Germany was less than a minute from being eliminated from playoff contention at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Men’s World Championship. After opening with losses to Sweden and Denmark, the Germans trailed Czechia 2-1 late, when giant defenceman Darian Rolsing threw the puck on net. A rebound and a scramble later, the game was tied.

“I was just trying to shoot the puck because they were defending pretty well and the shot came through and we (scored on) the rebound,” Rolsing described after the game.

The Germans eventually won in overtime on a penalty shot goal by Tobias Krestan, giving the team its first two points and keeping its faint quarter-final hopes alive.

“I’m so happy for the win,” said Rolsing. “We put in a great effort today and got what we deserved.”

Rolsing is one of two returning players from last year’s German team that also beat Czechia in the group stage and eventually finished sixth, so he’s one of its leaders. The other player is 16-year-old forward Max Calce and both are from the Jungadler Mannheim program, so they go way back.

“I’ve known him my whole life, since we were four years old,” Rolsing said of Calce. “I’m really happy for him, how he’s developed in the last few years, and he really deserves it.”

Whereas Calce stayed home and has already played 14 DEL games for Adler Mannheim, Rolsing chose to go abroad – first to Sweden’s Vajxo Lakers, then Finland’s Tappara, and finally the Wenatchee Wild of the WHL.

His stay in Sweden was short – three games – but he established himself with two solid seasons in Finland from age 15 to 17. Prior to the game against Czechia, he spoke to former Tappara teammate Simon Katolicky. Three other ex-teammates – Oliver Suvanto, Vilho Vanhatalo and Juho Piiparinen – play for Finland in the Trencin group.

Last summer, the 197 cm, 85 kg (6’6”, 185 lb.) rearguard decided to go overseas and give North American major junior a try.

“I got drafted (by Wenatchee) and I wanted to make the jump to North American hockey and develop myself with many games,” he said, feeling that his stature was well-suited to the style of hockey overseas.

Was it a difficult adjustment? “At the start, yeah. It’s a smaller rink than in Europe. You gotta get used to the physical play and how quick it is, but I think it got better for me as the season went on.”

Rolsing didn’t contribute a ton of offence in Wenatchee, scoring once and adding eight assists in 62 games, but he’s apparently done some things well enough to attract the attention of scouts ahead of this summer’s NHL Entry Draft.

“I’ve learned to play more physical there,” said Rolsing. “On the smaller rinks, I have the advantage with my reach and my height, so it was just learning to take advantage of those things in the best way.”

Off the ice was a bit of an adjustment, too. Wenatchee, Washington, a city of 35,000 in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, isn’t a major metropolitan centre like Seattle, Portland or Vancouver. But coming from the small German city of Speyer, Rolsing likes it.

“I don’t know any Germans there,” he said about Wenatchee. “There was a German there last year, Noah Semanski. But it’s more of a nature city with many mountains around. I really like the area. The city isn’t too big, which is nice.”

Rolsing doesn’t find coming back to play for Germany at international competitions held in Europe to be a significant adjustment in reverse, as many players do.

“Of course, it’s not brand new for me because I grew up in Europe, so you don’t forget everything,” he said. “But I just take the good habits that I learned there over here and I find that’s the best way. It’s not a problem.”

German coach Patrick Reimer, a former professional player who also coached Rolsing at last year’s tournament, thinks the year overseas has made him a better player.

“The league is good over there,” said Reimer. “He’s played a good level of competition, so he was ready to come in here. He puts in the effort, he brings the size, the reach.”

On having a player with Rolsing’s size on his blueline, Reimer added, “It always helps if you have size there, and he can skate as well, so that’s an advantage. If you play good form on the inside, it’s tough to get around (big defencemen), so that’s for sure an advantage.”

Looking at Monday’s game against the USA, from which the Germans need at least two points to advance, Rolsing said they plan to do “pretty much the same as this game” against the Czechs.

“We’ll focus on the game and prepare really well and do the same as today.”