2023-04-24 12:37:54
Mark French looked down, but somehow also into emptiness. The trainer from ERC Ingolstadt fixed the floor in the cabin section of the Munich Olympic ice rink while Rambazamba was being performed outside on the ice. When Mirko Höfflin, one of French’s players, passed him on the way to the dressing room, the forward stopped and shook hands with French. No hugs, certainly no hugging each other. Then the coach stared at the floor once more. On Sunday followingnoon, French had to experience what every coach and player who reaches a final series dreads: having to watch the opponent celebrate. Ingolstadt had lost game five of the final series in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) 1:3, EHC Red Bull Munich had crowned themselves with their fourth win.
French had previously congratulated Munich coach Don Jackson, who coached a team to the DEL title for the ninth time – five times Berlin, now Munich for the fourth time – on the ice. The question that hung over this scene was: Will there also be a duel between the DEL coach of the year (French) and the DEL record coach (Jackson) in the coming season? This is not due to French, whose contract the ERC had already extended in December. The question marks are behind Jackson, 66, who worked as a head coach in the DEL for the first time in 2005. “I’m in the final third,” he said, with that soft Don Jackson smile, when asked if he would continue his coaching career. But now is not the time to talk regarding his personal future. It is clear that it is in his own hands whether he continues or not. “It’s entirely up to him, he has to make a decision,” said EHC manager Christian Winkler.
The good thing from the EHC point of view: Should Jackson decide to end his career, a prominent name with a Munich past would be a conceivable alternative in Toni Söderholm. The former national coach terminated his contract with SC Bern at the beginning of April following just five months. Söderholm was a player in the first EHC championship in 2016 before taking the coaching path under Red Bull patronage. At that time, the Munich team added two championship titles in the following two years. Is that also possible this time? “We want to win the title every year, but it’s getting harder and harder,” said Winkler, adding that the league was “incredibly tight”. Back then, with the title hat-trick, it had become a habit to throw silver in the air at the end of the season. “But the last five years have been very long. It would be nice if we didn’t have to wait so long this time.”
When golden confetti was still stuck to the ice, the Munich manager thought above all that he was going to go on vacation. “As nice as it is now, there were already short nights and it was incredibly mentally stressful,” said Winkler. The Munich players have also been tense in recent weeks. “The pressure was enormous,” said striker Maximilian Kastner, who was named Most Valuable Player of the final series.
After five years, the hunters are now the hunted once more – and the field of pursuers seems to have become wider. The Grizzlys Wolfsburg forced the EHC in the semifinals up to an all-important game seven and, according to Winkler, pushed the Munich team “to the absolute limit”, as did the Ingolstadt team, who were equal in four of the five final games. French has instilled a winning style of play and title belief in the ERC in his first year in the league. His players should be “hungry to take the next step now,” he said. However, the ERC is facing a certain upheaval, especially in attack, important figures such as Frederik Storm, Justin Feser or Ty Ronning are leaving Ingolstadt according to SZ information. But French has proven that he can develop players in a short space of time.
The Eisbären Berlin should be expected once more next season
The upheaval at the Adlern Mannheim is much greater, as they parted ways with 17 players following the semi-final once morest Ingolstadt. However, they have already presented well-known additions such as striker Kris Bennet (HC Lugano) or defenders John Gilmour (Dinamo Minsk) and Jordan Murray (Wolfsburg). The Finn Jussi Tapola, who has already won the Champions Hockey League (CHL), is being traded as the new coach. The Adler will represent Germany in the coming CHL season alongside Munich and Ingolstadt.
And then there are the Eisbären Berlin, who should play a different role once more. It was a the Stories from this past DEL season that the title holder of the past two years didn’t even make it into the playoffs. The commitment of Tobias Eder (Düsseldorf) and the return of Blaine Byron, who was an important component in winning the title in 2022, indicate that the Berliners can be expected once more next season. National player Frederik Tiffels should also move from Munich to the capital. But the Munich team is also strengthening their squad: According to SZ information, Nico Krämmer, Markus Eisenschmid (both Mannheim) and Dominik Bittner (Wolfsburg) are three more German national players.
Gernot Tripcke is one person who shouldn’t have anything once morest balance at the top. The DEL managing director, who has been in office longer than Don Jackson (since 2000), spoke on Sunday of a “worthy series of the two best teams of the season”. Tripcke was particularly pleased regarding the “great audience figures”. More than 23 million viewers at Magentasport over the whole season are a “giant step forward”, individual games have approached 200,000 viewers. When visiting the arena, the numbers are approaching the time before Corona, and in some cases they are even higher. The Kölner Haie, for example, recorded the second best attendance in Europe this season behind SC Bern.
The spring sun was still shining brightly when Mark French said goodbye to the Ingolstadt fans who were singing regarding him and the team on the team bus on Sunday. The new season had already begun for him.
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