Deutsche Eishockey Liga

The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (called the PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga for sponsorship reasons) is the top professional ice hockey league in Germany. It was 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 produced players who later joined the world's best league, the NHL.

Teams from the DEL get to 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 can 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 over 40,000 fans have watched teams battle 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 replaced an older league and was the best place for hockey in Germany for many years.

In 1994, a new league called the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) was created to solve problems with the old league. Many teams were in debt and had trouble getting fans and sponsors. The new DEL wanted to make things better by having stricter rules and no teams dropping down 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.

Even with new rules, 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 allowed more European players to 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 run by its 14 member teams, and each team must meet certain rules to stay in the league. These rules include having a suitable stadium, enough money, and a plan to develop young players. Teams also need to pay a license fee to join.

The DEL can only add one team from the lower league each season, unless there are fewer than fourteen teams. Teams cannot be automatically moved down; they can only leave if they break the rules. There is an agreement between the DEL and the lower leagues to help teams move between levels, though teams must still pay to join.

In 2007, the DEL decided to grow to 16 teams starting in the 2008–09 season. This meant the top team from the lower league could move up if they wanted to and met the requirements. Each DEL team was also allowed to have no more than ten players from outside Europe. The season schedule was changed so each team would play 52 games, facing some teams more often than others. There was also a plan for teams to move between the DEL and the lower league, but this did not happen because of 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

All-time standings

Since the league began, 33 different clubs have played in the DEL, and 15 are currently competing. The standings from 1994 show the old Bundesliga and the second division teams.