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55-802: After long negotiations among the Anschutz Group, the ice hockey teams Landshut Cannibals, ESC Munich and the Olympiapark Munich GmbH, the creation of the Munich Ice Hockey Club GmbH was announced on the 1 June 1999. The license for the DEL was carried over from the debt-ridden Landshut Cannibals . The team played its home games in the Olympia-Eisstadion . The name and logo of the Barons were unveiled in

110-577: A best-of-seven series to determine which team faces the 2nd Bundesliga champion for a place in the league. There is, however, an ongoing dispute about those games as second division teams may only have five foreign players on contract and therefore face a handicap in comparison to the DEL teams with twelve import players each. For now, the ESBG has declared that no team from the 2nd Bundesliga would take part in these matches and therefore no promotion/relegation with

165-680: A complicated tournament mode, from preliminary round, second round and championship round, the MERC would finally win the German championship for the first time. The title win was solidified with a victory in Berlin, and the Mannheim players warmed-up in tailcoats and top hats before their final, inconsequential home game against Cologne EC. In 1994, the Mannheimer ERC was a founding member of

220-521: A contingent of Adler fans traveled to Buffalo and Toronto to witness games hosted by the Sabres and Maple Leafs. During the 2012 NHL lockout , the Adler Mannheim became a popular team for the lockout-players again. The former Mannheim-players Dennis Seidenberg ( Boston Bruins ) and Marcel Goc ( Florida Panthers ) joined the team once more. They were followed by Jason Pominville , captain of

275-404: A new format for the game schedule will limit the number of regular-season games to 52 for each team. This is achieved by each team playing four games against eleven others and two games against the remaining four. To determine which teams play, the final standings of the previous season are used. The DEL would also reintroduce promotion once more. The first- and second-lowest ranked teams will play

330-421: A result, many clubs were forced to fold or withdraw to the lower leagues. Fans and corporate sponsors focused on the 1st Bundesliga teams, forcing the elite teams to invest heavily in players to avoid relegation. This increased budgets 25 percent over the previous two years. In the final Bundesliga season, 1993–94, only 11 teams wanted to play in the 2nd Bundesliga . Furthermore, two teams folded during and after

385-652: A sport in Germany and is seen as a popular alternative to football or handball , building upon the Olympic success in 2018. A new system of promotion and relegation with the DEL2 began with the 2021–22 season , in which the last-placed DEL club will be replaced by the DEL2 champions. SC Bietigheim Steelers joined the DEL for the 2021-22 DEL season as DEL2 champions ahead of the first promotion/relegation to DEL2 . Following

440-488: A stronger rivalry following their epic 2019 semi-final series. München won that series in the deciding game 7 which also included the longest match in DEL history, won by Augsburger Panther after 104 minutes of action in game 3, as two matches required three overtimes to determine a winner. The Eishockey-Bundesliga was formed in 1957 as the elite hockey competition in the Federal Republic of Germany, replacing

495-641: Is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in 1994, it was formed as a replacement for the Eishockey-Bundesliga and became the new top-tier league in Germany as a result. Unlike the old Bundesliga, the DEL is not under the administration of the German Ice Hockey Federation . Teams from the DEL participate in the IIHF 's annual Champions Hockey League (CHL), competing for

550-461: Is an independently run league, fully owned and operated by its 14 member teams. Each team must fulfill the DEL's basic requirements to remain in the league: The DEL can only admit one 2nd Bundesliga team per season to the league, unless the league strength falls below fourteen, in which case two clubs can be admitted. Since the 2006–07 season, no DEL team can be automatically relegated, a team can only lose its league status through non-compliance with

605-657: Is based in Mannheim , a city in the northern part of Baden-Württemberg . Currently, the team plays at SAP Arena , where they moved to at the beginning of the 2005–06 season after having played at Eisstadion am Friedrichspark for nearly seven decades from 1938 through 2005. They have won the German Championship a total of eight times, seven of those coming after 1994 in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga . German ice hockey changed significantly with

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660-469: The 1999–2000 season , while reintroducing relegation and promotion to/from the 2nd Ice Hockey Bundesliga . The 2004–05 season was significant due to the NHL lockout . 26 NHL players came to play the season in the DEL, including Jamie Langenbrunner , Erik Cole , Stéphane Robidas , Doug Weight , Mike York and several German national team players – Jochen Hecht , Olaf Kölzig , and Marco Sturm . The DEL

715-542: The 2020 NHL Draft . On 14 July 2019, Seider was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings. On 27 December 2020, Stützle signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators. After a poor start to the 2023/24 season, general manager Jan-Axel Alavaara and head coach Johan Lundskog were dismissed mid-season and American former NHL head coach Dallas Eakins

770-688: The Buffalo Sabres and again Jochen Hecht who was a free agent since his injury in early 2012. Hecht signed a contract (with an NHL-Out paragraph) until 2014, but after the lockout came to an end, he was offered a new, one-year contract by the Buffalo Sabres. After the Sabres contract expired, Hecht announced his intention to return to Mannheim to finish his professional career. On 19 June 2014, Mannheim hired Boston Bruins assistant coach Geoff Ward as their new head coach. After winning

825-492: The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). While the organization of the MERC continues to exist to the present day, the professional hockey team changed its name to Adler Mannheim and was transformed into an independent legal entity called "Die Adler Mannheim Eishockey Spielbetriebs GmbH + Co. KG". The old organization MERC still performs in the amateur and junior sectors, including the successful junior team Jungadler Mannheim ('Mannheim Young Eagles') ( DNL ). The first two seasons in

880-697: The Hamburg Freezers in Hamburg in the DEL until 2016, when the Anschutz Group ceased operations due to financial reasons. This European ice hockey team-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about sports in Germany is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . German Eishockey-Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga ) ( German pronunciation: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaɪshɔkiː ˌliːɡaː] ; English: German Ice Hockey League ) or DEL ,

935-567: The Krombacher Brewery , which was prominently featured on the new league logo. The hope of avoiding the troubles of the old Bundesliga by stricter financial controls did not materialize. During DEL's initial season , on 18 December 1994, the Bundesliga's final champion, the renamed EC Hedos München , folded. This was controversial, as DEL's president Franz Hofherr had approved their license and certified their finances. Hofherr

990-656: The Oberliga in this position. It was in turn replaced by the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, which now also carries the name 1st Bundesliga in its logo. The DEL was founded in the 1994–95 season, consisting of teams from the Eishockey-Bundesliga's 1st and 2nd divisions . The condition of these earlier leagues had become intolerable. Many 1st and 2nd division teams were heavily in debt. The 2nd division attracted few sponsors and spectators. As

1045-457: The "foreign" player quota. In the 1995–96 season following the decision, the DEL teams employed 97 EU players. This lowered costs significantly, enabling smaller teams to compete more effectively. However, frequent player moves were not viewed positively by the fans, resulting in smaller attendance numbers. Following an agreement with the DEB the league renamed itself as "DEL – Die 1. Bundesliga" in

1100-521: The 2000–2001 season, the Barons finished in third place in the regular season. In the playoffs, they reached the finals, but lost a hard-fought battle against the eventual champions, the Adler Mannheim . Despite the continued good showing of the team, the number of spectators remained low. Because of the expensive player contracts and the lack of sponsors, the Barons accumulated substantial debts. In

1155-401: The 2001–2002 season, the Barons placed first in the regular season, in spite of injuries plaguing the team. In the play-off semifinal, the Barons lost to the eventual champions, Kölner Haie . Although by this time the number of spectators had begun to increase slightly, the Anschutz Group decided to move the team to Hamburg for financial reasons on 3 June 2002. From then, the Barons played as

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1210-872: The 2019 DEL Playoffs, including all three games in the final series against EHC Red Bull München , selling out. Despite attracting some of the biggest crowds in the DEL, and hosting NHL teams in preseason games, Kölner Haie have not won a championship since 2002. In the DEL Winter Game, similar to the NHL Winter Classic where matches are played in larger outdoor venues, Cologne and Düsseldorf have played in front of crowds in excess of 40,000, notably in 2019 as Düsseldorf won in overtime in rival Cologne's RheinEnergieStadion . The DEL Winter Game traditionally takes place every two years; four editions have been played since 2013, including games in Cologne and at

1265-717: The 2019 final, losing to Mannheim in five games. München were also top of the 2020 standings before the season was curtailed. ERC Ingolstadt (2014 Champions as the 9th seed) and Grizzlys Wolfsburg (2021 runners-up) have also enjoyed deep playoff runs in the last decade. Some of the league's biggest rivalries include Kölner Haie and Düsseldorfer EG , Kölner Haie and Adler Mannheim , and Eisbären Berlin and EHC Red Bull München . The Bavarian Derbies between München, ERC Ingolstadt , Augsburger Panther , Straubing Tigers , and Nürnberg Ice Tigers are also fiercely contested. Due to geography, Nürnberg/Straubing and Augsburg/Ingolstadt are notable rivalries although Munich/Augsburg has become

1320-418: The 2020/21 season due to the pandemic. The Eisbären Berlin and Adler Mannheim are the most successful DEL clubs and have won the last three editions between them (Mannheim 2019, Berlin 2021 & 2022). Mannheim have enjoyed a lot of success in recent years (2015 and 2019 Champions, 2021 Regular Season Champions) although EHC Red Bull München won three consecutive titles between 2016 and 2018 and also made

1375-543: The 2–1 lead in the final series, the Adler turned the series and won all subsequent games. With 4–2 victories, the Adler Mannheim were able to win their sixth DEL championship. After the 2014–15 season, Ward returned to the NHL and was replaced by Greg Ireland . Ireland was sacked in February 2016, and Craig Woodcroft , who had joined the Adler coaching staff in 2014, was promoted to head coach. Woodcroft failed to guide

1430-554: The Adler during the 2004–05 NHL lockout . The team made it to the finals, but were defeated by the Eisbären Berlin . The following season was disastrous. In their new home, the SAP Arena , the team was placed tenth at the end of the regular season. It was the first time in 26 years that the Adler Mannheim had not qualified for the playoffs. Making several changes ito the team roster, the team celebrated its resurrection in

1485-555: The Adler reached the playoffs again, but were beaten in the quarter-finals again. After that season, head coach Chris Valentine was released and was succeeded by Bill Stewart . In 2000–01, the Adler returned to winning ways with the fourth DEL championship in five years. In their final season at Friedrichspark, Mannheim native Jochen Hecht ( Buffalo Sabres ), Cristobal Huet ( Montreal Canadiens ), Yannick Tremblay ( Atlanta Thrashers ) and Sven Butenschön ( New York Islanders ) joined

1540-487: The Adler squad to the playoffs and left after the 2015–16 season. In May 2016, Sean Simpson was named new head coach. On 4 December 2017, GM Teal Fowler , head coach Simpson and assistant coach Colin Muller were sacked due to unsatisfactory results. Bill Stewart, who had guided the club to the 2001 DEL title, took over the head coaching job. During the 2017–2018 season, the Adler Mannheim announced Jan-Axel Alavaara as

1595-409: The DEL ended in playoff quarter finals, but the following season marked the first full success of the DEL era: the Adler Mannheim swept through the playoffs. With the minimum number of nine games, they won the championship in 1997. After also winning the championships in 1998 and 1999, head coach Lance Nethery and several players left the team. After a disastrous start to the regular 1999–2000 season,

1650-526: The DEL was to create a league, based on the model of the North American NHL , in which teams could play consistently without relegation concerns and create a stable league. Clubs in the DEL were required to conform to rules , which were designed to ensure long-term viability. Twelve clubs from the old 1st Bundesliga , and six from the 2nd Bundesliga came together as founding members. The new league immediately attracted corporate sponsorship with

1705-559: The DEL will take place. Members of the 2023–24 DEL season . 33 clubs have played in the DEL since founding, with 15 currently playing. The 1994 standing represents the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: Mannheim Eagles , formerly Mannheimer ERC ) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga , the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany . The team

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1760-473: The DEL. Should this not be the case, or a current DEL team resigns from the league, a selection process would determine the club, or clubs, who would be eligible to join in order required to achieve 16 teams. (Note: Füchse Duisburg resigned before the 2009–10 season and was not replaced until the following season.) For that season, it was also mandated that each DEL club would be allowed to have no more than ten non- EC players under contract. Additionally,

1815-720: The European Trophy. Participation is based on the strength of the various leagues in Europe (excluding the European/Asian Kontinental Hockey League ). Going into the 2022–23 CHL season , the DEL was ranked the No. 3 league in Europe, allowing them to send their top four teams to compete in the CHL. In the 2016–17 season, the league was the second-best supported ice hockey league in Europe, behind

1870-589: The German national team that took silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang played in the DEL, while EHC Red Bull München became the first German team to reach the Champions Hockey League final in 2019 , losing to the Swedish team Frölunda HC . EHC Red Bull München followed this up by reaching the semi-finals in the 2021-22 Champions Hockey League . Ice hockey is growing as

1925-819: The Swiss National League A , with an average attendance of 6,198 spectators per game. Fourteen different teams comprise the league, playing their home games in a diverse mix of venues, including a few large, modern arenas (e.g. in Berlin, Mannheim, Cologne, and Düsseldorf) and older, smaller venues (e.g. in Iserlohn, Schwenningen and Straubing). Kölner Haie (English: Cologne Sharks), Düsseldorfer EG , and Eisbären Berlin (Berlin Polar Bears) all regularly attract over 15,000 fans for home games. Adler Mannheim (Mannheim Eagles) also regularly attract over 12,000 fans per home game with each of their home games in

1980-402: The brand new Friedrichspark Stadium. The match against the winner of the German Championship was lost 0–11, but the following seasons were more and more successful. However, due to the ongoing Second World War, it was difficult to play a regular season without some limitations. In 1942, after the Mannheim was qualified for the finals, the proclamation of the total war led to the cancellation of

2035-454: The conclusion of the 2021–22 season , Bietigheim retained their place in the top flight while Krefeld Pinguine were relegated after finishing bottom of the table. Löwen Frankfurt (Frankfurt Lions) will be promoted as DEL2 champions for the 2022–23 season . The DEL Playoffs decide the season champions using a format akin to that of the NHL. Each team plays 52 regular-season games to determine

2090-582: The equalizer at minute 57. In the shoot-out, it was Dan Boyle who scored with the decisive penalty shot for the Sharks. In July 2011, Mannheim entered a developmental partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL . The Adler participated in the 2011 NHL Premiere series, losing to the Buffalo Sabres 8–3. The Sabres (who counted among its players Mannheim native Jochen Hecht ) were very well received in Mannheim, and later that season,

2145-555: The finals, less than 24 hours before their scheduled beginning. On 5 June 1943, the Eisstadion am Friedrichspark was destroyed by an air attack on Mannheim. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, it took another four years before the hockey club began playing once again. In the 1951/52 season, Mannheim again had a team to play in a regular team, but it was not very successful. The most successful game in this time

2200-567: The first "German-Canadians" were transferred into the Eishockey Bundesliga. Additionally, Mannheim acquired the national goalkeeper Erich Weishaupt from the Berliner Schlittschuhclub (Berliner SC). After a sixth place in their debut season, Mannheim strengthened their squad with Ron Andruff and Holger Meitinger and the national players Mannheimer Marcus Kuhl (Cologne) and Peter Obresa (Bad Nauheim). In

2255-674: The following 2006–07 season. After winning the German Cup , they finished in first place in the regular season and then won their fifth DEL Championship. On 6 July 2010, the Adler Mannheim competed against the San Jose Sharks in the 2011 NHL Premiere Challenge 2010 . German national player Manuel Klinge scored for Mannheim in the 5th minute, San Jose equalized with a goal by Jamie McGinn (54th minute). After Devin Setoguchi scored for San Jose, Mannheim's Jame Pollock scored

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2310-450: The formation of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in 1994. Its growing influence also brought growing independence from the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) which had regulated ice hockey in Germany for many decades. The first incarnation of the Adler Mannheim was the 'Mannheim Ice and Roller Sport Club' ( Mannheimer Eis- und Rollsport-Club or MERC ) , founded on 19 May 1938. On 19 February 1939, they had their introductory match in

2365-534: The home of TSG Hoffenheim , with each attracting over 30,000 spectators. Following a 2021 postponement due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , the DEL Winter Game is set to return in December 2022 with Cologne hosting Mannheim in the RheinEnergieStadion. The DEL is known for its game-day atmosphere, as well as producing NHL talents including Dominik Kahun , Tim Stutzle and Lukas Reichel . Many of

2420-474: The leagues regulations (see above). The ESBG guarantees to admit any DEL team wishing to step down to the lower 2nd Bundesliga or Oberliga . The team, however, has to purchase a license (licensing fees for the 2nd Bundesliga are currently set at €100,000.00). To regulate the relationship between the DEL, the DEB and the ESBG (2nd Bundesliga), a so-called Kooperationsvertrag exists. This cooperation contract

2475-516: The middle of June of that year. Despite a poor start, the Munich Barons team – whose players were brought together from several other teams – was able to come together and finished in second place in their first season in the DEL. In the play-offs , the team surprised all doubters and eventually became German champions. In spite of that success, the number of spectators at game was lower than expected (regular season: 2,800; playoffs: 4,900). In

2530-577: The new GM and Pavel Gross as their new head coach assisted by Mike Pellegrims and Pertti Hasanen . The Adler finished their regular season 2018–19 at the top of the standings table with a new point average record of 2,23 points per game and won the DEL title 2018–19 defeating EHC Red Bull München 4–1 in the playoff finals. During the summer break, the Adler Mannheim released their long-time team captain Marcus Kink – his successor being NHL veteran and German national player Marcel Goc . Also during

2585-488: The regular season with nine points ahead of the second-placed EHC Red Bull München, the Adler won the quarter-final series against the Nürnberg Ice Tigers 4–1. In the semi-finals, the Adler swept Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg with 4–0 victories – even after being down 0–3 goals in three of the games. In the final, Mannheim finally met ERC Ingolstadt. After a devastating 1–6 loss in the third game with Ingolstadt taking

2640-408: The regular-season champions before the top 10 teams are seeded and qualify for the playoffs. The top 6 teams receive a bye to the quarter-finals while the teams ranked 7–10 compete in the pre-playoff (wildcard) round. The seedings are re-calculated after each round in a straight knockout system. The DEL Finals, held in late April or early May, is a best-of-seven games format, similarly to the NHL where

2695-425: The season. Ice hockey's reputation in Germany was heavily tarnished. This made it difficult to attract serious sponsorship. In January 1994, 20 out of the remaining 21 1st and 2nd Bundesliga teams voted for creating a new entity, the DEL. Upon founding, the "DEL Betriebsgesellschaft mbH" was the first German professional sports league managed by an organization whose members were incorporated as well. The goal behind

2750-530: The summer break of 2019, Adler Mannheim's rookie defenseman Moritz Seider was drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, sixth overall, by the Detroit Red Wings. Seider was the first German defenseman to be selected in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft, and the fourth-highest German-born player to be selected until Tim Stützle was selected third overall by the Ottawa Senators in

2805-490: The top seed remaining holds home-field advantage in a Game 7 scenario. For the 2021–22 season and 2020–21 season , a shortened version of the DEL playoffs was used in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eisbären Berlin won the 2022 Finals against EHC Red Bull München 3-1 in a best-of-5 format. Berlin also won the title in 2021, defeating Wolfsburg 2-1 in a best-of-3 series following a North/South regional league split during

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2860-514: Was Mad Dogs former president and it was alleged that he must have known about their desperate financial situation. The Bosman ruling , a 1995 decision of the European Court of Justice regarding the movement of labor in soccer, had profound influence on the league. The old Bundesliga had national character with German clubs competing for the German title using mostly German players. After the ruling European Union players were excluded from

2915-528: Was a 10–2 victory against a team of American soldiers based in the Mannheim-area. In 1978, the MERC achieved promotion to the first division of Eishockey Bundesliga . In order to be able to set up a team with the limited budget, the MERC and coach Heinz Weisenbach had to get innovative. Weisenbach traveled to North America to search specifically for players with German roots. With Harold Kreis , Manfred "Mannix" Wolf , Roy Roedger and Peter Ascherl ,

2970-591: Was announced as new head coach and general manager on 27 November 2023. Updated 28 September 2024. The following list shows all head coaches of Adler Mannheim during the DEL era. The youth performance center of the Adler Mannheim is called "Jungadler Mannheim" (youth eagles). Their under 20 junior team is 16-times national youth champion and record holder. Famous former Jungadler players are e.g. Dominik Kahun (Chicago Blackhawks), Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings), and Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators). The female contingent of

3025-441: Was signed in December 2005, and was valid until 2011. This contract ended years of dispute between the three organizations over competencies and financial issues. In November 2007, the DEL announced another change in policy. The league expanded to allow 16 teams beginning in the 2008–09 season , resulting in direct promotion for the 2nd Bundesliga league champions, should they fulfill all requirements and be interested in joining

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