Peterka Ready for First Winter Olympics

When Utah Mammoth forward JJ Peterka dreamed of one day being an Olympian, he could picture the off-ice experience and gravity of being at the pinnacle sporting event.

“Putting the jersey on, seeing all the atmosphere,” Peterka smiled. “Also watching other sports in the village. And I feel (the) experience and all that Olympic (feeling).”

This February, Peterka’s dream of being at the Winter Olympics is coming true as he will represent his home country of Germany for the first time on this international stage. Peterka joins a German team that has a lot of familiarity with each other from other international events and the DEL, the top professional hockey league in Germany. That familiarity will help the team establish chemistry quickly.

“I think you can always see at World Championships how easy it is to get chemistry with linemates with new teammates,” Peterka explained. “It’s super exciting. I’m super excited to see all the guys that I haven’t played with in a long time and I can’t wait.”

There is one notable player that Peterka is excited to share the ice with, Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl.

“Leon Draisaitl,” Peterka shared. “Only played against him. We somehow always missed each other at the World Championships so (I’m) super excited to play with him for once.”

The German team might be considered more of an underdog for Olympic gold; however, Peterka shared what he thinks the world should know about the German Olympic team heading into the preliminary round.

“We’re not afraid to make plays,” Peterka said. “We don’t want to hide anywhere. We want to play our game. We want to play with pace. We want to make it a tough game for the big nations.”