Hamburg Freezers

History

The Hamburg Freezers were founded in 2002 when the Munich Barons franchise was moved to Hamburg due to low attendance and financial problems. The Barons had averaged under 3,000 spectators in Munich despite winning the league championship in 2000, while Hamburg had no top-league team. In their first season, average attendance exceeded 5,000 and the team finished 8th, reaching the playoff quarter-finals. Over the next decade, attendance grew to over 9,200 by 2011–12. In the final season of 2015–16, attendance ranked fourth in Germany and tenth in Europe. The club was a regular playoff participant but never won a DEL championship. In May 2016, Philip Anschutz announced the team would no longer be sponsored by Anschutz Entertainment Group. The Freezers were given until 24 May 2016 to find a buyer, which they could not, leading to the club's cessation. The Freezers had few local rivals due to most DEL teams being in southern and southwestern Germany, but they played northern derbies against Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg and Hannover Scorpions, with their main rivals being Eisbären Berlin, also owned by Philip Anschutz. The team's mascot was Stanley the Lion, cousin of Bailey the Lion of the Los Angeles Kings.