far, we've only played eight league games and, except for Adler Mannheim who had a really good start to the season, all the teams are ranked closely together. Also, competition in the league is tight as the other teams also have become stronger during the last few seasons. But we are confident that we, as last season's runner-up in the German championship, will again be among the league's top teams this year.

Twelve years ago, the team Kölner Haie from Cologne were the last German team to win the Spengler Cup. Why do you think it is about time for another German victory?

As a Spengler Cup novice, I don't want to say that we'll make it to the final – it is our goal to reach the semi-finals. And then, we'll just hope that we'll be able to play our best hockey and anything can happen.

Will you reinforce your team with any Swiss players for the Spengler Cup?

Yes, but we're waiting for a little longer before we decide whether to reinforce our defensive or our forward lines.

Which teams are your favourites for the tournament win this year?

In previous years, TeamCanadaand hosts HC Davos always got rather far in the tournament. But it could also very well happen that the Kloten Flyers will be playing an important role this time. And of course: Our team wants to show the crowds in Davos some spectacular hockey too.