Adler Mannheim

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Adler Mannheim
City Mannheim, Germany
League Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Founded 1938
Home arena SAP Arena
(capacity: 13,600)
General manager Teal Fowler
Captain Marcus Kink
Website adler-mannheim.de

Adler Mannheim ('Mannheim Eagles', formerly Mannheimer ERC) are an ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest 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.[1] They have won the German Championship a total of seven times. Six of those coming after 1994 in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

History

German ice hockey changed a lot after the Deutsche Eishockey Liga was founded in 1994. Its growing influence also brought growing independence from the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund-organization (DEB) which dominated the ice hockey in Germany for decades.

Pre-DEL era

SAP Arena

The first incarnation of the Adler Mannheim were The Mannheimer ice and roller skating club (MERC: Mannheimer Eis- und Rollsportclub), founded on May 19, 1938. On February 19, 1939, they had their introduction match in the brand new Friedrichspark Stadium. The match against the winner of the German Championship was lost 0–11, but the following seasons were more and more successful. However, due to the ongoing Second World War, it was difficult to play a regular season without some limitations. In 1942, after the Mannheim was qualified for the finals, the proclamation of the total war led to the cancellation of the finals, less than 24 hours before their scheduled beginning.

On June 5, 1943, the Eisstadion am Friedrichspark was destroyed by an air attack on Mannheim. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, it took another four years before the hockey club began playing once again. In the 1951/52 season, Mannheim again had a team to play in a regular team, but it was not very successful. The most successful game in this time was a 10–2 victory against a team of American soldiers based in the Mannheim-area.

DEL era

In 1994, the Mannheimer ERC was a founding member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. While the organization of the MERC still existed, the professional hockey team changed its name to Adler Mannheim and was transformed into an independent legal entity. The old organization MERC still performs in the amateur and junior sectors, including the successful junior team Jungadler Mannheim (young eagles Mannheim) (DNL).

The first two seasons in the DEL ended in playoff quarter finals. But the following season changed everything: The Mannheimer Adler swept through the playoffs. At the minimum number of 9 games, they won the championship in 1997. After also winning the championships in 1998 and 1999, head coach Lance Nethery and several players left the team.

After a disastrous start to the regular 1999–2000 season, the Adler reached the playoffs again, but were beaten in the quarter finals again. After that season, head coach Chris Valentine had to go and was succeeded by Bill Stewart. In 2000/2001, they were back on the road to success with the fourth DEL championship in 5 years.

In their final season at Friedrichspark, Mannheim native Jochen Hecht (Buffalo Sabres), Cristobal Huet (Montreal Canadiens), Yannick Tremblay (Atlanta Thrashers) and Sven Butenschön (New York Islanders) joined the Adler during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The team made it to the finals, but were defeated by the Eisbären Berlin.

The following season was disastrous. In their new home, the SAP Arena, the team was on pos. 10 at the end of the regular season. It was the first time in 26 years the Adler Mannheim did not qualify for the playoffs.

Making several changes in the team roster, the team celebrated its resurrection in the following 2006–07 season. After winning the German Cup, they finished in first place in the regular season and then won their fifth DEL Championship.

In July 2011, Mannheim entered a developmental partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL.[2]

Adler participated in the 2011 NHL Premiere series, losing to the Buffalo Sabres 8–3. The Sabres (who count among its players Mannheim native Jochen Hecht) were very well received in Mannheim, and later that season, a contingent of Adler fans traveled to Buffalo and Toronto to witness games hosted by the Sabres and Maple Leafs.[3][4]

During the 2012 NHL lockout, the Adler Mannheim became a popular team for the lockout-players again. The former Mannheim-players Dennis Seidenberg (Boston Bruins) and Marcel Goc (Florida Panthers) joined the team once more. They were followed by Jason Pominville, captain of the Buffalo Sabres and again Jochen Hecht who was a free agent since his injury in early 2012. Hecht signed a contract (with a NHL-Out paragraph) until 2014, but after the lockout came to an end, he was offered a new, one-year contract by the Buffalo Sabres. After the Sabres contract expired, Hecht announced his intention to return to Mannheim to finish his professional career. On June 19, 2014, Mannheim hired Boston Bruins assistant coach Geoff Ward as their new head coach.

Honors

Champions

Runners-up

Players

Current roster

Updated September 18, 2015.[5]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
7 Germany Sinan Akdag D L 34 2014 Rosenheim, Germany
57 Germany Ronny Arendt (A) RW L 43 2006 Bad Muskau, Germany
52 Germany Dominik Bittner D L 31 2012 Weilheim in Oberbayern, Germany
16 Germany Martin Buchwieser RW/C L 34 2013 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
72 Canada Mathieu Carle D R 36 2015 Buckingham, Quebec, Canada
44 Germany Dennis Endras G L 38 2012 Immenstadt, Germany
24 Germany Christopher Fischer D R 36 2013 Heidelberg, Germany
23 Germany Marcel Goc C L 40 2015 Calw, Germany
77 Germany Nikolai Goc D L 37 2010 Calw, Germany
55 Germany Jochen Hecht (A) C/LW L 46 2013 Mannheim, Germany
18 Germany Kai Hospelt C L 38 2013 Köln, Germany
11 Canada Andrew Joudrey (A) C L 39 2014 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
17 Germany Marcus Kink (C) LW L 39 2004 Düsseldorf, Germany
27 Canada Ryan MacMurchy RW R 40 2015 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
50 Canada Glen Metropolit C R 49 2014 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
93 Germany Brent Raedeke LW L 33 2015 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
29 Germany Denis Reul D R 34 2009 Marktredwitz, Germany
46 United States Jon Rheault RW R 37 2013 Arlington, Texas, USA
19 United States Danny Richmond D L 39 2014 Chicago, Illinois, USA
9 Germany Philip Riefers RW R 34 2015 Krefeld, Germany
49 Canada Jamie Tardif RW R 39 2014 Welland, Ontario, Canada
47 Germany Christoph Ullmann (A) C L 40 2011 Altötting, Germany
14 United States Steve Wagner D L 40 2011 Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA
59 Canada Brandon Yip W R 38 2015 Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
30 Germany Youri Ziffzer G L 37 2014 Singapore, Singapore


Retired numbers

Adler Mannheim retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
2 Werner Lorenz D 1956–1964 November 22, 2012
3 Harold Kreis D 1978–1997
10 Kurt Sepp F 1956–1967 November 23, 2012
12 Bruno Guttowski D 1955–1964 November 23, 2012
15 Marcus Kuhl F 1979–1982
20 René Corbet L 2001–2009 October 4, 2011
25 Stéphane Richer D 1995–2002
80 Robert Müller1 G 2000–2002, 2006–2007 May 22, 2009
  • 1After his death, the Adler Mannheim, the Kölner Haie and the EHC Klostersee retired his #80. At the beginning of the season 2008–09, his number was retired league-wide by the DEL.

Championship teams

  • 1979/80: Erich Weishaupt, Joachim Casper, Harold Kreis, Werner Jahn, Brent Meeke, Bogoslaw Malinowski, Norbert Mundo, Marcus Kuhl, Ron Andruff, Holger Meitinger, Peter Obresa, Manfred Wolf, Dany Djakalovic, Peter Ascherl, Elias Vorlicek, Klaus Mangold, Jürgen Adams, Jörg Etz and Roy Roedger; Heinz Weisenbach (coach).

ERC Mannheimer WildCats

The female contingent of the Mannheimer ERC carries the name "Wild Cats." The most successful period in the WildCats' career was between 1988 and 1994 during which they won three German championships and vice-championships. The Wildcats did not play during the 2005–06 season after four players terminated their contracts. Therefore, they were forced to temporarily withdraw from the league.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Maple Leafs form partnership with German team to improve development - Winnipeg Free Press[dead link]
  3. ↑ Kulyk, Andrew (February 9. 2012). The Mannheim fans land in Buffalo. Artvoice. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ Pignataro, T. J. (February 11, 2012). Across-the-pond hockey. The Buffalo News. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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