Duel between childhood friends Michaelis and Kahun: ‘We were once chasing the same girl’

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Zug striker Marc Michaelis (28) still remembers how SCB star Dominik Kahun (28) met the Mannheimer Adler juniors. «Dominik came to us as a 13-year-old. We were both 1.45 or 1.50 meters tall at the time and were the lightest on the team. There were many parallels between us. We both had to find a way to get ice time despite the physical demands and develop a game where we could make a difference. For example, with the quality of the pass.”

While Michaelis is from Mannheim, Kahun came to Germany from the Czech Republic as a three-year-old with his mother Lenka. She drove him an hour from Weiden in the Upper Palatinate to training at HC Marianske Lazne in his old homeland before moving to Mannheim. “Kahun is so good because he learned ice hockey in the Czech Republic,” says Czech Lakers star Roman Cervenka with a wink.

At the Mannheim talent factory, Kahun and Michaelis also played with current Edmonton superstar Leon Draisaitl. “We spent so much time together, there was school, the ice rink, the games. We celebrated many successes among the juniors,” Michaelis remembers with a grin. And what was it like off the ice? ‘We were teenagers. The hockey players at school. “We were chasing the same girl once.”

Kahun and EVZ-Eder: Three-time champion with Munich

Their paths parted when Kahun moved to Sudbury in the Canadian junior league OHL in 2012. Two years later he returned to Germany and became three-time champion with Munich and the other German at EVZ, Andreas Eder, while Michaelis chose the path through American high school and university hockey.

Their paths only crossed again at the professional level in the NHL. They only played each other once. “Marc played for the Vancouver Canucks and I played for the Edmonton Oilers. That was in the Covid year. When we arrived in Vancouver we went for a walk together. And when the Canucks were in Edmonton, he came to dinner with us.”

After winning Olympic silver in 2018, Kahun made the jump to the Chicago Blackhawks and later played for Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Edmonton. The phone book on the SCB attacker’s mobile phone reads like a who’s who of the hockey scene. Ultimately, he sometimes played in a line with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, Ewgeni Malkin, Connor McDavid and Draisaitl.

Special match as top scorer

Michaelis, who was slowed by injuries, played only 15 NHL games. Kahun played 188 times in the best league in the world before suddenly no more interesting opportunities presented themselves in 2021 and he signed for three years in Bern, where he extended his contract until 2027 after just one year.

Before Michaelis signed with the SCL Tigers two years ago, he asked Kahun. “I told him what it was like here, but didn’t advise him anything. And I think he took a very, very good step.”

Now they are both looking forward to seeing each other again. “It was really cool when we played against each other at the beginning of the year and both finished as top scorers,” says Kahun. “We wrote to each other the day before and both said how special it was after playing together as little kids.”

Michaelis: “Of course I won’t accept anything”

On the ice you can expect a pinch of trash talk. “We both have a funny sense of humor. Humor plays a major role in Dominik’s life. When he says statements, I understand exactly what he means. And of course I won’t tolerate anything,” says Michaelis, smiling.

Michaelis is aware: “Dominik can make the difference in a match.” The EVZ striker does not want to go into detail about how to starve his compatriot on the ice.

The noble technician Kahun expects that people will try hard to get him. “If two players come after me, there is room for others. It doesn’t matter to me if I don’t score a single point if we end up winning.”

While the on-ice contact may be more intense in the playoffs, Kahun says it will be adjusted off the ice. At the World Cup we have to work together again for Germany. In the same line of storms, if she wants.

Source : Blick