Newly promoted Dresdner Eislöwen has introduced Canadian Gerry Fleming as the new hope in the fight against relegation from the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).
The 59-year-old takes over as head coach at the bottom of the table and has initially been given a contract until the end of the season. Last week, after the 1:6 debacle against the penultimate Iserlohn Roosters, the Eislöwen announced their separation from coach Niklas Sundblad and demoted sports director Matthias Roos.
The experienced Fleming most recently coached the Vienna Capitals in Austria. He knows “the DEL, has worked at the highest level and knows how to stabilize and develop teams,” said managing director Maik Walsdorf. Fleming will be supported by Petteri Kilpivaara and newly signed assistant coach Craig Streu. Kilpivaara looked after the team on an interim basis in the games against ERC Ingolstadt (2:3 nV) and Red Bull Munich (2:4).
“I am fully aware of the situation the Eislöwen find themselves in,” said Fleming, who had already worked in the DEL as an assistant coach at the Eisbären Berlin and as head coach at the Löwen Frankfurt: “The table doesn’t lie – but it doesn’t define what this team can achieve.” The mission to stay in the league is proving difficult, Dresden is at the bottom with only ten points from 25 games, the gap to Iserlohn is now seven points.