The Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) has today, Saturday, June 13, 2026, its 35th Ordinary General Meeting The meeting was held. Voting members gathered at the Maritim Hotel in Ingolstadt starting at 10:00 a.m. It was the first regular general meeting since the association's structural reform, which introduced a full-time executive board and a six-member supervisory board, came into effect.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dr. Peter Merten The meeting was opened, and the proper convening of the meeting, the voting and representation rights of the members present, and the quorum were confirmed; the members then approved the agenda. In his subsequent report, the chairman of the supervisory board provided insights into the work of the DEB-Supervisory Board. He spoke about the structural adjustments and changes to the articles of association resulting from the new management structure, the appointment of the board members, and the handover from the executive committee to the board. He also outlined the board's key areas of activity. Furthermore, Dr. Peter Merten reported on the work of the Supervisory Board of the 2027 Ice Hockey World Championship Organizing Company.
DEB-Board presents key topics
The board reports began with Chairman of the Board Frank H. LutzHe characterized the meeting as the first following the structural reform, which for the first time saw two full-time executive board members managing the association's affairs. He also described the association's understanding of professionalization: clear responsibilities between the executive board and the supervisory board, and a focus on the sport itself. He then provided an overview of completed and ongoing projects. These included refereeing, club support, the restructuring of IT, cooperation agreements with the PENNY DEL and DEL2, and the modernization of the statutes and regulations. Looking ahead to major international events, he reported on preparations for the 2027 World Championship, which will be held in Germany, and on the awarding of the 2028 IIHF U18 World Championship to Landshut and Füssen. Finally, Lutz presented an overview of the 2024 and 2025 financial statements and the budget estimates for the years 2026 to 2028.
Christian Künast (Board Member for Sport) He reported on the sporting developments, reviewing the national teams' past seasons. As a consequence of the analysis of the 2026 World Championship, he pointed to the departure of national coach Harold Kreis and the restructuring with a view to the home World Championship in 2027. He identified the following as key priorities for the coming years: expanding personnel in elite sports, further developing the 5-Star Program, digitizing coaching practices, and closer collaboration with state and club coaches. He placed particular emphasis on women's ice hockey and the future strategy. DEB 2034 with the planned reform of the Young Talent Leagues, the strengthening of education and training, and the DEB-Academy. As a request from the members that had already been implemented, he cited the training allowance introduced on June 1, 2026.
Outlook: The 2027 World Cup as the highlight
In addition, they reported Claus Gröbner from the 2027 Ice Hockey World Championship Organizing Company (mbH) on the status of preparations for the home World Championship 2027. He provided insights into the next milestones that are due in the coming weeks and months.
The general meeting then addressed the remaining items on the agenda. These included the approval of the budget, the discharge of the members of the supervisory board and the executive board, motions to amend the statutes and the referee, fee, and game regulations, as well as other motions. This was followed by the election of the election committee and the elections for the match disciplinary committee and the control committee. The meeting concluded with "Miscellaneous."