On Wednesday, March 18th, and Thursday, March 19th, 2026, the event took place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. National Coaches Conference of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) took place. The two-day meeting was attended by the DEB-National coach, other personnel from the competitive sports sector as well as the two board members Frank H. Lutz and Christian Künast participated.
The participants consulted with the association's leadership on key sporting and structural issues. DEBChairman Frank H. Lutz spoke about the association's strategic goals and provided insights into the areas of finance and administration, as well as his leadership philosophy. As another item on the agenda, Christian Künast (Board Member for Sport) presented the planning for upcoming international tournaments with regard to staffing and organizational preparations. He also provided information on the association's structural orientation in the area of competitive sports.
The ice hockey-specific analysis of the 2026 Olympic Games was also a focus. In order to draw targeted conclusions for future training and tournament design, the findings from the competition in Milan were presented, evaluated, and discussed.
In addition to the aforementioned key areas, the following conceptual topics were addressed at the national coaches' conference:
- Five-star program: Updating and further developing the DEB-Young Talent and Performance Program to ensure sustainable talent development.
- Blossom-ic DFEL: necessary steps for further professionalization of the league.
- Development of a modern ice hockey player: Discussion of current requirement profiles and training content.
- DEB-Academy: a central instrument for the development and qualification of trainers.
Christian Kunast, Sports Board of the DEBRegarding the outcome of the national coaches' conference: "We have two days of intensive exchange and open discussions behind us. Together we analyzed, discussed, and set the course for the coming weeks and months. This has produced valuable results that each of us will take with us into our daily work."