Report on the Kölner Haie (ice hockey club)

Tradition, emotion and fascination - all of this and much more united in one team. The Kölner Haie - one of the most traditional and successful ice hockey teams in Germany - has been enchanting their fans for more than 40 years. Everything started out small and evidently turned into something big within a very short time. The association and the brand are known nationally and internationally today and the Haie have paved their very own path towards success since they were founded. One of the consequences of this was that the “Haie” are a term in German ice hockey that is definitely recognizable. However, that has more to do with the club's logo and mascot, the shark ...

The most important facts at a glance

The club colors are red and white, the club logo is a shark.
The mascot is also a shark and is called Sharky.
The current managing director is Peter Schönberger.
The Sharks' head coach is Cory Clouston.
Team captain and crowd favorite at the same time is Moritz Müller.
In 1994 the Kölner Haie were one of the founding members of the German Ice Hockey League, the DEL.
The Kölner Haie are still a member of the German Ice Hockey League.
Since 1973 and their first game in the Bundesliga, the Haie have continuously played at the top. Since your first ascent in the mid-1970s, you have always been involved in the top league of German ice hockey.

An association with tradition - the story of the Kölner Haie

Putting over 40 years of club history in a few lines is by no means easy, but it is worth a try. Because the history of this association has had its ups and downs since it was founded in 1972, there has never been a lack of tension. The club has slid through deep valleys, but has also climbed high mountains, which ultimately led to the greatest successes. The traditional club from Cologne writes four decades of ice hockey history. Among them are eight German championships, an endless number of playoff battles, stars and starlets, losses and victories, titles, triumphs, scandals and also many tears of sadness or joy. But despite some hard defeats and low blows, the Kölner Haie are today one of the most successful traditional and ice hockey clubs in our country. The brand itself has become an absolute cult. But let's start from the beginning.

Up until 1972, the “Haie” association did not actually exist. He belonged to the ice hockey department of the Cologne EK, a club that first made ice hockey socially acceptable and well known in Cologne. In order to achieve more success, today's Kölner Haie separated from this regular club and they became an independent club. It was not until the 1990s that it was renamed “Die Haie”. The club's logo, which is still distinctive today, was designed by the goalkeeper at the time, Dieter Horký, who was also an artist. With its logo and name, the shark became the club's official trademark and it still is today. This logo has been continuously updated and optimized since 1995. As early as 1972, the Haie played their first season in the major league. They left the league behind them after this first season and were promoted to the ice hockey Bundesliga, where they continue to play to this day.

In the first ice hockey Bundesliga they only just managed to stay in the league in the following 1973/74 season. This was followed by the club's first serious crisis, which was marked by defeats, resignations, disputes, financial worries, turbulence and criticism. As a result, several new transfers were made in 1976, new players were bought and the presidential and coaching positions were newly filled. From now on things went uphill and the club was able to gain a solid foothold in the Bundesliga. The Kölner Haie celebrated their first German championship back in 1977.

In the following years the winning streak could not be continued for the time being. The club bobbed around in the middle of the Bundesliga table for the next few years. In the early 1980s, success came back and with it several playoff qualifications and the development of a young, dynamic team with the will to fight and to win. The second German championship followed in 1983. The following seasons were also marked by successes. In 1984 the Haie finished the season in third place and in the 1985/1986 season the former player Hardy Nilsson led his team through a very successful season as the new coach. During this time the success of the Haie solidified, they dominated the Bundesliga, solidified themselves as a team and ultimately played in the playoffs up to the third German championship. In the same year they achieved second place in the European Cup and thus their first international success!

Also from 1986 to 1988 the Kölner Haie managed to defend their German championship and they managed the title hat trick. Three times German champions in a row - a sensation and still on everyone's lips today when it comes to the club's history. In the following years, the seasons were rather mediocre. In 1988/1989 the Haie finished second in the European Cup, leaving all other titles to other teams for the time being.

A turning point came in 1994 when the German Ice Hockey League, the DEL, was founded. The Kölner Haie were the first team in the history of the German Ice Hockey League and co-founded this league themselves. In the 1995/1996 season the Haie were runner-up and also runner-up European Cup winners.

Another milestone in the club's history is the move to the recently completed Kölnarena, better known today as the LANXESS Arena, in 1998. But more on that later.

In the 1999/2000 season, the Kölner Haie were considered one of the best teams in German ice hockey. In addition, they were allowed to compete against other international greats at the Swiss Spenger Cup in Davos and won this cup with ease - incidentally, as the first German team in 35 years. The Spengler Cup has been held once a year since 1923 and is still considered the world's largest ice hockey team tournament. The host is HC Davos year after year. The club invites specific clubs from Europe and North America to the cup every year. The Kölner Haie owe their invitation to the contacts of the then trainer Lance Nathery in Switzerland. The victory then succeeded against the Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk in an exciting final. In the same season, the Haie were runner-up in the Bundesliga. In 2004 the club celebrated its eighth and so far last German championship. Since then there have been ups and downs, as usual, but the sharks have never lost their charm. In 2012 the club celebrated its 40th anniversary with a large, impressive all-star game, in which many former traditional players took part and the fans got their money's worth.

The last big and incidentally international success was the victory at the Tatra Cup in Slovakia. The final went against HC Vitkovice, the then runner-up from the Czech Republic. Here, too, the Haie wrote history, because they were the first German team to win this traditional tournament.

Fascinating, loud, breathtaking - the arena

The largest arena in Germany opened its doors for the first time in 1998 - the Kölnarena, which has been called the LANXESS Arena since 2008. The building alone is breathtaking thanks to the extraordinary architecture and the glass framework. The Haie have played more than 500 competitive games in the arena to date. It was also one of the venues for the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2001 and 2010. And this year, too, the LANXESS Arena, together with Paris, will be the main venue for the 2017 World Championships. For the Kölner Haie, playing in this arena means around 12,000 fans per game means more than 470,000 fans who watch the games live every season. The arena is located in the Deutz district of Cologne and is considered the home of the sharks. And they are proud of the largest arena in Germany. The fans of the Kölner Haie ensure a proud atmosphere and a lot of motivation for the team inside the arena. The arena is also the perfect setting for exciting ice hockey games.

One team - many fans

The Kölner Haie are known for their fans and the mood and emotion that goes with it - especially when playing live. The fan work is coordinated by the Kölner Haie fan project. The Haie-Fanprojekt e.V. is an independent association made by fans for fans. They have been around for over five years and today they are a permanent body in the work with fans. The Haie-Fanprojekt e.V. is composed of six fan representatives, elected by the fans, who take on the management of everything organizational. You are the link between the team, the club and the entire fan base. Every season a lot of activities around the Kölner Haie are planned and carried out, which benefit both the members and all other fans.

Every fan can also actively join the fan project by simply becoming a member. In addition to active fan work, this also has some advantages. In the current season, for example, there is a so-called away voucher with which the member can travel to any away game. The voucher includes a significant reduction in the fare. In addition, as a member, you get a ticket for the games faster, because a certain contingent is reserved for the members. And the best thing is a possible meet and greet with the Kölner Haie team. Membership costs only 30 euros a year and also helps to support the association. Part of the income goes to the offspring of the sharks, for example.

And the association also does a lot for its supporters. The Haie are among the most broadcast teams in the German Ice Hockey League. Many games are actually broadcast live on television. In addition, the association has several fan projects and also supports the very little ones. The Haie are also represented on all known social media sites, on Twitter and Facebook as well as on Youtube and Instagram. The Kölner Haie even have the most clicks on Facebook and are therefore the clear number one in the entire German ice hockey league, at least in the social media area. The communication between the club and fans as well as the transparency are exemplary and absolutely on time. A club that moves with the times and uses modern media to keep its fans up to date on everything - should be there more often. The Kölner Haie were also the first from the entire German Ice Hockey League to use social media and thus reach a lot more people.

And a few more special features

Yes, the Kölner Haie are one of the most important ice hockey clubs in Germany. They have a very long tradition and have generally done a lot for the sport of ice hockey and its reputation. Of course, ice hockey is not football and it is not the number one national sport here in Germany. But when you visit the LANXESS Arena and see the sharks live, you don't get that impression. But on the contrary. The atmosphere in ice hockey can easily keep up with that in football and the tension is by no means neglected. Incidentally, various jerseys have been hanging under the roof of the arena since 2010. These are from former players whose shirt numbers have been blocked and will never be given to others again. A nice gesture for Peppi Heiss, Jörg Meyr, Ralf Philipp, Miro Sikora, Robert Müller, Detlef Langmann, Udo Kießling and now Mirko Lüdemann too. The players are all no longer working for the club for various reasons, some have retired, others have died. A particularly beautiful and current example is Mirko Lüdemann. He is the record player ever. He ended his career in the 2015/2016 season with over 1,100 games and 132 international matches. The previous record was just over 800 games. Nobody will crack this unique and unprecedented DEL record anytime soon. That's why his jersey hangs under the roof under the special jerseys.

News

The 2016/2017 season is currently running, with the playoffs starting on March 1st, 2017 with the seven best teams. It is already the 23rd season of the German Ice Hockey League. The end of the official season is February 26, 2017. The Kölner Haie won their first game against the reigning German champions, the EHC Red Bull Munich, and thus started the new season first class.

The Ice Hockey World Championship 2017 will take place from May 5th to 21st, 2017 in Cologne and Paris. In Cologne, the Lanxess Arena is of course played!