On Thursday, September 15, the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) will start its 29th season. The season opens with the Kölner Haie’s game against EHC Munich. The sports show looks at the most important questions before the start of the season in Germany’s highest ice hockey league.
The favourites
After the second championship in a row, the Eisbären Berlin are the hunted again. And in all likelihood, even the toughest hunters will remain the same. With the Adler Mannheim and the EHC Munich there are three top teams in the league that will probably decide the title among themselves: “You can’t get past the three teams”says DEL expert and ex-professional Rick Goldmann.
Mathias Niederberger lifts the Eisbären Berlin trophy.
Two personal details are interesting: While Berlin brought a four-time champion from Munich in Frank Mauer, Matthias Niederberger, national goalkeeper and two-time champion, went the opposite way. “They really hurt a direct competitor with that”, says Goldman. Goldmann sees the strong German players in the squad, who have been playing together there for a long time, as the greatest trump card for Mannheim.
surprise candidates
Aside from the favourites, the Grizzlys Wolfsburg and the Straubing Tigers were particularly impressive last season and finished 3rd and 4th in the main round, thereby qualifying for the European Ice Hockey Cup, the Champions Hockey League. The double burden of international business is unfamiliar to both clubs, so it is uncertain whether they can confirm their role as a top four club.
TV pundit and ex-hockey player Rick Goldman
Rick Goldmann sees opportunities for ERC Ingolstadt: “They could be a team that plays at the top. With Michael Garteig they have signed a top goalkeeper.” The Canadian goalkeeper already played for the Schanzer in 2020/21 and impressed in the playoffs with a catch rate of 91.7 percent.
The mode
Whether it’s Munich, Mannheim or Berlin again – if you want to be crowned champion in the new season, you have to win four finals again. After playing in best-of-three and best-of-five mode for the past two years due to corona, the DEL is returning to best-of-seven mode – in all rounds (quarterfinals to finals). As usual, the pre-playoffs will be played in a best-of-three format.
In the main round, each team meets the competition twice at home and twice away (56 games). As a remnant from the two Corona seasons, the points quotient remains anchored: if games are canceled at the end of the season due to Corona or force majeure, the points quotient decides on the table places.
At the other end of the table there is a little less planning security. What is certain is that after the Krefeld Penguins last season, there will be another relegation team. Depending on the sporting course of the 2nd league, it could also hit two teams that have to go into the DEL2. There will only be two relegations if the champion of the DEL2 also wants to move up or meets the license conditions. The league is to be reduced back to the traditional number of 14 clubs.
The relegation candidates
After the relegation of the Krefeld Pinguine had almost been announced over the last few years, it is more difficult to name relegation candidates before the new season. The climbers of the last two years are therefore obvious, but not unfounded.
The Bietigheim Steelers played an impressive first DEL season and were never in serious danger of relegation. With top scorer Riley Sheen (40 goals) and defender Jalen Smereck, two important pillars have left the team – almost impossible to compensate.
This year’s climbers, the Löwen Frankfurt are no strangers. The club played under a different name in the DEL until 2010. “The start will be very important for Frankfurt”says Rick Goldman: “There’s a lot of euphoria among the lions, but if you’re in the middle of it, it can quickly fizzle out.”
The two top transfers are also responsible for the euphoria: Dominik Bokk (last champion with Berlin) and Carter Rowney (last four years in the NHL) should ensure a goal threat – 16 players from the promotion squad have stayed. “We came to stay in the league”says managing director Stefan Krämer aggressively.
energy crisis
Triggered by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, electricity and gas prices in Germany continue to rise. As a result, the role of sport in energy consumption is being questioned, but clubs that have already been hit by Corona are also threatened with immense additional costs.
“As a league, we’re not really in charge when it comes to the energy crisis”says DEL boss Gernot Tripcke: “For our clubs, it is true that they are usually only renters in the halls. But it is also clear that the clubs will feel the economic effects.” No major problems are to be expected in the short term due to the current leases, but energy prices will play a role in the budget for the next season. According to Tripcke, however, the cuts could be more acute in mass sport.
Philipp Walter is the managing director of the Kölner Haie and thus also a tenant of the largest multifunctional hall in Germany. He explains to the sports show that action is already being taken: “We are in the process of analyzing savings potential and then want to exploit it as best as possible”according to Walter: “It’s not about being actionist, it’s about making smart decisions.” When you visit a game, you won’t notice any changes at first.
referee
There are personnel changes not only in the squads of the DEL clubs but also in the referee team. Most of the foreign referees in the league were North Americans, but now four come from the Russian-influenced KHL.
“You have to be honest and say: the war in Ukraine opened up the European referee market for us.”explains Gernot Tripcke: “The referees approached us proactively.” However, there will be no language barriers for the Latvian, Russian and Czech referees: English is the main language spoken on the ice anyway.
Cologne’s Landon Ferraro plays the puck past Munich’s Maksymilian Szuber.
Is Corona still an issue?
First of all no. There are currently no mandatory measures relating to game operations for clubs and players – there are currently no spectator restrictions either. “We are still prepared for everything when it comes to corona measures”says Gernot Tripcke in the Sportschau interview: “One can say: Our drawers are closed, but full.”
This means the changed processes in game operations, should masks, tests or even vaccinations be required in order to keep major events going. According to the Infection Protection Act, the federal states have the opportunity to tighten the rules regionally.