After completion of the approval process, the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) with the fact that twelve clubs of the Oberliga Nord and 14 clubs of the Oberliga Süd are approved for the 2026/2027 season. Therefore, All 26 teams registered for the admission procedure will participate in the upcoming season's matches.While the southern division will compete with the same number of teams as last year, the northern league will be expanded by one team.
Neuwied returns to the Oberliga Nord
In the Oberliga Nord The field of participants from last season will be replaced by the EHC Neuwied supplemented by the reigning champion of the CEHL (Central European Hockey League). The club is not new to the DEB-Oberliga: Neuwied already belonged to the third highest German ice hockey league in the 2015/2016 season.
Three new signings in the south
New to the Oberliga Süd is the ESV Kaufbeuren as the team relegated from the DEL2 and the team promoted from the Regionalliga Baden-Württemberg, the Heilbronn ice hockey club Eisbären eV, whose team is known as Heilbronn Ice Hockey Club Falcons will participate in the competition. The field of participants is completed by the HC Tigers (formerly EC Bregenzerwald), who were most recently active in the Alps Hockey League.
The results of the procedure were communicated in writing to the respective clubs after the review by the admissions committee was completed.
The two seasons of the DEB-Oberliga were composed as follows for the 2026/2027 season:
Oberliga Nord
| Herner EV Miners | Hammer Eisbären |
| Füchse Duisburg | Rostock Piranhas |
| Hannover Indians | TecArt Black Dragons |
| Saale Bulls Hall | Hanover Scorpions |
| Icefighters Leipzig | Tilburg Trappers |
| Herford Ice Dragons | EHC Neuwied |
Oberliga Süd
| Deggendorfer SC | Even wolves |
| EV Lindau Islanders | EHF Passau Black Hawks |
| Erding Gladiators | EV Füssen |
| SC Riessersee | EC Peiting |
| ESV Kaufbeuren | Tölzer Löwen |
| Höchstadter EC | Heilbronn Ice Hockey Club Falcons |
| Stuttgart EC | HC Tigers |
Jonas Schwarzfischer, Head of Game Operations“We are pleased to be able to grant all 26 registered clubs their licenses for the 2026/2027 season. It is particularly gratifying that the Oberliga Nord next season we will be able to start with our target strength of twelve teams again. We warmly welcome our three new players to the team. DEBWelcome to the Oberliga! The composition of the two divisions promises numerous exciting and high-quality matches in the upcoming season. We are convinced that the Fans "We can look forward to attractive ice hockey."
The season kicks off with the opening game between EHC Neuwied and the Duisburg Foxes. Oberliga Nord The new season starts on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. It also begins a day later for the Oberliga Süd the 2026/2027 season: The ESV Kaufbeuren The team will host the Tölzer Löwen on Thursday, September 17th. The remaining matches of the first matchday will be played on Friday, September 18th, 2026.
The full schedule for the upcoming 2026/2027 season will be published soon.