Eisbären Berlin

Dietmar Peters while playing for SC Dynamo Berlin.

The sports club SC Dynamo Berlin was part of the SV Dynamo sports association. The SV Dynamo was the nationwide sports association of the Stasi, Volkspolizei, and customs. The sports club offered a wide spectrum of competitive athletic activities, including track and field, football, swimming, gymnastics, fencing, rowing, boxing and ice skating. SC Dynamo Berlin created an ice hockey section in 1954.[2][3] The hockey section had originally begun as an ice hockey section of the SV Deutsche Volkspolizei Berlin sports community in 1950.[3]

SC Dynamo Berlin trained and played its matches in the large Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle in Prenzlauer Berg during its first years. The team won their first East German title in 1966. The league was reduced to just two teams, SC Dynamo Berlin and SG Dynamo Weißwasser, in 1971, which made up the smallest ice hockey league in the world. Altogether, SC Dynamo Berlin won the East German championship 15 times, the last title coming in 1988. In 1984, SC Dynamo Berlin competed at the European Cup of Champions and came in third place.[4]

In 1990, the year of German reunification, both former East German ice hockey clubs, SC Dynamo Berlin and SG Dynamo Weißwasser, which had been renamed PEV Weißwasser, were assigned to the 1. Bundesliga, at the time the highest level of play in German ice hockey. The ice hockey department of SC Dynamo Berlin became independent ice hockey club EHC Dynamo Berlin in the same year. However, Berlin was unable to compete successfully and was consequently relegated to the lower 2. Bundesliga at the end of the season. The club was promoted back to the 1. Bundesliga following the 1991–92 season. It was known that the president of SV Dynamo and the head of the Stasi Erich Mielke had been a warm supporter of ice hockey. EHC Dynamo Berlin had been financed by the East German Ministry of the Interior until the end of 1990.[5] The club tried to distance itself from its East German image, under the leadership of Günter Haake and manager Lorenz Funk.[6] In 1992 the club was renamed again, this time to "EHC Eisbären Berlin" and also introduced the polar bear logo. However, due to severe financial difficulties, the club had to rely heavily on its junior and other low-tier players and thus regularly finished at the bottom of the standings and struggled to avoid relegation to the 2. Bundeliga.[7]

The German Eishockey Bundesliga was abolished following the 1993–94 season and a new league – Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) – was created. The Eisbären are one of the league's 18 founding members. Following the Bosman ruling of 1995, the club replaced almost the entire roster with veteran European players in 1996–97.[8] The team finished the regular season in third place and reached the DEL play-offs for the first time. In 1997 the club was renamed EHC neue Eisbären Berlin gegr. 1997 e.V.[9] The following season, 1997–98, the Eisbären advanced to the final round of the DEL play-offs and finished the season as runner up. The team also participated in the 1998 IIHF Continental Cup in Tampere, Finland, and finished in second place.[8] In 1998–99, Eisbären participated in the European Hockey League and finished in third place.[8]

The Anschutz Entertainment Group acquired sole ownership of the Eisbären in 1999, ensuring financial stability.[8] The team finished in second place at the 2000 IIHF Continental Cup. In 2002–03 and 2003–04 the team finished the DEL regular season in first place, but fell short of capturing the title. At that time, the team had already become hugely popular, selling out 28 of 31 home games during the 2003–04 season[8] In 2005–06 and 2006–07, the Eisbären were the German representative at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.[8]

In 2004–05, a season marked by the 2004–05 NHL lockout, saw the Eisbären capture their first DEL championship. With the help of NHL veterans such as Erik Cole, Nathan Dempsey, and Olaf Kölzig, Berlin beat Mannheim in three games.[8] The title was defended successfully in 2006 against the DEG Metro Stars.[8] Their third DEL championship was captured in 2008, when the Eisbären beat Kölner Haie in the final round of the play-offs. In 2008, the Eisbären hosted the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning in a pre-season game, which the Lightning won 4:1.[10] The fourth DEL title followed in 2009, when the DEG Metro Stars were beaten 3:1 in a best-of-five final play-off round. In 2010, the team won the European Trophy, continuing its success on an international scale. A fifth DEL title was won in 2011, when the Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg were swept in the final round of the play-offs.[11] A sixth title was won in 2012, after a full length best-of-five final against Adler Mannheim, with a seventh coming the next year after a 3:1 series victory over Kölner Haie.[12][13] With their 2013 title, the Eisbären Berlin had won 7 DEL titles, including three straight, making them the DEL championship record holder for several years; Adler Mannheim later tied the record in 2019.

In the 2016–17 league season, the Eisbären Berlin drew an average home attendance of 12,052.[14]

Eisbären ultimately won their eighth DEL championship in 2021, defeating Grizzlys Wolfsburg 2:1 in a best-of-three, and in the process reclaiming the record for most DEL championships.[15]

Updated 20 September 2023.[18]

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
78		Michael Bartuli	F	L	21	2023	Hamburg, Germany
10		Lean Bergmann	C	L	25	2023	Hemer, Germany
2		Rayan Bettahar	D	L	19	2022	Nowy Targ, Poland
89		Zach Boychuk	LW	L	34	2021	Airdrie, Alberta, Canada
23		Blaine Byron	C	L	28	2023	Manotick, Ontario, Canada
28		Patrice Cormier	C	L	33	2023	Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick, Canada
22		Tobias Eder	C	R	25	2023	Tegernsee, Germany
4		Morgan Ellis	D	R	31	2021	Ellerslie, Prince Edward Island, Canada
16		Ben Finkelstein	D	R	26	2023	South Burlington, Vermont, United States
40		Korbinian Geibel	D	L	21	2020	Starnberg, Germany
86		Maximilian Heim	F	L	20	2022	Stuttgart, Germany
30		Jake Hildebrand	G	L	30	2023	Butler, Pennsylvania, United States
77		Eric Hördler	F	L	19	2022	Berlin, Germany
44		Julian Melchiori	D	L	31	2022	Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
12		Erik Mik	D	L	23	2018	Berlin, Germany
18		Jonas Müller	D	L	27	2010	Berlin, Germany
92		Marcel Noebels	C	L	31	2014	Tönisvorst, Germany
8		Marco Nowak	D	R	33	2022	Dresden, Germany
93		Leo Pföderl	RW	R	30	2019	Bad Tölz, Germany
9		Ty Ronning	RW	R	26	2023	Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
1		Jonas Stettmer	G	L	22	2023	Straubing, Germany
95		Frederik Tiffels	LW	L	28	2023	Köln, Germany
38		Yannick Veilleux	LW	L	30	2021	Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec, Canada
21		Manuel Wiederer	RW	R	26	2021	Deggendorf, Germany
6		Kai Wissmann (C)	D	R	27	2023	Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany