Confirmed: Liam Kirk to Eisbären Berlin

It’s been speculated ever since his departure from Czech club HC Lítvinov and on Sunday it was confirmed: British star forward Liam Kirk has signed a two-year contract with German champion Eisbären Berlin.

“I am happy to become part of the Eisbären Berlin,” Kirk was quoted in a statement from the club. “The Polar Bears are an incredible and historic organization with outstanding fans. I can hardly wait to get to Berlin and finally get started. Hopefully, we can build on last season’s success together.”

Less than three weeks ago, Eisbären Berlin won the German league finals four games to one over the Fischtown Pinguins from Bremerhaven. It was Berlin’s 10^th DEL title in 20 years.

“We are pleased that Liam Kirk is now playing for Die Eisbären,” said club sports director Stéphane Richer. “We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sign him. He will add further class to our attack. Liam is a top forward who has already proven his goal-scoring qualities. He can play both on the wing and at center, which makes him versatile.”

Through two games of this year’s World Championship, Kirk had a goal and an assist, figuring in on both of Great Britain’s 4-2 lost to Canada in the team’s opener on Saturday. After the game, Kirk was tight-lipped on the imminent deal.

“I can’t really comment on next year but I’m sure there’ll be some news,” he replied when directly asked, before quickly changing the topic.

“He still dreams of going overseas and his new club has close ties to the NHL,” said Litvínov sports manager Tomáš Vrábal a month ago when announcing Kirk’s departure from the Czech club. Ever since that time, it’s been widely speculated that Berlin would be his next destination, and now that is confirmed. Eisbären Berlin is owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which also owns the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, and the two teams often share resources in player development.

Kirk was a seventh-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2018 and joined the club’s AHL farm club, the Tucson Roadrunners, in 2021 but suffered a season-ending knee injury after recording three points in the first eight games. He then split 16 games between Tucson and the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators the following season before being released by the Coyotes.

Kirk, now 24, has been trying to work his way back to an NHL organization ever since.

“Of course, that’s still my goal, and I know it’s going to be hard to get there,” said Kirk.