Germany is rising as a hockey nation, and that growth will only continue thanks to the NHL's recent partnerships and Global Series events for the upcoming 2026-27 season and beyond.
The NHL has partnered with FC Bayern Munich to grow ice hockey awareness across Germany. With the announcement of a multi-year commitment bringing regular-season games to Germany beginning in December 2026 and continuing into 2027, the NHL's Global Series will have regular-season games played outside of North America.
Destinations include Dusseldorf in December 2026, where the Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators will play two games at PSD Bank Dome, allowing Tim Stutzle to play in his home country.
In 2027, the Edmonton Oilers will travel to Lanxess Arena in Cologne to play two regular-season games in Draisaitl’s hometown. The opponent has not yet been released. However, this is not the first time the Oilers have made the trip, playing an exhibition game in 2018.
Draisaitl played in that game, alongside German teammate Tobias Rieder. Together, the pair were involved in the opening goal, with Rieder scoring and Draisaitl recording an assist. Also, the head coach of Edmonton's opponent, Kolner Haie, was none other than Peter Draisaitl, Leon's father. The Oilers went on to win 4-3 in overtime.
The Boston Bruins will also play two regular-season games in Munich, JJ Peterka’s hometown, where he previously played an exhibition game in September 2024 when the Buffalo Sabres faced off against his former DEL team, EHC Munchen, at SAP Garden.
Bruins head coach Marco Sturm is from Dingolfing, the first German-born player in Boston's history, and the first German-born head coach in NHL history. Sturm was the all-time leading scorer for Germans in the NHL before Draisaitl, having 487 points in 938 games.
History continues to be made for Germany as a hockey nation, with the NHL reaching its highest number of German players during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons, featuring seven to nine active German players in the league. For the 2025–2026 season, eight players of German descent suited up.
The first German-born player was drafted in 1963 to the Bruins. Orest Romashyna was selected third overall in that inaugural NHL draft, but never played a single game.
Although never drafted, Udo Kiessling became the first German player to skate in an NHL game, appearing once for the Minnesota North Stars in 1982-83, which would turn out to be his only appearance, accumulating two penalty minutes before returning to Germany.
Germany continues to grow as a hockey nation through both international play and NHL stardom. Draisaitl has become the first German-born player to reach 1,000 points and has served as a global face of German hockey.
Stutzle has also emerged as an NHL star over the past few years, reaching a career-high 90 points in 2022-23 and coming off an 83-point campaign with the Senators.
In addition to those two stars, multiple faces are making a name for themselves, including Peterka, Lukas Reichel, Joshua Samanski, and, of course, Detroit Red Wings star defenseman Moritz Seider.
On the international stage, they are fierce competitors, making the quarterfinals of the 2026 Olympics and securing silver in the 2018 Winter Games, pulling off an underdog run.
At the IIHF World Championships, Germany regularly advanced into the knockout phase. At the competition in 2023, Germany reached the gold medal game and earned silver after a 5-2 loss to Canada. Now hosting the 2027 IIHF World Championship on home soil in Dusseldorf and Mannheim, Germany has come a long way in terms of being a hockey nation.
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