Esbjerg Energy

Esbjerg Energy
City	Esbjerg, Denmark
League	Metal Ligaen
Founded	2005
Home arena	Granly Hockey Arena (Capacity: 4,200)
Colors
Owner(s)	Christian Rølmer Christensen
General manager	Peder Krogsgaard
Head coach	Jason Jaspers
Captain	Brock Nixon
Website	www.esbjergenergy.dk
Franchise history
1964–2004	Esbjerg IK
2005–2013	Esbjerg fB Ishockey
2013–present	Esbjerg Energy
Championships
Playoff championships	7 (2016–17, 2015–16, 2003–04, 1995–96, 1992–93, 1987–88, 1968–69)
Current season

The Esbjerg Energy is a Danish professional ice hockey team based in Esbjerg, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 2005 and play their home games in the Granly Hockey Arena which has a capacity of 4,200 spectators. ^[1]

Until 2004 the team played under the name of E.I.K. (Esbjerg Ishockey Klub), but due to financial instability at the club, the professional license was transferred to Esbjerg fB. In early 2013 after spending eight seasons under the umbrella of Esbjerg fB; the football club sold EfB Ishockey to businessman Christian Rølmer Christensen.

Club history

2013–present: Mark Pederson era

Season: 2013–2014

In the club's first season under new ownership, the club appointed Mark Pederson as the new head coach. The Canadian, a former NHL player and successful head coach in numerous ice hockey leagues, took over as the club's new coach. Out of the club's eight foreigners of the previous season, only one returned to the club, with the rest leaving to join new clubs. Among the foreigners who left to join new clubs, 3 out of the 8 were top 5 on the team, in points the previous season.

In Pederson's first season as the club's head coach, he led the team to the playoffs, though it was spoiled by a match-fixing scandal. Three of the club's players including, Kirill Starkov, Tyler Mosienko and Dennis Jensen were suspended and fined after admitting to betting on their own team and match-fixing. After losing two key first liners due to suspension; Esbjerg was eliminated in the quarterfinal by local rivals SønderjyskE Ishockey. ^{[2] [3]}

Season: 2014–2015

In his second season as head coach, Pedersen added key players Andrew Clark, Mark Derlago and Scott Howe to the club, who together combined for 189 points over 101 games (76 goals and 113 assists). Pedersen managed to lead the club to the finals as they swept Odense, in the quarterfinals, and defeated Herning 4–2 in the semifinals on their way to the finals. Though the club was once again eliminated by SønderjyskE who defended their title for the third straight year. ^[4]

Season: 2015–2016

For the 2015–16 season, Pedersen managed to keep several dominant core players. At the conclusion of the regular season, Esbjerg finished at a strong third place and were put up against seventh place Rødovre in the quarterfinals. Esbjerg defeated Rødovre in six games, three of which ended in overtime and advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Esbjerg faced local rivals SønderjyskE, the three-time defending champions who had eliminated Esbjerg in the previous two seasons. Esbjerg managed to win the series in seven games, the first time they had defeated SønderjyskE in a seven-game series since 2006. Esbjerg then went on to defeat Herning, 4–2 in a high scoring final, to win their first title since 2004. ^{[5] [6]}

Season: 2016–2017

For the time in Esbjerg ice hockey history, The Esbjerg Energy represented Denmark in the Annual Champions League tournament. Esbjerg was placed in Group G with Helsinki and EV Zug, Esbjerg did not advance to the next round, finishing the tournament with a 1–1–2 record.

After their early start to the season with international hockey, Esbjerg Energy struggled in their home league. The first half of the season was spent in the bottom of the league. Second half of the season Esbjerg catapulted to the top of the league winning many games in a row. Esbjerg finished 4th and picked rivals SønderjyskE as their opponents for the quarterfinals. In the Semifinals Esbjerg Energy eliminated Frederikshavn Whitehawks in game seven and advanced to their third final in as many years. In the finals Esbjerg won the championship at home in game 5, making them back-to-back champions for the first time in club history.

Season by season record

Esbjerg Energy, 2019

Seasons of Esbjerg Energy ^[7]

Season	Rank	GP	W	L	OTW	OTL	Pts	Postseason
2005–06	8th	36	9	19	5	3	40	Quarterfinal loss
2006–07	3rd	36	12	14	4	6	50	Bronze medal game loss
2007–08	9th	45	14	22	3	6	54	Did not make the playoffs
2008–09	7th	36	13	18	2	3	46	Quarterfinal loss
2009–10	4th	36	12	11	4	9	53	Quarterfinal loss
2010–11	7th	39	10	23	3	3	39	Did not make playoffs
2011–12	8th	40	12	22	3	3	45	Quarter final loss
2012–13	6th	40	14	17	5	4	56	Quarter final loss
2013–14	5th	40	17	18	1	4	57	Quarter final loss
2014–15	5th	36	15	13	6	2	59	Final loss
2015–16	3rd	45	22	14	7	2	82	Champion
2016–17	4th	45	18	12	6	9	75	Champion

Players

Current roster

Updated 30 September 2024.

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
92		Lucas Andersen	LW	L	25	2024	Copenhagen, Denmark
48		Niklas Andersen	RW	L	26	2024	Esbjerg, Denmark
44		Gordie Ballhorn	D	L	27	2023	Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada
75		Yanick von Bergen	RW	R	20	2024	Interlaken, Switzerland
3		Jeppe Bertram	D	L	17	2024	Esbjerg, Denmark
17		Frederik Bjerrum	RW	L	29	2023	Esbjerg, Denmark
27		Rasmus Bjerrum	LW	L	32	2020	Esbjerg, Denmark
82		Grayson Downing	C	L	32	2021	Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
24		Tobias Ebener	LW	L	18	2022	Esbjerg, Denmark
52		Oliver Gatz Nielsen	D	L	25	2024	Aalborg, Denmark
22		Andreas Grundtvig	LW	L	25	2019	Hørsholm, Denmark
70		Simon Grønvaldt	D	R	33	2019	Rødovre, Denmark
64		Aleksi Halme	LW	L	24	2023	Tampere, Finland
95		Nicolaj Henriksen	G	L	29	2024	Esbjerg, Denmark
4		Jeff King	D	R	28	2021	St. Clair, Michigan, United States
36		Philip Larsen  ( C )	D	R	34	2022	Esbjerg, Denmark
88		Nick Master	C	L	29	2024	Broomall, Pennsylvania, United States
15		Thomas Mondrup	C	R	19	2023	Esbjerg, Denmark
6		Mikkel Rask Nielsen	D	L	21	2020	Esbjerg, Denmark
10		Victor Sand	C	R	21	2021	Grindsted, Denmark
72		Phillip Schultz	C	L	24	2023	Rødovre, Denmark
18		Sebastian Skovning	C	L	19	2023	Esbjerg, Denmark
1		Jacob Smith	G	L	29	2024	Oakville, Ontario, Canada
7		Juuso Walli	D	L	28	2021	Tampere, Finland
47		Oscar Öhman	C	L	27	2024	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden

Retired numbers

• 14 Oleg Starkov, F, 1991–2000
• 15 Soren Jensen, D, 1984–2006
• 16 Andreas Andreasen, D, 1994–2012

Team captains

• Olivier Coqueux, 2008–2009
• Andreas Andreasen, 2009–2010
• Kirill Starkov, 2010–2011
• Sune Hjulmand, 2011–2015
• Aaron Lee, 2015–2016
• Brock Nixon, 2016–2017
• Vacant, 2017-2018
• Marc Hagel, 2018-2019
• Vacant, 2019-2024
• Philip Larsen, 2024-pres.

References

1. "Esbjerg Elite Ishockey". Eurohockey.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
2. Ritzau (24 January 2014). "Esbjerg: Tre spillere er fyret for matchfixing" (in Danish). Politiken . Retrieved 2 November 2016.
3. Ritzau (24 January 2014). "Esbjerg Energy: Tre spillere er fyret for matchfixing" (in Danish). dr. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
4. Michael Søvsø (4 March 2016). "SønderjyskE dream of a Danish title hat-trick, Esbjerg stand in their way". Champions Hockey League. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
5. Markus Nisius (21 April 2016). "Esbjerg Energy powers through to Danish Championship". Eurohockey. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
6. Joeri Loonen (27 April 2016). "Esbjerg fights off giants, wins Danish title". IIHF . Retrieved 2 November 2016.
7. "Esbjerg Energy - Roster, News, Stats & more". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.

External links

• Official site Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine (in Danish)