The year 1987 - Supernova 1987A is discovered and is the first supernova visible to the naked eye since 1604. Tennis legend Steffi Graf won her first of 22 Grand Slam titles at the French Open in Paris and reached the lead in the world rankings for the first time on August 24th. Exactly this year, the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund called (DEB) the traditional tournament of Deutschland Cups first came into being in Stuttgart. Since then, it has taken place every year in November in various locations in Germany and invites the most diverse nations to an international showdown. In recent decades, the German men's national team has welcomed guests from Finland, Canada, the USA and even Japan. With the founding of the PENNY DEL (then still known as DEL) in 1994, a "DEL All-Star Team" also took part in the Deutschland Cup in Pforzheim and Neu-Ulm.
But it wasn't just the participants and venues that varied over the course of the tournament's history. The game mode also kept adapting. So in the first two years they started the tournament with three teams, later with four and played in an everyone-against-everyone round Deutschland Cup Winner out. In the 1990s, however, this changed and the nations were divided into two preliminary groups, followed by the final round. They have now returned to the origins of the four-nation tournament and let all teams compete against each other.
After a two-year break, the... DEB in 2000, shortly before the upcoming IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany Deutschland Cup back to prepare for the major international tournament in spring 2001.
From 2005 to 2011, the German men's national team trained under Uwe Krupp, current coach of the PENNY DEL Club Kölner Haie. With him, the German team won the trophy at the traditional tournament in both 2009 and 2010. And already at that time he had Deutschland Cup For the national coach and the sports management, it is of enormous importance in season planning. “In my time as national coach, as now, the tournament allows a mix of younger, promising players and candidates to be invited who have earned a nomination with good seasonal performances. In addition, there may be one or two experienced players who may have missed the last World Cup due to injury and it should not be underestimated that this tournament is the only opportunity for the national coach to test all these players in a tournament situation," he said 57-year-old Cologne head coach upon request. "A good Deutschland Cup can already set the course for the preparation phase of the World Cup. If you play against well-known opponents on an equal footing, it underlines the message of the national coach and supports the process of setting goals for the World Cup. Nothing is better than good results for morale and self-confidence in the troops,” Krupp continues.
His successor Pat Cortina, national coach from 2012 to 2015, also remembers his time during the Deutschland Cups.
“For me it was always a very special tournament. On the one hand it is an international tournament that is played on home ice, on the other hand my first Deutschland Cup took place in Munich, where I was at home for many years,” says Cortina. Of course, such a tight schedule with three games in four days also brings with it hurdles, but the current head coach of SC Riessersee looks back on it fondly. “I remember the joy the players had during the training sessions and team building activities during this week together. The energy we gained from working together helped us overcome the challenges, enjoy them and also be successful. International games are particularly fun because the players always take on a certain amount of honor and responsibility in order to represent ice hockey for their country in the best possible way. For me it was always nice to see how they did Fans of the various clubs came together and cheered on the German national team together. All of this created a very special atmosphere.”
Over the years he made Deutschland Cup not only stopped in Munich, but also made guest appearances in Hanover, Mannheim, Frankfurt, Füssen, Augsburg and, last but not least, Krefeld, the founding place of the DEB.
The German men's national team not only secured itself under Uwe Krupp and Pat Cortina Deutschland Cup the title. The current head coach of the American Hockey League (AHL) team the Ontario Reign, Marco Sturm, was also able to do so right at the beginning of his career DEB-National coach in 2015 and took a place on the podium with his selection. “I will never forget my first action as national coach, where we won the cup with enormous passion and emotion.” It was also he who brought a well-known NHL custom into the German dressing room, in which the players gave their man after the game -of-the-Match and give him a very special “wandering” trophy. Sturm remembers: “Our Xaver Unsinn Pepita hat was taken out of the German Ice Hockey Museum and was used for the first time.” Hats on the national players under Marco Sturm.
In 2021, the German men's national team won the cup for the eighth time under national coach Toni Söderholm. “First and foremost, you have to remember that the players are doing the work. “We coaches are there for the guidelines and the big picture, but the players themselves are the key to success.” DEBnational coach Toni Söderholm. "For me, the last tournament was a great experience, as it was the first time since 2019 that international matches were played on home ice in front of spectators. It was a great atmosphere and it was also nice to reward your own audience at the end by winning the title," continued the 44-year-old Finn. But winning titles is not his top priority. "Ice hockey is an honest sport. If you play well enough, you will win. But it is also important to me that the players and the staff are in an environment where they can be themselves. Everyone comes to the team as they are. Some are a little more disorganized than others, but that is what makes us special."
For the upcoming fifth and last one for now Deutschland Cup Toni Söderholm wants one thing above all in Krefeld: to test young players and give them an opportunity to establish themselves. “There were some players who were there during the World Cup preparations, but not in Finland at the World Cup. These guys are important to us. At the tournament in November we can see how they operate and cope in our game system. Tactically, we won't change too much compared to the World Cup. Of course, we also test things out a bit during such a tournament and play with some ideas. However, the fighting attitude and the pace will always be there. This week is more about adjusting some tactical nuances. The game is the only way to find out where changes are needed in order to prepare our strategy for the World Cup with the potential of the players that we have.”
Even though some things have changed over the years, one thing has always remained the same. “During my time, we had a phase where we in the sporting management had the feeling that we were not at a top international standard in terms of nutrition and fitness level in the squad. An easy-to-implement measure should be that during preparation we wanted to start by skipping the afternoon 'coffee and cake' snack on match day for understandable reasons," recalls former national coach Uwe Krupp. “Game day comes and one player after another came to us to ask where the team's 'coffee and cake' was?! It was clear that this was a must for our players on match day. And if I'm not mistaken, we still have the German 'coffee and cake' snack as an integral part of the game preparation in every daily plan of the national ice hockey team."
This year there will certainly be a snack in between. From November 10th to 13th, the German men's national team will welcome Slovakia, Denmark and Austria Deutschland Cup 2022 in the YAYLA Arena. Day tickets for the tournament are available from 20,00 € at www.deb-online.de/tickets, at the box office of the YAYLA ARENA Krefeld (exclusively Deutschland Cup) as well as at all Eventim ticket offices or by telephone at 01806-992201 (0,20 €/call incl. VAT from the German landline, max. 0,60 €/call incl. VAT from the German mobile network). For families interested in ice hockey DEB This year we are now also offering a family ticket (2 adults + 2 children from €100,00) for the special sporting event. All tickets for the Deutschland Cup entitle you to free use of public transport in price level B in the Krefeld tariff area.