The Adler Mannheim (English: Mannheim Eagles, formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern part of Baden-Württemberg. Currently, the team plays at SAP Arena, where they moved to at the beginning of the 2005–06 season after having played at Eisstadion am Friedrichspark for nearly seven decades from 1938 through 2005. They have won the German Championship a total of eight times, seven of those coming after 1994 in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
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History
German ice hockey changed significantly with the formation of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in 1994. Its growing influence also brought growing independence from the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) which had regulated ice hockey in Germany for many decades.
Pre-DEL era
The first incarnation of the Adler Mannheim was the 'Mannheim Ice and Roller Sport Club' (Mannheimer Eis- und Rollsport-Club or MERC), founded on 19 May 1938. On 19 February 1939, they had their introductory match in the brand new Friedrichspark Stadium. The match against the winner of the German Championship was lost 0–11, but the following seasons were more and more successful. However, due to the ongoing Second World War, it was difficult to play a regular season without some limitations. In 1942, after the Mannheim was qualified for the finals, the proclamation of the total war led to the cancellation of the finals, less than 24 hours before their scheduled beginning.
On 5 June 1943, the Eisstadion am Friedrichspark was destroyed by an air attack on Mannheim. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, it took another four years before the hockey club began playing once again. In the 1951/52 season, Mannheim again had a team to play in a regular team, but it was not very successful. The most successful game in this time was a 10–2 victory against a team of American soldiers based in the Mannheim-area.
In 1978, the MERC achieved promotion to the first division of Eishockey Bundesliga. In order to be able to set up a team with the limited budget, the MERC and coach Heinz Weisenbach had to get innovative. Weisenbach traveled to North America to search specifically for players with German roots. With Harold Kreis, Manfred "Mannix" Wolf, Roy Roedger and Peter Ascherl, the first "German-Canadians" were transferred into the Eishockey Bundesliga. Additionally, Mannheim acquired the national goalkeeper Erich Weishaupt from the Berliner Schlittschuhclub (Berliner SC). After a sixth place in their debut season, Mannheim strengthened their squad with Ron Andruff and Holger Meitinger and the national players Mannheimer Marcus Kuhl (Cologne) and Peter Obresa (Bad Nauheim). In a complicated tournament mode, from preliminary round, second round and championship round, the MERC would finally win the German championship for the first time. The title win was solidified with a victory in Berlin, and the Mannheim players warmed-up in tailcoats and top hats before their final, inconsequential home game against Cologne EC.
DEL era
In 1994, the Mannheimer ERC was a founding member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). While the organization of the MERC continues to exist to the present day, the professional hockey team changed its name to Adler Mannheim and was transformed into an independent legal entity called "Die Adler Mannheim Eishockey Spielbetriebs GmbH + Co. KG". The old organization MERC still performs in the amateur and junior sectors, including the successful junior team Jungadler Mannheim ('Mannheim Young Eagles') (DNL).
The first two seasons in the DEL ended in playoff quarter finals, but the following season marked the first full success of the DEL era: the Adler Mannheim swept through the playoffs. With the minimum number of nine games, they won the championship in 1997. After also winning the championships in 1998 and 1999, head coach Lance Nethery and several players left the team.
After a disastrous start to the regular 1999–2000 season, the Adler reached the playoffs again, but were beaten in the quarter-finals again. After that season, head coach Chris Valentine was released and was succeeded by Bill Stewart. In 2000–01, the Adler returned to winning ways with the fourth DEL championship in five years.
In their final season at Friedrichspark, Mannheim native Jochen Hecht (Buffalo Sabres), Cristobal Huet (Montreal Canadiens), Yannick Tremblay (Atlanta Thrashers) and Sven Butenschön (New York Islanders) joined the Adler during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The team made it to the finals, but were defeated by the Eisbären Berlin.
The following season was disastrous. In their new home, the SAP Arena, the team was placed tenth at the end of the regular season. It was the first time in 26 years that the Adler Mannheim had not qualified for the playoffs.
Making several changes ito the team roster, the team celebrated its resurrection in the following 2006–07 season. After winning the German Cup, they finished in first place in the regular season and then won their fifth DEL Championship.
On 6 July 2010, the Adler Mannheim competed against the San Jose Sharks in the 2011 NHL Premiere Challenge 2010. German national player Manuel Klinge scored for Mannheim in the 5th minute, San Jose equalized with a goal by Jamie McGinn (54th minute). After Devin Setoguchi scored for San Jose, Mannheim's Jame Pollock scored the equalizer at minute 57. In the shoot-out, it was Dan Boyle who scored with the decisive penalty shot for the Sharks.
Honours
Domestic
Deutsche Eishockey Liga
Winners: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2015, 2019
Runners-up: 2002, 2005, 2012, 2026
Deutscher Eishockey-Pokal
Winners: 2003, 2007
Runners-up: 2006
Eishockey-Bundesliga
Winners: 1980
Runners-up: 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987
International
Lehner Cup
Runners-up: 2017, 2018
Players
Current roster
Updated 11 April 2025.
Retired numbers
1After his death, the Adler Mannheim, the Kölner Haie and the EHC Klostersee retired his #80. At the beginning of the season 2008–09, his number was retired league-wide by the DEL.
Championship teams
1979/80: Erich Weishaupt, Joachim Casper, Harold Kreis, Werner Jahn, Brent Meeke, Bogoslaw Malinowski, Norbert Mundo, Marcus Kuhl, Ron Andruff, Holger Meitinger, Peter Obresa, Manfred Wolf, Dany Djakalovic, Peter Ascherl, Elias Vorlicek, Klaus Mangold, Jürgen Adams, Jörg Etz and Roy Roedger; Heinz Weisenbach (coach).
1996/97: Joachim Appel, Mike Rosati, Harold Kreis, Paul Stanton, Christian Lukes, Robert Nardella, Alexander Erdmann, Stéphane Richer, Martin Ulrich, Mike Pellegrims; Steve Thornton, Mario Gehrig, Pavel Gross, Dave Tomlinson, Daniel Körber, Rob Cimetta, François Guay, Jochen Hecht, Florian Keller, Till Feser, Philippe Bozon, Tommie Hartogs, Alexander Serikow, Christian Pouget, Dieter Kalt and Paul Beraldo; Lance Nethery (coach).
1997/98: Klaus Merk, Mike Rosati, Christian Künast, Darren Rumble, Gordon Hynes, Paul Stanton, Christian Lukes, Mike Posma, Christopher Felix, Stéphane Richer, Martin Ulrich, Mike Pellegrims, Alexander Erdmann, Mario Gehrig, Pavel Gross, Dave Tomlinson, Philippe Bozon, Rob Cimetta, François Guay, Jochen Hecht, Ole Eskild Dahlstrøm, Mike Hudson, Alexander Serikow, Christian Pouget, Denis Chassé, Ron Pasco, Daniel Marois, Philipp Schumacher and Dieter Kalt; Lance Nethery (coach).
1998/99: Sven Rampf, Pavel Cagas, Danny Lorenz, Helmut de Raaf, Gordon Hynes, Paul Stanton, Reid Simonton, Christian Lukes, Denis Perez, Stéphane Richer, Mike Pellegrims, Michael de Angelis, Brian Tutt, Mark Etz, Pavel Gross, Dave Tomlinson, Philippe Bozon, Kevin Miehm, Jason Young, Ron Pasco, Mike Hudson, Alexander Serikow, Christian Pouget, Mike Stevens, Philip Schumacher, Jan Alston and Jackson Penney; Lance Nethery (coach).
2000/01: Mike Rosati, Robert Müller, Helmut de Raaf, Bradley Bergen, Andy Roach, Christian Lukes, Francois Groleau, Stéphane Richer, Yves Racine, Dennis Seidenberg, Michael Bakos; Gordon Hynes, Mark Etz, Dave Tomlinson, Steve Junker, Wayne Hynes, Devin Edgerton, Ron Pasco, Marc Pederson, Georg Hessel, Todd Hlushko, Mike Stevens, Jan Alston, Jean-Francois Jomphe, Daniel Hilpert, Christopher Straube and Jackson Penney; Bill Stewart (coach).
2006/07 Jean-Marc Pelletier, Ilpo Kauhanen, Danny aus den Birken, Robert Müller, Blake Sloan, Sven Butenschön, Pascal Trepanier, François Bouchard, Martin Ancicka, Felix Petermann, Stephan Retzer, Nathan Robinson, Eduard Lewandowski, Jason Jaspers, Tomas Martinec, Christoph Ullmann, René Corbet, Colin Forbes, Rico Fata, Jeff Shantz, François Méthot, Ronny Arendt, Marcus Kink and Rick Girard; Greg Poss / Teal Fowler (coaches)
Head coaches
The following list shows all head coaches of Adler Mannheim during the DEL era.
Affiliated teams
Jungadler Mannheim
The youth performance center of the Adler Mannheim is called "Jungadler Mannheim" (youth eagles). Their under 20 junior team is 16-times national youth champion and record holder. Famous former Jungadler players are e.g. Dominik Kahun (Chicago Blackhawks), Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings), and Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators).
ERC Mannheimer WildCats
The female contingent of the Mannheimer ERC carries the name "Wild Cats." The most successful period in the WildCats' career was between 1988 and 1994 during which they won three German championships and vice-championships. The Wildcats did not play during the 2005–06 season after four players terminated their contracts. Therefore, they were forced to temporarily withdraw from the league.