Pro Tips with Sandra Abstreiter: German Olympian Talks Preparation, Inspiration and Mindset
- Abstreiter relocated to Vancouver for almost two months in the summer to access ice time unavailable in Germany during the off-season.
- Germany qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics for the first time since Sochi 2014, with Abstreiter describing it as the most exciting thing she has been part of.
- Abstreiter has five goalie partners between PWHL Montreal and the German national team, including Canadian Olympian Anne-Renee Desbiens.
- Goalie-to-goalie exchanges in her experience are collaborative and idea-focused, not critical — centered on suggestions rather than corrections.
- Committing to off-season sacrifices, including leaving home for two months, reflects her deliberate approach to elevating her game ahead of a major Olympic year.
Leading Germany back to the Olympics for just the fourth time, and first since 2014 in Sochi, feels like the kind of thing that could be intimidating for a goaltender. But that simply is not how Sandra Abstreiter of the PWHL Montreal Victoire chooses to look at it.
“It’s the most exciting thing I think I’ve ever been part of,” Abstreiter told the InGoal Radio Podcast. “It is even cooler that we did have to qualify and we did it. Because now, all of us that are most likely going to end up going to the Olympics, we did it for ourselves. We put the effort in, we got it done and we now get to go to represent our country at the Olympics.”
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