Adler Mannheim

Adler Mannheim
City Mannheim, Germany
League Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Founded 1938
Home arena SAP Arena
(capacity: 13,600)
Colours               
Head coach Pavel Gross
Captain Marcus Kink
Website adler-mannheim.de
Franchise history
Adler Mannheim

The Adler Mannheim ('Mannheim Eagles', formerly Mannheimer ERC) are 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.[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 nine 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 five 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 at position 10 at the end of the regular season. It was the first time in 26 years that 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. Under Ward's guidance, the Adler squad won the 2015 German championship. Ward returned to the NHL after the 2014-15 season[5] and was replaced by Greg Ireland. Ireland was sacked in February 2016,[6] Craig Woodcroft, who had joined the Adler coaching staff in 2014,[7] was promoted to head coach.[8] Woodcroft failed to guide the Adler squad to the playoffs and left after the 2015-16 season. In May 2016, Sean Simpson was named new head coach.[9]

In the 2016-17 DEL season, the Adler Mannheim drew an average home attendance of 10,812.[10] On December 4, 2017, GM Teal Fowler, head coach Simpson and assistant coach Colin Muller were sacked due to unsatisfactory results. Bill Stewart, who had guided the club to the 2001 DEL title, took over the head coaching job.[11]

Honours

Champions

Runners-up

Players

Current roster

Updated August 20, 2018.[12]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
90 Canada Luke Adam C L 28 2016 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
7 Germany Sinan Akdag D L 28 2014 Rosenheim, Germany
8 Germany Tim Bernhardt LW L 21 2018 Mannheim, Germany
84 Canada Andrew Desjardins LW L 32 2017 Lively, Ontario, Canada
16 Germany Markus Eisenschmid C R 23 2018 Marktoberdorf, Germany
44 Germany Dennis Endras G L 33 2012 Immenstadt, Germany
14 Germany Garrett Festerling C R 32 2016 Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada
23 Germany Marcel Goc C L 35 2015 Calw, Germany
61 Finland Tommi Huhtala LW L 30 2018 Tampere, Finland
94 Germany Phil Hungerecker F L 24 2017 Lüneburg, Germany
95 Canada Mark Katic D L 29 2018 Timmins, Ontario, Canada
17 Germany Marcus Kink (C) LW L 33 2004 Düsseldorf, Germany
42 United States Chad Kolarik RW R 32 2016 Abington, Pennsylvania, United States
21 Germany Nico Krämmer LW L 25 2018 Landshut, Germany
63 Italy Alex Lambacher RW R 22 2016 Bressanone, Italy
32 Germany Cody Lampl D R 32 2018 Ketchum, Idaho, Germany
37 Italy Thomas Larkin D R 27 2017 London, England, Great Britain
6 Finland Joonas Lehtivuori D L 30 2018 Pirkkala, Finland
27 Canada Brendan Mikkelson D L 31 2018 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
11 Germany Janik Möser D L 23 2018 Mannheim, Germany
30 Germany Mirko Pantkowski G L 20 2016 Kassel, Germany
34 Canada Chet Pickard G L 28 2017 Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
22 Germany Matthias Plachta LW L 27 2016 Freiburg, Germany
36 Germany Pierre Preto F L 19 2017 Speyer, Germany
9 Germany Brent Raedeke LW L 28 2015 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
29 Germany Denis Reul D R 29 2009 Marktredwitz, Germany
53 Germany Moritz Seider D R 17 2017 Zell, Germany
28 Germany Samuel Soramies F L 20 2018 Heidelberg, Germany
18 United States Ben Smith RW R 30 2018 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
89 Germany David Wolf W L 29 2016 Düsseldorf, Germany

Retired numbers

Adler Mannheim retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
2Werner LorenzD1956–1964November 22, 2012
3Harold KreisD1978–1997
10Kurt SeppF1956–1967November 23, 2012
12Bruno GuttowskiD1955–1964November 23, 2012
15Marcus KuhlF1979–1982
20René CorbetL2001–2009October 4, 2011
25Stéphane RicherD1995–2002
80Robert Müller1G2000–2002, 2006–2007May 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

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. ↑ Galvin, Tom (2004-12-03). "Mannheim-Major Industrial City on the Neckar" (in German). Tomgalvin.com. Retrieved 2006-03-11.
  2. ↑ Maple Leafs form partnership with German team to improve development - Winnipeg Free Press
  3. ↑ Kulyk, Andrew (February 9. 2012). The Mannheim fans land in Buffalo Archived March 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.. Artvoice. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ Pignataro, T. J. (February 11, 2012). Across-the-pond hockey Archived February 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.. The Buffalo News. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Fluto Shinzawa | Sunday Hockey Notes: After a year in Germany, Geoff Ward makes his return to NHL coaching ranks - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  6. ↑ ONLINE, RP. "DEL: Meister Mannheim trennt sich von Trainer Ireland". RP ONLINE. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  7. ↑ Stefan, Diepold. "Craig Woodcroft". www.eishockey-online.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  8. ↑ "ADLER Mannheim". www.adler-mannheim.de. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Sean Simpson is the new coach of the Adler Mannheim | Archy De". Archy De. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  10. ↑ IIHF. "Attendance 2016-2017". www.iihf.com. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Adler trennen sich von Teal Fowler, Sean Simpson und Colin Müller". www.adler-mannheim.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  12. ↑ "Adler Mannheim Mannschaft" (in German). Adler Mannheim. 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
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