SafekipediaDeutsche Eishockey Liga
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (called the PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga for sponsorship reasons) is the top professional ice hockey league in Germany. It started in 1994 to replace an older league and is not managed by the country's ice hockey federation. The DEL is known for its exciting games and has helped players move on to the world's best league, the NHL.
Teams from the DEL can compete in a big European tournament called the Champions Hockey League. Because the DEL is one of the best leagues in Europe, its top teams play against other top teams from around the continent. In recent years, the DEL has become very popular, with thousands of fans watching each game, especially in big cities like Berlin, Mannheim, Cologne, and Düsseldorf.
The league has special outdoor games, similar to the famous NHL Winter Classic, where many fans watch teams play in huge stadiums. Some of the most successful DEL teams are Eisbären Berlin and Adler Mannheim, which have won many championships. The DEL continues to grow, becoming a popular sport in Germany alongside football and handball.
History
The top ice hockey league in Germany, called the Eishockey-Bundesliga, started in 1957. It was the best place for hockey in Germany for many years.
In 1994, a new league called the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) was created. The old league had problems, like teams owing money and trouble getting fans and sponsors. The DEL wanted to fix these problems with stricter rules and by not letting teams drop to lower levels. Twelve teams from the old top league and six from the second level joined the DEL. The league got support from a big brewery right away.
Some teams still had money problems. In one early season, a top team had to stop playing even though league leaders thought they were okay financially. Later, a decision in European soccer let more European players join, which helped smaller teams but made fans unhappy because players moved around a lot.
During a time when the big North American league wasn’t playing, many of its players came to the DEL for a season, adding excitement to the league.
League regulations
The DEL is managed by its 14 teams. Each team must follow rules to stay in the league. These rules include having a good stadium, enough money, and a plan to develop young players. Teams also need to pay a fee to join.
The DEL can add one team from a lower league each season, if there are fewer than fourteen teams. Teams cannot be moved down unless they break the rules. There is an agreement to help teams move between levels, but teams still need to pay to join.
In 2007, the DEL decided to grow to 16 teams for the 2008–09 season. This allowed the top team from the lower league to join if they met the requirements. Each DEL team could have no more than ten players from outside Europe. The season schedule was changed so each team would play 52 games. There were plans for teams to move between leagues, but these did not happen due to disagreements about rules for foreign players.
Teams
Here are the teams playing in the 2025–26 DEL season:
- Augsburg
- Berlin
- Bremerhaven
- Dresden
- Frankfurt
- Ingolstadt
- Iserlohn
- Köln
- Mannheim
- Munich
- Nürnberg
- Schwenningen
- Straubing
- Wolfsburg
These teams come from different places in Germany.
Former teams
Some teams used to play in the league but are no longer part of it. Examples include:
- BSC Preussen Berlin – dissolved in 2005
- Frankfurt Lions – dissolved in 2010
- Hamburg Freezers – stopped playing in 2016
- Kassel Huskies – dissolved in 2010
Many other teams have also changed names or stopped playing in the league over the years.
Champions
See also: List of German ice hockey champions
Here are the teams that have won the Deutsche Eishockey Liga since it began:
- 1994–95: Kölner Haie
- 1995–96: Düsseldorfer EG
- 1996–97: Adler Mannheim
- 1997–98: Adler Mannheim
- 1998–99: Adler Mannheim
- 1999–00: Munich Barons
- 2000–01: Adler Mannheim
- 2001–02: Kölner Haie
- 2002–03: Krefeld Pinguine
- 2003–04: Frankfurt Lions
- 2004–05: Eisbären Berlin
- 2005–06: Eisbären Berlin
- 2006–07: Adler Mannheim
- 2007–08: Eisbären Berlin
- 2008–09: Eisbären Berlin
- 2009–10: Hannover Scorpions
- 2010–11: Eisbären Berlin
- 2011–12: Eisbären Berlin
- 2012–13: Eisbären Berlin
- 2013–14: ERC Ingolstadt
- 2014–15: Adler Mannheim
- 2015–16: EHC München
- 2016–17: EHC München
- 2017–18: EHC München
- 2018–19: Adler Mannheim
- 2019–20: EHC München (RS)
- 2020–21: Eisbären Berlin
- 2021–22: Eisbären Berlin
- 2022–23: EHC München
- 2023–24: Eisbären Berlin
- 2024–25: Eisbären Berlin
- 2025–26: Eisbären Berlin
| Club | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Eisbären Berlin | 12 | 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26 |
| Adler Mannheim | 7 | 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2006–07, 2014–15, 2018–19 |
| EHC Red Bull München | 4 | 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2022–23 |
| Kölner Haie | 2 | 1994–95, 2001–02 |
| Düsseldorfer EG | 1 | 1995–96 |
| Munich Barons | 1 | 1999–00 |
| Krefeld Pinguine | 1 | 2002–03 |
| Frankfurt Lions | 1 | 2003–04 |
| Hannover Scorpions | 1 | 2009–10 |
| ERC Ingolstadt | 1 | 2013–14 |
All-time standings
Since the league began, 33 different clubs have played in the DEL. Right now, 15 clubs are competing. The standings from 1994 show teams from the old Bundesliga and the second division.
| Club | No. | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eisbären Berlin | 29 | 1BL | 17 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Adler Mannheim | 29 | 1BL | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| Kölner Haie | 29 | 1BL | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| EHC München | 12 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Straubing Tigers | 16 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| ERC Ingolstadt | 20 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||
| Fischtown Pinguins | 6 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schwenninger Wild Wings | 19 | 1BL | 9 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||||||||||
| Grizzlys Wolfsburg | 16 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Nürnberg Ice Tigers | 28 | 2BL | 12 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Augsburger Panther | 28 | 2BL | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 |
| Iserlohn Roosters | 22 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | |||||||
| Löwen Frankfurt | 4 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dresdner Eislöwen | 1 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Düsseldorfer EG | 26 | 1BL | 5 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 14 | |||
| Bietigheim Steelers | 1 | 13 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Krefeld Pinguine | 28 | 1BL | 4 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | ||||
| Hamburg Freezers | 14 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Frankfurt Lions | 16 | 2BL | 10 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hannover Scorpions | 17 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| Kassel Huskies | 14 | 2BL | 7 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| EV Duisburg | 4 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wölfe Freiburg | 1 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revierlöwen Oberhausen | 5 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moskitos Essen | 3 | 15 | 16 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preussen Berlin | 8 | 1BL | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Munich Barons | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Star Bulls Rosenheim | 6 | 1BL | 8 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Landshut Cannibals | 5 | 1BL | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ratinger Löwen | 3 | 1BL | 16 | 10 | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ESV Kaufbeuren | 3 | 1BL | 11 | 15 | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SC Riessersee | 1 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hannover Indians | 2 | 2BL | 14 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lausitzer Füchse | 2 | 2BL | 15 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maddogs München | 1 | 1BL | 18 |
| Color code | Result |
|---|---|
| Gold | Play-off champion |
| Silver | Play-off finalist |
| Green | Semi-finalist |
| Blue | 1st round |
| Purple | Preliminary round |
| White | Did not qualify for play-offs |
| Red | Relegated to DEL2 or folded mid-season |
| Bold | Regular season champion |
| Italics | Play-offs not conducted |
| No. | Number of seasons in league (as of 2020–21) |
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Deutsche Eishockey Liga, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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