The German Development League (German: Deutsche Nachwuchsliga, DNL) is the elite junior league of the German Ice Hockey Federation. It was founded in 2000 in cooperation with the national hockey associations. Its objective is to educate and care for young German ice hockey players, as well as to serve as an introduction into the German professional leagues of the sport, including the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
There are presently 15 DNL teams and 16 DNL2 teams. Until 2010, the DNL included players up to the age of 17 (U18). For the 2010/11 season, the age groups were frozen for the first time, and U19 teams then played in the DNL. After the age groups were frozen again for the 2018/19 season, U20 teams have been taking part since then. Since 2018, the U20 and U17 teams have played in three or two divisions. [1]
DNL Team | Championships |
---|---|
Augsburger EV | |
Düsseldorfer EG | |
EC Bad Tölz | |
Eisbären Juniors Berlin | |
ESV Kaufbeuren | |
EV Landshut | 2011 |
EV Regensburg | |
ESC Dresden | |
Jungadler Mannheim | 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
Kölner EC Die Haie | |
Krefelder EV 81 | |
Starbulls Rosenheim |
The Deutsche Eishockey Liga or DEL, 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. The DEL is regarded as one of Europe's premier ice hockey divisions behind leagues in Sweden, Finland and Switzerland. Three German clubs represent the DEL on the European stage each season in the Champions Hockey League, although no German club has yet won this competition.
Eisbären Berlin is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also one of the league's founding members. The Eisbären have won the DEL championship more often than any other team, with eight DEL championships as of the 2020–21 season. They won the German ice hockey cup in 2008 as well as the European Trophy in 2010. Before reunification the team won the East German ice hockey championship 15 times as SC Dynamo Berlin.
Jochen Thomas Hecht is a German ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player. He has been serving as assistant coach for Adler Mannheim since March 2022.
The Oberliga is the third tier of ice hockey in Germany, below DEL2 and ahead of the Regionalliga. Since the 2015/16 season, the league has been split into two regionalised divisions, Nord (north) and Süd (south). The Oberliga was originally founded in 1948 and is administered by the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB).
The 2nd Eishockey-Bundesliga was the second tier of Ice hockey in Germany until 2012/13 and has since been replaced by DEL2. Starting in 2002, the league was organized by the ESBG, to which the league organization was outsourced from the DEB, the German ice hockey federation. In the 2012–13 season, it featured 13 teams.
Ice hockey is one of the more popular sports in Germany, it still ranks behind Handball and football in spectator favour and meaning. Ice hockey is organized today in Germany by the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest professional league, and by the Deutschen Eishockey-Bund ice hockey federation, which is the sport's federation in Germany and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Marcel Goc is a German former professional ice hockey player.
The Adler Mannheim is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team 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.
Eishockeyclub Red Bull München is a professional ice hockey team based in Munich, Germany. The club is a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey.
Grizzlys Wolfsburg are a professional ice hockey club of the German professional ice hockey league Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play their games at Eisarena in Wolfsburg.
Christopher John Luongo is an American ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player. Luongo played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, and New York Islanders between 1991 and 1996. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1989 to 2004, was spent in various minor leagues, and then several years in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Internationally Luongo played for the American national team at three World Championships. After retiring from playing, Luongo turned to coaching, and has spent several years as an assistant coach at the American collegiate level.
Starbulls Rosenheim Is a professional ice hockey team based in Rosenheim, Oberbayern, Germany. They currently play in Oberliga. Prior to the 2013–14 season they played in the 2nd Bundesliga. They play their home games at Rofa-Stadion, located in Rosenheim, Oberbayern.
Justin Matthew Krueger is a German-Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with Lausanne HC of the National League (NL). He previously played for SC Bern and for the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. He was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 7th round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Patrick Reimer is a German professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Mathias Niederberger is a German professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for Red Bull Munich of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). His father Andreas Niederberger is a member of the German ice hockey Hall of Fame.
The German Women's Ice Hockey League, also known as the German Women's Ice Hockey Bundesliga, is the top-tier women's ice hockey league in Germany. It was founded in 1988 by the German Ice Hockey Federation.
Dominik Bittner is a German professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Markus Eisenschmid is a German ice hockey player who is under contract to the Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He has previously played for the St. John's IceCaps and the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League.
The 2020–21 DEL2 season was the eighth season since the founding of the DEL2, the second tier of German ice hockey, set below the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The season began on a delayed start date of 6 November 2020 after being rescheduled from 2 October 2020, and concluded with the end of the playoffs on 22 May 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, DEL2 along with DEL and DEB agreed to a set of health rules and guidelines to ensure a safe and consistent work environment for everyone involved with hockey in Germany. Fans were excluded from attending matches. The DEL2 board agreed to suspend relegation to the Oberliga for the season, resulting in no relegation play-offs being contested. The season also marked the first time the league implemented promotion to DEL.
Svenja Voigt is a German ice hockey player and member of the German national team, currently playing in the North American Junior Women's Hockey League (JWHL) with the Stanstead College Spartans. She represented Germany at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship.