Five Questions With Montréal Victoire Goaltender Sandra Abstreiter
A quick chat with the Montréal Victoire's newest netminder.
Can you compare the popularity of women's football in Germany to the popularity of women's hockey there?
Football has always been the biggest and most popular sport in Germany where hockey has only became more popular in more recent years. Even though the popularity of hockey in Germany in general has been growing and is continuing to grow it is almost impossible to compare it to the popularity of football. Women’s football, however, still does not get as much attention as it probably deserves but has gained a lot in the last major events like European championships, world championships, and the Olympics. A lot of the league games have good amounts of fans as well whereas for women’s hockey unfortunately I would not say the same. With our national team we have been getting more media coverage and attention and it has increased our public standpoint a lot, but compared to football I would say there is still a long way to go.
What motivated you to try and make a pro career in North America as opposed to staying in Europe?
I went to Providence College for six years and played college hockey before starting my pro career. When I graduated and it was time to decide my next steps and whether I wanted to stay in North America or go back to Europe a big part of my just didn’t want to leave North America yet. I wanted to give it a shot and continue to challenge myself and so I decided to try to make a pro career outside of Europe. Fortunately for me I was able to get a spot in the first year of the PWHL and was able to start my career in the new league.
Who are some goalies you look up to?
When I was younger a goalie I looked up to was former team Germany goalie Jenny Harss, who I always admired for her playing ability and the way she battled for pucks. As I continued my own path and eventually made my way into the national team I was lucky enough to actually play on a team with Jenny, which was a huge honor for me as I was able to learn from her while at the same time compete with her and make our team better.
Another goalie I look up to is Marc-Andre Fleury for the kind of team player he is. He is a goalie who seems to always put the team first and makes sure everyone is enjoying the game and he does so by leading by example. When he plays as he says in interviews he is just enjoying playing the game he loves every day. I believe to continue to be successful it’s extremely important to always enjoy what you’re doing.
Do you have a personal motto?
Like is mentioned before for me it is important to always enjoy what you are doing because I believe only then I will be able to really be successful. So in a way my motto is to keep things lose and to just enjoy the journey and every moment I get to spend doing what I like. Additionally, something that has helped me is to realize there can always be a positive in things and it’s important to always make the best of every given opportunity or situation. For me this mean everything is not that deep which might sound funny to some at first but to me it means every seemingly horrible situation might not be as bad as it seems at first I just have to find the positive in it.
What do you want people to know about women's hockey in Germany?
We are taking more and more steps in the right direction and over the last years we have shown the hockey world who we are and can be. I think now and in the long run nobody can and should count us out because we are continuing to take steps in the right direction and we will continue to show up.
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