The University of Maine men’s hockey team has had its share of standout European players, led by current Detroit Red Wings right winger and Swedish Olympian Gustav Nyquist and British Olympian Colin Shields from Scotland.
The Black Bears have landed a couple of German players in 6-foot-8 goalie Benjamin Beck and center Cedric Schiemenz.
They will be the first German players to wear Black Bear colors.
The 16-year-olds play for the Red Bull Salzburg Academy Under-18 team in Austria and have verbally committed to attend Maine.
They play for former UMaine defenseman Matthew Deschamps, who is the team’s head coach. He played at Maine from 2001 to 2005.
They will be scholarship players but won’t be coming to Maine for at least two years.
“This is good news for us and for Maine,” said Deschamps. “They’re both very excited about coming to Maine.”
“Ben reminds a lot of Ben Bishop when he arrived at Maine,” said Deschamps. “He’s athletic and aggressive, and he’s a calm kid. He doesn’t get rattled.”
He also said Beck works extremely hard and is very coachable.
“Our goalie coaches are from Finland, and Finnish goalies have been very, very good. They play a style that has been very good for them,” said Deschamps.
Beck, who weighs 215 pounds, is from Landsberg am Lech, Germany.
Deschamps feels Beck will have a chance to vie for the starting job as a freshman, “but he’s going to have to win the job. There’s always competition among goalies at Maine. It has never been given to somebody. He’s got to be ready to battle for it.”
Schiemenz is a 5-11, 155-pound center from Berlin who has a lot of skill, according to Deschamps.
“He’s got around 36 points in 30 games. He’s really quick and very elusive,” said Deschamps. “He sees the ice very well. He’s a playmaker. He is a big part of our power play.”
Deschamps added that Schiemenz is conscientious defensively.
“He still has things to learn but his offensive tools are really, really good,” said Deschamps.
Red Bull Salzburg Academy is two years old and is a “state-of-the-art” facility according to Deschamps, who has been there since it opened.
It is for soccer and hockey players and the athletes live in dorms at the academy.
They attend school in Salzburg.
The athletes’ participation at Maine is contingent upon them meeting academic standards at the university and eligibility requirements established by the NCAA.