After the playoff-out in the semi-finals of the past DEL season, the Adler Mannheim want to play at the forefront again in the coming round. Above all, it is the master cracks of the Eisbären Berlin that need to be beaten.
It crackles again in the ice hockey city, the anticipation for the new season is huge in Mannheim. Around 7,500 season tickets have already been sold for the new season, the second best value in the history of the eagles. “This is a huge advance of trust of the fans. We are pleased that the start of the season will finally start again,” says Adler Managing Director Matthias Binder before the home game on Friday (7:30 p.m.) against Straubing in an interview with SWR Sport. Binder is now a kind of living inventory of the eagles and has been responsible for the financial figures in Mannheim for more than 25 years.
Last season it was only in the DEL semi-final. Not unexpected. In the duel with champions Eisbären Berlin, the eagles from Mannheim were ultimately without a chancesaid goodbye to the playoffs after four defeats. So now the next attempt to beat the almost overpowering DEL record champion from the capital, but at least catch up with the sporting behind to the Primus.
The expectations
In Mannheim, the expectations of the fans are traditionally high. After a total of eight titles – the last one was celebrated in 2019 – in the former Bundesliga and the DEL, the fight for the German championship in Mannheim is always an issue. However, not among those responsible: “We want to establish ourselves among the top four,” says coach Dallas Ekins, and Managing Director Matthias Binder also avoids the M-word: “We were last in the semi-finals and now want to take the next step, but you will not hear the goal of the championship”.
The final should be the goal. Especially since the eagles with their still outstanding infrastructure around the SAP-Arena, with their broad fan base and a strong team have the best prerequisites for top performance. In addition, coach/manager Dallas Ekins has now been able to assemble the player in the game completely according to his ideas since taking office in November 2023 and, again this summer, numerous top -class and exciting newcomers have been presented.
The team
This summer another facelift took place in the squad. 16 departures face twelve new additions. The eagles have completely sorted out in the goalkeeper position. For top talent Arno Tiefensee (Dallas/NHL) and veteran Felix Brückmann (to Cologne), national goalkeeper Maxi Franzreb (from Bremerhaven) and the experienced Swede Johan Mattson will be in the housing. At least the Mannheimers should not have worsened here.
The two Canadians Dan Renouf and Nicolas Mattinen as well as the ex-Nuremberg Hayden Shaw (American with a German passport) are new in the defense. While the role as a defensive “bum” is more intended for the strong renouf, the former Straubinger mattinen (DEL defender of 2024), who came back from North America after a mixed season, should provide urgently needed firing power from the blue line.
They complement the proven national defenders Leon Gawanke, Lukas Kälble and Tobias Fohrler as well as the strong Canadian John Gilmour. In addition there are the U23 talents Nick Mähler and Colin Schlenker from the young eagles. An interesting and top -class mix that you can expect from.
New quality was also obliged to attack. With Justin Schütz (Cologne) and Alexander Ehl (Düsseldorf), two young national players came, with the energy bundle Zach Solow and the arrow-fast Anthony Greco, two strong Americans. The goal -dangerous quartet complements the experienced core with the top performers Marc Michaelis, Kristian Reichel, Tom Kühnhackl and Luke Esposito. The eagles hope that the U23 strikers Yannick Proske and Maxi Heim hope for another leap. Max Penkin is a giant talent. The only 16-year-old Mannheim-born could make the leap into the DEL team early on.
The bottom line is a top-occupied squad for the highest DEL claims. “We further added our scaffolding,” said Managing Director Binder, who does not want to speak of a change. In addition, the Adler – Stand now – have three import licenses for foreign players free and can add them accordingly.
The king’s transfer
It is particularly interesting how the new striker Justin Schütz presents himself in the Mannheim jersey. The coveted 25-year-old striker signed a three-year contract with the eagles, with it the Kurpfälzer hope for significantly more efficiency in the end than last season. Schütz captivates primarily with enormous pace and danger. The robust attacker has scored 27 goals as the best German scorer for the Cologne Haie in the past two years, and was even recognized as “striker of the year in the DEL” in 2024.
Schütz has already settled in the Kurpfalz, but warns of exaggerated expectations: “In Mannheim, the team is more balanced and broader than in Cologne, which also means less ice age. So 35 goals should not be expected from me,” said the striker in an interview with SWR Sport.
The trainer
Dallas Ekins is also behind the gang in the new season in Mannheim. The experienced American and former NHL chief coach has not only been a coach for almost two years, but also in a personal union at the eagle.
After two summer transfer phases, the 58-year-old has now shaped the squad according to his ideas, and corresponding successes are now expected primarily from the fans. In addition, Eakins is intended to intensively integrate talents of the young eagle smithy and lead them into the DEL. A project that was neglected in previous years. Which could well succeed in highly affected boys such as Mähler, Schlenker and Penkin in the coming season. You can be excited.
