New hall and fear of relegation: Bavarian clubs before DEL start

After a five-month break, the German Ice Hockey League is back and will start the new season with the Bavarian Panther duel between Augsburg and Ingolstadt on Thursday evening (from 7:30 p.m. in the live ticker). BR24Sport classifies what can be expected from the Bavarian representatives this season.

Straubing Tigers: With momentum through Europe

The most successful team last season were the Straubing Tigers. As third in the table and play-off semi-finalist (1:4 against champions Berlin), they qualified for the Champions Hockey League (CHL), unlike the previous regular guest EHC Red Bull Munich. The Lower Bavarians made an excellent start on European ice, winning their first two games. This was followed by a defeat and another win, meaning the Tigers are in the middle of the table and have a good chance of reaching the round of 16.

Head coach Tom Pokel’s team will take this momentum into the new DEL season and rely on strong support. Zane McIntyre is coming to the Gäubodenstadt from the NHL, and together with the Lower Bavarian Florian Bugl, who has already played for the national team, he should form a strong goalkeeping team. With further transfers such as Danjo Leonhardt, Tim Fleischer and Elis Hede (all from Nuremberg), the squad has been further strengthened in terms of breadth – and above all in terms of speed. Straunbing’s coach Tom Pokel will continue to speed up the game. And as in previous years, that also means: A place in the top six is ​​again possible.

EHC Red Bull Munich: The star is the home

Like Straubing, EHC Red Bull Munich also failed in the play-off semi-finals last season, losing 1:4 to surprise team Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven. This meant that the Munich team missed its goal of defending the DEL title it had failed to win the year before. This goal now applies again. The Munich team will certainly have a say in the title, but more and more coaches are now putting their competition from Berlin and Mannheim even higher on their list of contenders.

The team has stayed together in terms of personnel – and is therefore ready to win the title again. The Canadian Taro Hirose in particular could help in attack by providing points thanks to his top numbers. The real topic in Munich these days, however, is the new home ground. The EHC will play its home games in the new SAP Garden. The prestigious multi-purpose hall, which is also used by FC Bayern’s basketball players, replaces the venerable Olympic ice sports center at Oberwiesenfeld.

ERC Ingolstadt: Big shopping tour and a top scorer

Last season was not very satisfactory for the Schanzer, finishing ninth. The then runner-up missed out on the CHL. This was one of the reasons why the ERC went on a shopping spree in the summer and signed the American Kenny Agostino, an experienced winger from league rival Düsseldorf. Last season he was the fourth-best scorer in the league and can be described as a top transfer.

Daniel Schmölz from the Nuremberg Ice Tigers is also new to the Danube. Some coaches also have the Panthers back on the title list. The Upper Bavarians want to reach the top six first. Everything else will then be determined by the play-off rules.

Nuremberg Ice Tigers: Is it enough for the pre-playoffs?

The Nuremberg Ice Tigers are going into the season with big question marks, as the club has almost completely reorganized itself in the summer. First of all, the coach is new. Mitch O’Keefe – most recently with Innsbruck in the Champions League – is to moderate the change. He will be supported by a real ice hockey legend. His assistant coach is the former German national player Jochen Hecht, who played almost 900 games in the best league in the world, the NHL.

The squad has also been completely revamped. Schmölz, Leonhardt, Fleischer and Hede have all moved to the Bavarian competition. The responsible parties are sports director Stefan Ustorf and Canadian Owen Headrick, who has moved to Pegnitz. He is supposed to stabilize the defense and has the potential to be a crowd favorite. Nevertheless, the Franconians are likely to face a difficult season and the associated relegation battle.

Augsburger Panther: All bad things come in threes?

After the last season, the Augsburg Panthers were relegated, as they were in 2023. But the Augsburgers always come back during the summer break. Since the second division champion Regensburg had not applied for a license for the DEL, the AEV is allowed to stay in the highest German league.

In order to do better this year, the Swabians have a successful trio off the ice that narrowly missed the championship in 2010. The goalkeeper at the time, Dennis Endras, is now the goalkeeping coach. Duanne Moeser, first assistant coach and team manager. Successful coach Larry Mitchell is now the sporting director. The Augsburg squad under coach Ted Dent looks better than it did last season. With a bit of luck, it could even be enough for the pre-playoffs. But the Swabians should also be satisfied with a worry-free season.