German ice hockey had little to cheer about in the Champions Hockey League over the first three seasons. But this year’s performances have given the DEL reason to smile again.
This season saw Adler Mannheim and Red Bull Munich both qualify as group winners to the next round.
“We’re very happy about this, because in the end success on the ice grows the media attention, and both teams have helped the pride of our league which was a bit down previous seasons in the CHL,” said DEL Chief Executive Gernot Tripcke. “We’ve seen a winning streak against the Swedish, Slovak and Polish champions as well as against top Finnish and Czech teams, and it all helps to promote our league both in Germany and abroad. The media attention and TV ratings have picked up, and even though Wolfsburg didn’t make it they came very close and had good results despite having a lot of injury trouble.”
Before this season, only Eisbären Berlin had ever made it into the CHL’s Round of 16, leaving one of Europe’s top leagues without representation in the playoff round of the continent’s top competition.
“We had some teams that qualified as founding teams, or that had a good season and then in the CHL the following year a bad one. With six teams in it, maybe the quality wasn't that optimal sometimes,” admitted Tripcke, who has been in his position since 2000. “In Germany, teams used to start preparation on 1 August – now they’ve learnt to begin earlier. Plus, with the new format, we have only our strongest teams qualifying, which helps.”
Teams from Sweden and Switzerland will visit Germany in the Round of 16. How does the league’s chief executive see it going?
“It’ll be tough, they’re both very strong franchises. We’re very excited though, Mannheim has some players out but they’ve done very well so far and the coach is really after the CHL. Plus of course we also have the German-Swiss rivalry too,” said Tripcke, alluding to the Red Bull Munich – SC Bern matchup.
“Representing Germany in Europe gets more national media coverage than the normal 52 DEL gamedays”Gernot Tripcke (DEL Chief Executive)
Looking at the DEL nationally, the CHL adds to the end of regular season drama.
“It makes the race for CHL spots interesting, as it gives teams an extra incentive to qualify – especially now the league is getting more media attention and becoming better commercially,” explains Tripcke. “It’s a European tournament in which they represent Germany, so it gets more nationwide media coverage than the normal 52 DEL gamedays. This way we’re seeing more casual fans, not just the die-hard hockey ones, getting interested. It’s a process. In football, it took a long time but we’re on the right track now with the new format.”
Tripcke concluded: “We also have to make sure we keep the stadium experience, though. People have lots of activities to choose in their free time, so it’s the biggest challenge for all sports and leagues to keep the experience good for full arenas, while also keeping the die-hard fans happy, too.”