Location with tradition: Dresdner Eislöwen ready for the DEL

When captain Travis Turnbull lifted the silver championship trophy on the ice in Ravensburg, the party marathon began for the Dresdner Eislöwen. With the 2:1 victory after overtime in the seventh and decisive DEL2 final game, the Saxon second-division ice hockey team celebrated promotion to the DEL. It is the biggest success in the club's history to date.

For Turnbull and Swedish coach Niklas Sundblad, who took over the team in January 2024 and saved it from relegation to the top division last season, it is a very special achievement. Both won the German championship with ERC Ingolstadt in 2014.

At that time, they also made the triumph perfect only in the seventh game against the Kölner Haie. Sundblad had repeatedly emphasized since the start of the season that winning the second division title and promotion to the DEL was the declared goal of his team.

Team was put together according to the coach's wishes

That's why those responsible around sports director Matthias Roos had rebuilt the squad considerably in the summer. The philosophy of primarily signing young, hungry cracks was shelved. Instead, Roos and Sundblad primarily brought in experienced, savvy players who know how to fight for titles and promotions. This strategy worked out in the end.

"It's goosebumps, an incredible feeling. It's the second time I've won a title like this in game seven and in overtime to boot. That's really special. I'm proud of the boys. We had a great team spirit," said Sundblad late Tuesday night.

Ice Lions managing director Maik Walsdorf and his teammates have been working towards promotion for several years and have had to deal with setbacks along the way. "It's an incredible milestone. To have a second DEL team for the entire ice hockey location, for Saxony, for the whole of eastern Germany, you can't really grasp it yet," he said.

Saxon ice hockey tradition revived

For the first time since 1996, a Saxon team is represented in the DEL again with the Dresdner Eislöwen. The ESG Füchse Sachsen Weißwasser/Chemnitz syndicate was one of the founding members of the DEL in 1994, but withdrew to the second division after two seasons in 1996 for financial reasons.

Before the Eislöwen, no other East German club had ever been promoted to the DEL. The Eisbären Berlin have been part of the DEL since it was founded in 1994. The Elbe city team also enjoyed a close partnership with the German champions from the capital for a number of years.

Dresden's ice hockey tradition dates back to 1909. The abrupt interruption came in 1970 due to the GDR sports leadership at the time, which classified ice hockey as "not eligible for funding", which is why the Oberliga team was disbanded.

After reunification, a team from ESC Dresden initially competed in the Sachsenliga. An initiative group, Ice Hockey 2000, founded in 1993, set out to revive professional ice hockey in Dresden. The team was promoted to the second league for the first time in the 2005 season, playing in various leagues. After a brief interruption, the team has played a total of 17 uninterrupted seasons in the second division since the 2008/09 season.

Since the reintroduction of promotion and relegation in 2021, the Eislöwen have deposited a guarantee with the league before each season, which amounted to 250,000 euros before this season. After promotion, a license fee of €1.4 million is now due.

Infrastructure development long geared towards DEL

Structurally, those responsible have developed a lot in recent years in order to achieve DEL suitability. The ice arena, which opened in August 2007, currently holds 4412 spectators. The capacity is to be increased to around 5000 seats. The mandatory video cube was already installed before this season. New LED lighting has also already been promised by the city.

In economic terms, the Elbe city team is on a sound footing, has a large pool of sponsors and financially strong shareholders. In the past season, the budget was around 4.5 million euros. Thanks to the boom in attendance - a total of 16 games were sold out - those responsible were able to increase revenue.

The budget for the DEL is set to rise to seven to eight million euros. Managing Director Walsdorf can expect an increase of around one million euros from TV money and a share from DEL league sponsors alone.

Olympic hero Aus den Birken leaves the Eislöwen

14 players have already extended their contracts for the new season. German Olympic hero Danny aus den Birken will no longer be part of the team. The goalkeeper proved to be a huge support, especially in the playoffs. That's why the 40-year-old was also honored as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.

Afterwards, he said: "I've enjoyed the year immensely, but I'm not going to continue in the DEL. If it fits, I'll add another year in the second division."