Waiting for the season to kick off: In a test, the polar bears met Red Bull Munich on October 18. Marcel Noebels (from right) is to become the new leader of the Berliners.
Foto: imago images/Nordphoto
Little has happened in German ice hockey in the past eight months. Corona sleep had arrived. While in other leagues in football, basketball, handball or volleyball, hygiene concepts were meticulously developed in order to return to the sporting stage as quickly as possible with spectators or without, the ice hockey upper house indulged in self-pity. Ghost games have been identified as an unsustainable option. But now they are the basis of all calculations. In addition, the clubs of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) can calculate that they will each receive around 800,000 euros from the government’s € 200 million rescue package for professional sports to make up for missing ticket income from April to the end of the year.
In the meantime, the DEL has awakened from shock and is returning to the ice – at least a little bit. The Magentasport Cup sponsored by a media partner will start as a test run from Wednesday until December 12th with the message: We’re back! At least eight of the 14 DEL clubs were able to bring themselves to participate, including the top teams Adler Mannheim, Red Bull Munich and Eisbären Berlin. It seems that these eight will sign up for the new DEL season. That is less to be expected of the other six clubs from Straubing, Ingolstadt, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Cologne and Iserlohn. Even the 60 percent waiver of wages by the players was not enough to play in the »Cup of Hope«. The Cologne Sharks are missing a seven-figure amount in their budget. It is questionable whether a solidarity campaign by fans will help with such sums. In addition, many have an indefinite group of players. The squad should only be completed when the start date of the DEL season has definitely been set.
“It’s a journey into the unknown,” confirms Peter John Lee from the Eisbären Berlin. »In ice hockey we are particularly dependent on income from spectators. Without a spectator around 80 percent of our income would break away. ”But they wanted to“ set an important signal for fans and sponsors in the public perception of ice hockey ”. The current tournament takes place in front of empty stands. That could change when the nationwide Corona rules for professional sport are also reviewed at the end of November.
But the uncertainty remains about the start of the 27th DEL season, which has already been postponed twice. Now, on November 19th, a video conference with all 14 teams is to discuss whether the season will start on December 18th and under what conditions. The first model provides for a main round with 52 match days until May 7th – without playoffs, but under a new title, because for the first time the league has sold its naming rights to a discount grocery store.
As part of the licensing process for the new season, all clubs had agreed to contract a 25 percent wage waiver with their players in order to enable the clubs and the league to continue to exist. “We met with a lot of understanding,” says Berlin’s managing director Lee. “It wasn’t an easy step, but the boys knew what was at stake.” With the polar bears, only Austin Ortega did not accept the new contract offer. After 65 games in the Berlin jersey and 25 goals, the 26-year-old, who had only come to Germany in February 2019, left the club.
“Essentially, the group of players that had secured fourth place until the end of the season stayed together,” said Lee happily. “Nevertheless, the face of the team has changed.” Seven mostly experienced players did not get a new contract. Among them is surprisingly the 34-year-old captain André Rankel, who was involved in all seven championship titles. The new, reduced team is led by top scorer Marcel Noebels, who was named “Best Player” of the last season, and the second best Berlin scorer, Leo Pföderl. Head coach Serge Aubin is also building on the addition of US partner Los Angeles Kings. Five young players from the two-time Stanley Cup winners from California moved to Berlin. You should remain until the interrupted play of the National Hockey League or the American Hockey League resumes.
After a few test matches – including against Munich (2: 3 and 1: 0) in front of 214 authorized spectators in the Wellblechpalast in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen – the polar bears go expectantly into the Magentasport Cup. In group B they meet ex-masters Munich, masters Mannheim and Schwenningen. The first home game against Schwenningen on November 13th will be played in the »Welli« – this time without any spectators. On December 3 (against Mannheim) and December 5 (against Munich) the game will be played in the large arena at Ostbahnhof – in the hope that around 2800 fans will then be admitted according to the new quota rule.
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