The Deutscher Eishockey-Bund announced on Thursday afternoon in a video conference with the upper league teams in the North and South seasons that the start of the season would be postponed from the 16th/17th. October 2020 to November 6, 2020. The DEB thus takes into account the effects of the pandemic emergency on the upper league clubs, which only see adequate preparation for the upcoming season with this new date given the changed circumstances. In a previously conducted online survey, 75 percent of the upper league teams were in favor of November 6th.
According to the latest political decisions, the conviction is... DEB and among the clubs it is given that the season can be completed with a manageable percentage of spectators. However, the postponement also requires adjustments to the originally announced framework calendar for the highest DEB-Play classes. In the coming days, a new game plan will be coordinated and designed, which will most likely be published in the first full week of October. However, official decisions at the local level regarding the admission of spectators will continue to play a significant role.
DEB-Sports director Stefan Schaidnagel: “The tenor of the political decisions was fundamentally positive and was what we needed to open up the major leagues. Immense importance is now placed on the locally specific consideration. Under these conditions, gaming operations must be carried out and maintained. We have all discussed constructively over the past few weeks and months and in today's meeting we jointly found a feasible path with a changed start date. Now it’s time to work hard towards the start of the season.”