Kölner Haie

Kölner Haie
Nickname	Sharks
City	Cologne, Germany
League	Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Founded	1972; 53 years ago (1972)
Home arena	Lanxess Arena (capacity: 18,500)
Colours
Owner(s)	Frank Gotthardt
General manager	Philipp Walter
Head coach	Kari Jalonen
Captain	Moritz Müller
Website	haie.de
Franchise history
1972–1995	Kölner EC
1995–present	Kölner Haie
Championships
Playoff championships	8 (1977, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1995, 2002)
Current season

The Kölner Haie (English: Cologne Sharks) are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany, that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.

The Kölner Haie play their home games in the DEL and the German Cup (DEB-Pokal) at the Lanxess Arena, which opened in 1998, located in the district Deutz. With room for 18,500 spectators, Lanxess Arena is amongst the biggest multi-functional arenas in Europe, and the Kölner Haie have the second highest average attendance in European ice hockey behind Swiss team SC Bern. Previously, the Kölner Haie played their home games at the Eisstadion an der Lentstraße. A strong local rivalry exists between the Kölner Haie and the Düsseldorfer EG, of neighboring Düsseldorf. Games between the two teams often sell out.

In summer 1972, the hockey department of the Kölner EK (KEK), which made hockey in Cologne possible in different lower classes since 1936, separated from the parent association. The members sought to play as an independent hockey association, due to the freedom of choice and better financial possibilities. On 10 August 1972, the independence of the hockey department was established, and Peter Rentergent was appointed the president of the new Kölner Eishockey Club (KEC).

The KEC remained associated with KEK, but as an independent department, and the team began play directly in the second division, then called the Oberliga. The KEK was a member of the German Ice Hockey Federation, granting them access to this division. The new association was to be called Kölner EC – but to no avail, however, because of the resemblance to the Kölner EK name. Hence, the addition "Sharks" was added to the logo, and years later, the association name. In the first logo, artist and team goaltender Dieter Horký sketched the shark logo. Today, the shark is the unmistakable brand image of the club, and since 1995, officially part of the club name.^[1]

The team found immediate success in their first season, 1972-73. With top players like Detlef Langemann, Wilhelm Hospelt, and player-manager Günter Peter, the team dominated opponents en route to winning the Oberliga, while being coached by Ondrej Bendik. Kölner EC quickly rose to compete in the Eishockey-Bundesliga, Germany's top hockey league, in their 2nd season. In their first Bundesliga season, 1973-74, there was a fair number of problems in and around the team. These problems compounded when captain Sigbert Stotz was forced to retire due to an injury, furthering problems within the board of directors. Team manager Peter, plagued with financial troubles, fled the city, and the team ultimately finished the season in 8th place out of 10. In the off-season, KEC fired head coach Jiri Hanzl, and rehired Ondrej Bendík to the team. The 1974-75 season saw a jump in performance by KEC; while only finishing one spot higher in the final standings, 7th, the team was closer to a .500 winning percentage. 1975-76 saw sparks fly in the Sharks front office. At the beginning of the season in 1976, team president Rentergent submitted his resignation after he'd come under fire due to supposed payments to KEC's amateur players. To add to this, in the middle of the season, head coach Bendík was dismissed because of persistent failure – the team's attendance strongly decreased, leading to a financial deficit for KEC.^[2][3]

Despite the financial issues following the Sharks, they made a splash with a big transfer. New team president Jochem Erlemann welcomed in Gerhard Kiessling as head coach, with his son Udo joining on defense. However, the purchase of Erich Kühnhackl of EV Landshut for the record transfer fee at that time of more than 600,000 DM was even more spectacular. Strangely included in the obligation: multiple times, Jochem Erlemann had sent employees with money to Landshut to negotiate with Kühnhackl which was ulitmately unsuccessful. The star player still changed sides to Cologne in the end. However, even as KEC established itself in the top flight of the league, tax additional payments and debts emerged at the rate of more than two million DM. Only by immediately initiated consolidation measures did the association president succeed in avoiding bankruptcy and in maintaining the direction of the club. Thus the Sharks in March 1977 were able to win their first championship, beating the former champions Eisbären Berlin, as well as the Rhenish rivals from Düsseldorfer EG and Krefeld Pinguine in the championship round.^[4]

After KEC did not manage to defend their title the next season, the president signed many new players; among them, Miroslav Sikora who would remain for the following 20 years as a player and manager in Cologne. Also, Gerhard Kiessling, head coach in 1977, returned to the Sharks, after he had been dismissed immediately after the first championship unexpectedly. The Sharks managed in the next season their second championship win, which was overshadowed, nevertheless, by the resignation of the president. Heinz Landen was appointed as successor to Jochem Erlemann, while Clemens Vedder became the treasurer.^[5]

The next several seasons brought a period of mediocrity as well as the financial consolidation of the club. In the 1980/81 season KEC became because entangled in a passport forgery scandal involving applications of Canadian and American players to be registered as German players, and thus were moved into the relegation round. Moreover, on 9 March 1981 KEC was involved in a mass brawl in a Bundesliga match against VfL Bad Nauheim. The referees issued, including match punishments, play duration punishments and disciplinary punishments, a total of 166 penalty minutes.^[6]

Through 1983 the club formed an efficient team with young, ambitious players, such as Miroslav Sikora, Gerd Truntschka, Uwe Krupp and Helmut de Raaf, as well as experienced players like Udo Kiessling and Uli Hiemer.

With Jozef Golonka, an experienced trainer was found, who led the team to the finale of the playoff round where KEC faced EV Landshut. The sharks defeated Landshut with a 5-0 score in the fifth and determining match, celebrating another German championship.^[7]

A year later the Sharks begun once more as favorites but had to be content with third place in the end. Due to injury the club lined up in the semi-final against Mannheim ERC with only eleven healthy players. The season, nevertheless, was overshadowed by the penalty against Mannheim's Roy Roedger, who highsticked the KEC forward Steve McNeill in the right eye area. Only thanks to several operations, was part of McNeill's vision saved. Roedger was suspended several matche and was ordered to make a compensation payment of 200,000 DM. Moreover, the Shark forward Peter Schiller provided a sensational moment, when in the European Cup play against Bolzano HC which KEC won 6-1, went from boredom with the puck behind own gate and made push-ups.^[8]

The 1985/86 season, the first time in which the former Shark player Hardy Nilsson stood as a coach on the Cologne bench, became one of the most successful eras in KEC history. From the beginning, the team dominated the league and went as a heavy favourite into the playoffs. There they lost only one match, winning the deciding final match against Düsseldorf EC with a 3-0 score to celebrate a championship once more. Before that the club had already finished second in the European Cup. However, the season was also marked by tragedy for the Sharks: 19-year-old Ralph Philipp, nephew of the long-standing KEC forward Rainer Philipp, died in a car accident. Since then the jersey number 8 which the young prospect had inherited from his uncle any more has been taken out of use.^[9]

In the 1986/87 season KEC, for the first time since the introduction of the playoffs, succeeded with defending its title. In the playoffs where they entered in the qualifying round, the Sharks went undefeated, and beat Schwenningen, DEG and Mannheim in three matches in each case. Before the season, Clemens Vedder had stepped down as treasurer for personal reasons.^[10] A year later, the Sharks made it three championship wins in a row when they won the fifth determining match 4-1 in the against Rosenheim. With this, they defeated the team placed ahead of it in the qualifying round. At the beginning of the playoffs, KEC set a record unequalled to this day: including three victories each against Frankfurt and Mannheim, the team won 20 playoff matches in a row.^[11]

After three straight titles, the Sharks were seen as favorites in the 1988/89 season. After claiming the vice title in the European Cup, nevertheless, the team from Cologne exited in the championship semi-final against DEG. The Sharks traded goalkeepers with DEG before the season (Joseph "Peppi" Heiss in exchange for Helmut de Raaf), besides, during the season the changes were announced by Dieter Hegen and Gerd Truntschka to the Rhine rival. In the 1989/90 season everything seemed to point again to another duel between the Rhenish rivals. The Sharks clinched at the end of the qualifying round second place behind DEG. KEC lost in the semi-final against Rosenheim. What remained was a record existing still today: nine wins in succession.

In the following season not everything went as hoped with the Sharks. In 1990/91 the team dealt with many injuries, however, the qualification for the playoffs still resulted in them being a front runner. They earned victories against Hedos München and BSC Preussen to reach the finale against DEG. KEC was defeated in the determining fifth match with an 0-4 score. In 1991/92, when the 19-year-old Jozef Stümpel began his international career, riots in the city were the beginning of further problems. The anticipated replacement of the ice arena was rejected first by the city. Shortly after the start of the season, NHL forward Ray Whitney barely spent any time with the Sharks before returning to North America. After a difficult start to the season, coach Nilsson came under fire and after the elimination in the quarterfinal against Mannheim, a power struggle began behind the scenes which culminated in resignations of several board members.^[12]

In the 1992/93 season the Kölner Haie again experienced financial bottlenecks. In spite of some departures of players, the team reached second place after the qualifying round. In the playoffs, KEC asserted himself first against Kaufbeuren (3-0) and Mannheim (3-1), before another matchup with DEG in the finals. In one of the most exciting final series of Bundesliga history, the determining fifth game was won by DEG in Brehmstrasse in Düsseldorf by a 2-1 score in overtime.

The financial problems of the Sharks worsened when the team president Landing suffered a heart attack shortly after end of the season and fell into a coma. The vice president who had been appointed shortly before became responsible for nearly seven million DM of debt; player's salaries were only partially paid at this point. Landing announced his resignation at the end of the 1993/94 season. Bernd Schäfer became interim president of the club. In spite of the troubles with the board of directors KEC qualified fifth for the playoffs, where it was defeated in the semi-final by the eventual champions Hedos München.^[13]

After the foundation of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), in which clubs might also organise as corporations (GmbHs), Heinz Hermann Göttsch assumed the title of principal partner and chairman of the board of the new Cologne hockey association, "The Sharks" Ltd. By extensive consolidation measures and generous donations from the fan associations, the Sharks succeeded in bringing some top-calibre professionals to the Rhine. After another disappointing qualifying round which KEC finished in sixth place, the team stepped up its play in the playoffs to shut down Kaufbeuren, Mannheim and BSC Preussen Berlin. Finally, in the final series KEC defeated eV Landshut in the determining fifth game 4-0, celebrating its first-ever DEL title.^[14]

In 1995/96, the club, after finishing first after the qualifying round, reached the finale once more where it once again met against DEG. However, after the first match KEC could not achieve another victory, finishing as runners-up. The Sharks reached the final in the European Cup, losing against Jokerit Helsinki only after penalty shots in December 1995. A year later, the team had strongly been changed by the Bosman decision, being less successful in the new European Hockey League (EHL) with a defeat in the group phase. In the DEL Playoffs the team faced off against Landshut. This time, the Bavarians won the quarter0final series in four games.

The two teams met again a year later in the quarterfinal. Nevertheless, the Sharks, after a streaky qualifying round with a lot of restlessness in the team and in the city, were swept by Landshutin the series. The next season, the Sharks moved in October 1998 to the just-finished LANXESS (till 2008 "Kölnarena") arena; but even with the new home, there were many problems with the KEC from the beginning. As with the year before, players were dismissed shortly after the start of the season, the team's structure was problematic, and the achievements of the team stagnated. Only when coach Lahtinen, assistant coach Helland and manager Miro Sikora were replaced, and future NHL coach Andy Murray was hired, was there more stability for the organisation and on the team. In the playoffs, the Sharks eliminated the Lions after five games in the quarterfinal against Frankfurt.^[15]

In the 1999/2000 season the Sharks, according to many experts, was regarded as one of the best ones of recent years in German hockey. Everything went as desired at first: in December the team reached first place, and became the first German team after 35 years to win top position for the Spengler Cup in Davos. After the qualifying playoffs round, they beat the Augsburg Panthers and Berlin Capitals without a loss. However, in the finale against the Munich Barons the Sharks lost the next three matches after winning the first one, handing the Barons the title. A year later, Hannover played a significant role in affecting the direction of the Sharks: In January Bob Leslie was removed for the second time as head coach after a defeat against the Scorpions, by Lance Nethery. On one of the last games of the season, KEC qualified for the playoffs with a victory against Hannover, after being threatened with missing them for the first time. In the playoffs KEC lost in the quarterfinal against Scorpions in three games.

The Sharks played a weak qualifying round again in the 2001/02 season. During the 30-year-old association anniversary season, the Sharks again made a run to the finals. There the Sharks met the Krefeld Penguins, sweeping them in three matches. In the semi-final KEC defeated the Munich Barons in five matches. It took five more matches to decide the finale against the Mannheim Eagles. KEC won the title 2-1 with goals from Alex Hicks and Dwayne Norris, gaining its eighth German championship. The coaching tenure of Hans Zach began ^[16] with a title defence for Cologne. Before the start of the season, the national team coach was hired after Rich Chernomaz, in spite of the championship title just won, was not guaranteed a future in Cologne. The Sharks already were convincing in the qualifying round which they finished after a final burst to finish the season (20 undefeated games after regulation time) in second place. This time, after beating Kassel and Mannheim KEC reached the finals once more, against their Rhenish rivals from Krefeld. After the team had lost the first two games, the team battled back to force the determining fifth game in the Cologne arena in which, nevertheless, Krefeld defeated the Sharks 3-1. Besides the runner-up finish, Cologne reached the finale of the DEB Cup which they lost, however, against Mannheim.

After the successful previous years, the Sharks were again seen as the favorites for the DEL title in 2003/04. After the cup victory in 2004 against Kassel and reaching fourth place after the qualifying round, one expected a lot from KEC. However, due to many injuries in the course of the season, the afflicted Sharks could not recover in the quarterfinal series against the Frankfurt Lions, falling to the eventual German champions. Many highlights from the season still remained, with the new club record of 6,500 season ticket sales as well as the foundation of the Alex Hicks initiative by the Shark forward. A year later, Rodion Pauels had become a sports co-ordinator for the Sharks. After another season with many long-term injured players, the Sharks reached fourth place. In the playoffs the Sharks came up against a ERC Ingolstadt team reinforced by NHL players due to their league lockout; in the determining seventh game they suffered a 2-5 loss in the Cologne arena.

The 2005/06 season marked ten years for KEC making an appearance in the playoffs. After the Sharks had finished the qualifying round in fifth place and beat the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in only four games, the semi-final series followed against DEG. In the fourth game, the Sharks led shortly before the end of regulation, when Bill Lindsay scored to ensure overtime, where he also scored the winning goal. Nevertheless, in the determining game on Brehmerstrasse, the Sharks were defeated 3-5, exiting in the semi-final.^[17]

In the 2006/07 season KEC reached the semi-final round. In the first year under new coach Doug Mason, Cologne experienced various highs and lows, finishing the qualifying round in fifth place, marking 26 straight years that it had made the playoffs. In the cup finale the Sharks, like in 2003, lost to Mannheim in overtime. Cologne did win the quarterfinal against Ingolstadt who finished ahead of them after the qualifying round, but were defeated in the semi-final against the eventual champions Mannheim. During the following season, there was a significant goaltending change with the Sharks: Travis Scott – up to that point statistically the best goaltender in the league – received a highly lucrative offer from a Russian club and transferred there within days. Cologne signed the German national goaltender Robert Müller from Mannheim. This led KEC to the finale where they were defeated, however, by Berlin in a 1-3 series. Before this, the Sharks had defeated defending champions Mannheim in the quarterfinal, as well as the Frankfurt Lions in the semi-final. In the third game of the series against Mannheim, both teams nearly set a new world record. Only after 168 minutes of play did Philip Gogulla succeed in scoring the winning goal in the sixth overtime period.^[18]

During the summer break in 2008 there was some restlessness with KEC; forward Ivan Čiernik signed in the KHL with HK Sibir Nowosibirsk, supposedly because he had been criticised by coach Doug Mason. To replace Čiernik, ex-NHL player Mike Johnson, whose contract was previously terminated in December 2008, was resigned thanks to his connection with Shark and former NHL teammate Todd Warriner. After seven straight losses to start the season – the worst start in club history – coach Doug Mason was dismissed. To replace Mason, management hired former assistant coach Clayton Beddoes.^[19] In December 2008 the Sharks parted ways with Beddoes and the promising coach Rupert Meister was brought on as an interim coach until the end of the season. Nevertheless, the team did not reach the playoffs in 2008/09, the first time in 28 years. On account of the weak performance and the global economic crisis the Sharks found themselves in severe financial difficulties. KEC faced further controversy when it applied for short-term unemployment assistance funds for its office employees in the spring of 2009.^[20] Only by the engagement of new companions the insolvency procedure could be prevented.

On 21 May 2009 the Sharks announced goaltender Robert Müller had died of cancer. As a result, Müller's number 80 was retired with the Sharks. After the Sharks fell in the qualifying round of the playoffs in 2009/10 and lost a large number of players, head coach Igor Pawlow and assistant Rupert Meister were released on 2 December 2009 from their duties. They were replaced by Bill Stewart and ex-Shark player Niklas Sundblad. Nevertheless, during the season it was not clear whether the Sharks could continue play for the rest of the season on account of continued deterioration of the club's financial situation. After there was no application for insolvency for the time being, the club reached the first playoff round, losing to Ingolstadt ERC.

With the worsening financial problems, the summer break in 2010 became a test of patience for Cologne fans. Alleingesellschafter Heinz Hermann Göttsch had got out.^[21] He had pumped more than 17 years 30 million euros into the association.^[22] Nearly every day, announcements in the press about a forthcoming "path to the district court" or failed negotiations with potential new sponsors circulated. After the LanxessArena proposed negotiating a new contract with the club,^[23] Thomas Eichin could announce on 31 May that the club submitted a licence application to the DEL. However, things were far from resolved, because a finance gap of about one million euros remained, to be satisfied within the five-day extension put forth by the DEL.^[24] On 8 June 2010, finally, there came the releasing announcement: „Future of the sharks securely!" ^[25] The management succeeded in bringing together a group of private investors to save the club.

In November 2010 KEC sat at the bottom of the standings again, and dismissed Stewart. Niklas Sundblad was temporarily promoted to the head coach post, and new assistant Jan Broer joined Eichin on the bench. National team coach Uwe Krupp was signed to become head coach and sporting manager for the 2011/2012 season. The Sharks reached the playoffs with a 1-0 victory in Iserlohn on the next-to-last day of the regular season. Nevertheless, after two victories against the promoted team EHC München, the team lost all three games in its series against the Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg in the quarterfinals. The next year, the Sharks survived with a lineup with only five foreign players, however, it made it out of the qualifying round with two victories against Augsburg, but was eliminated without a win in the quarterfinals against the eventual champions Berlin.

On 8 November 2012, an all-star game with many former players was played in celebration of the 40th anniversary of KEC. The team of Hardy Nilsson, "Kölsche of Sharks", won 8-4 against the "Kölsche of Volcanoes" coached by Hans Zach.

The Sharks finished second in the standings in 2012/2013. After success against Straubing (4-1) and Wolfsburg (3-0) it was defeated in the finale by the Eisbären Berlin in a 1-3 series. In the following season, 2013/2014, the Sharks finished fifth in the standings. After victories in the quarterfinals and semi-finals they lost in the finals in a 3-4 series against ERC Ingolstadt.

On Wednesday, 3 October 2018, the Sharks played a friendly exhibition game against the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League which they lost by a score of 4–3 in overtime.

The ice and swimming stadium Eisstadion an der Lentstraße was Kölner EK's first home in Cologne. The stadium was built in 1936 and home to the Ice Hockey World Championship in 1955. The capacity of 7,200 seats put it in the upper third of DEL arena size.

In 1998 the Kölner Haie moved into the Lanxess Arena. Close to the Lanxess Arena, the Kölner Haie built facilities for a hockey training center and their headquarters.

In brackets are listed the league and playoff games.

Deutsche Eishockey Liga

• Winners: 1977, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1995, 2002
• Runners-up: 1991, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2014

Deutscher Eishockey-Pokal

• Winners: 2004

European Cup

• Runners-up: 1985, 1996
• 3rd place: 1989

Spengler Cup

• Winners: 1999

Tatra Cup

• Winners: 2011

• See also: Category:Kölner Haie players

Updated 28 September 2024.

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
53		Adam Almqvist	D	L	34	2024	Jönköping, Sweden
45		Tobias Ancicka	G	L	24	2023	Heilbronn, Germany
35		Július Hudáček	G	R	36	2024	Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia
15		Louis-Marc Aubry	C	L	33	2022	Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
57		Brady Austin	D	L	31	2022	Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada
7		Nick Bailen	D	R	35	2022	Fredonia, New York, United States
5		Robin van Calster	C	L	22	2021	Bonheiden, Germany
18		Josh Currie	C	R	32	2024	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
22		Maximilian Glötzl	D	L	23	2019	Schongau, Germany
82		Alexandre Grenier	RW	R	33	2023	Laval, Quebec, Canada
92		Håkon Hänelt	F	L	21	2023	Berlin, Germany
9		Maximilian Kammerer	C	L	28	2021	Düsseldorf, Germany
34		Elias Lindner	F	L	24	2023	Mainburg, Germany
27		Niklas Lunemann	G	L	22	2022	Kassel, Germany
89		Gregor MacLeod	LW	L	26	2023	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
91		Moritz Müller (C)	D	L	38	2003	Frankfurt, Germany
65		Marco Münzenberger	F	R	19	2024	Solingen, Germany
55		Edwin Tropmann	D	R	19	2022	Lippstadt, Germany
46		Kevin Niedenz	RW	L	22	2024	Berlin, Germany
30		Mirko Pantkowski	G	L	26	2022	Kassel, Germany
10		Justin Schütz	LW	L	24	2023	Kassel, Germany
17		Jan Luca Sennhenn	D	L	24	2020	Kassel, Germany
9		Frederik Storm	LW	L	36	2023	Gentofte, Denmark
36		Andreas Thuresson	LW	R	37	2021	Kristianstad, Sweden
62		Parker Tuomie	RW	L	29	2024	Haßfurt, Germany
21		Juhani Tyrväinen	C	L	34	2024	Seinäjoki, Finland
47		Veli-Matti Vittasmäki	D	L	34	2024	Turku, Finland
33		Tim Wohlgemuth	C	L	25	2023	Landsberg am Lech, Germany

Eight jersey numbers are no longer issued by the Kölner Haie.

• Josef Heiss – #1 He played from 1988 to 2001 for the Kölner Haie.
• Udo Kießling – #4 He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2000.
• Jörg Mayr – #6 He played exclusively for the Kölner Haie.
• Rainer and Ralph Philipp – #8 Their jersey number is no longer issued following the death of Ralph Philip.
• Miroslav Sikora – #11 His jersey number is no longer issued because of his 16-year association membership.
• Mirko Lüdemann – #12 His jersey number will be no longer issued after his retirement.^[27]
• Detlef Langemann – #14 He was captain of the first championship team in 1977.^[28]
• Robert Müller – #80 His jersey number was taken out of circulation following his death on 21 May 2009.

*Fired/resigned during the season.

German Champion 1977

German Champion 1979

German Champion 1984

German Champion 1986

German Champion 1987

German Champion 1988

German Champion 1995

German Champion 2002

Career games

• Mirko Lüdemann (1,002 games)
• Josef Heiß (690 games)
• Miroslav Sikora (644 games)

Career goals

• Miroslav Sikora (442 goals)
• Gerd Truntschka (270 goals)
• Marcus Kuhl (250 goals)

Career points

• Miroslav Sikora (838 points)
• Gerd Truntschka (825 points)
• Mirko Lüdemann (511 points)

Career penalty minutes

• Dave McLlwain (852 minutes)
• Andreas Lupzig (811 minutes)
• Andreas Renz (809 minutes)

Longest game

• 168:16 minutes (22. March 2008 – 23. March 2008, Semi-final versus Adler Mannheim, scorer of the game-winning-goal was Philip Gogulla, longest game in German ice hockey history and 2nd-longest ice hockey game all-time)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kölner Haie.

• Official website