Eisbären Berlin has its roots as a successful East German club during a divided Germany. Since re-unification, the club has re-invented itself and gone on to win more DEL titles than anybody else since the league's creation in 1994.

by Oliver Koch

Eisbären Berlin descended from the former sports club of the East German police, Dynamo, which was founded in 1954. From 1970 until 1990, Dynamo Berlin and Dynamo Weisswasser established the smallest ice hockey league in the world without any other opponents. During this period of time, Dynamo Berlin were able to win the East German championship 15 times.

Following the political changes after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dynamo was accepted by the former West-German-based professional league, the DEB, and was allowed to start in the German Bundesliga.

In 1992 Dynamo Berlin was renamed EHC Eisbären Berlin. Many supporters, however, did not like the new name, even though Eisbären is the German word for polar bears and is considered as an allusion to the Berlin bear, which apperars on the city's coat of arms.

Following the Bosman ruling in 1995, which banned restrictions on foreign EU players within the EU, Die Eisbären became the first DEL team to embrace the opportunities it created and turned over almost the entire roster immediately.

Significance in Germany

In light of the many successful years in the recent past, Die Eisbären have built a huge fanbase in Germany. Furthermore, they have a high amount of supporters from the former East Germany, who have decided to support the only former East German club in the top German league.

After winning the trophy in the East German League 15 times, Die Eisbären have had their share of success in the new Deutsche Eishockey Liga as well. As of 2014 they have won seven league titles, which is more than any other club since the DEL was formed in 1994. Additionally, they were able to win the European Trophy in 2010, the only German team to do so up to this point.

Eisbären Berlin played from 1963 until 2008 in Hohenschönhausen, a small district in the eastern part of Berlin, in an arena called Wellblechpalast. Since 2008, they have played in a large multi-purpose arena in the heart of the city called Mercedes-Benz Arena.

International reputation

Eisbären Berlin are a renowned club with an outstanding international history. In 1999 they finished in third place in the final tournament of the European Hockey League in Moscow. They've also played in the IIHF Eurocup and in the Continental Cup as well. After winning their first two national championships they were invited to play in the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. They also competed in the original Champions Hockey League in 2008–09, won the European Trophy in 2010, and were founding members of the new CHL in 2014, advancing to the Round of 16 in 2015–16.

Besides playing in many international tournaments, Die Eisbären have received international recognition for many of their star players. The most popular is probably Stefan Ustorf, longtime captain of the German national team, as well as Sven Felski, who played a huge role on the national stage, too.

Many former Eisbären players have come from other countries. The most famous being Andrew McKim, Jiří Dopita, Thomas Steen and Marc Beaufait. During the NHL lockout of 2012, NHL stars Claude Giroux und Danny Brière played for Eisbären.

Eisbären's general manager is currently Peter John Lee, a former NHL player for the Pittsburgh Penguins and also popular in Germany for being a high-scoring forward in Düsseldorf. He ended his career as a player with Eisbären in 1997 and started off as an assistant coach and then head coach in Berlin. In 2005, after the club's first championship, he was promoted to general manager, and the team has won another six national championships since then.

Team facts

CHL seasons

2015–16: 2nd in Group P, Round of 16
2014–15: 4th in Group D

Click here for current information about the club.

NOTE: This article has been updated since its original publication.