Few people have worked for a club as long as Hartmut Nickel did. For 51 years with a short interruption he was part of Eisbaren Berlin (before 1992 known as Dynamo Berlin), first as a player, then as a coach and later as an advisor. On Thursday Nickel passed away at the age of 74 after short illness.
Nickel was born in 1944 in Weisswasser and went through the youth system of Dynamo Weisswasser before transferring within East Germany to archrival Dynamo Berlin when he was 19. The forward would play for the club between 1963 and 1974 before moving to coaching, first as a youth coach, then as a co-coach with Joachim Ziesche, whom he also assisted at the national team of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Nickel also represented East Germany as a player in 45 international games including the 1968 Olympics and the 1970 and 1974 World Championships.
After 1988 he was the head coach of Dynamo Berlin / Eisbaren Berlin for five years. He then coached Hanover for three years before returning to Berlin in 1996. He has been with the club ever since, for 17 years as an assistant coach, then as an advisor.
After winning East German championships with the old Dynamo outfit as a player, he was part of a successful era of the rebranded Eisbaren Berlin club and of seven German championships between 2005 and 2013. Head coaches came and left during that period of time but Nickel stayed.
On 23 September 2016 the member of the German Hall of Fame retired. He was the good soul of the club and a fan favourite. “Papa Bär” (papa bear) as fans called him had his official farewell for the long service and dedication for his club and a banner with his name was lifted under the roof. A few weeks later he was hospitalized after a heart attack. He continued to follow his team as a faithful supporter until his death.
“Hartmut Nickel shaped the club like no other player or coach in club history,” said Eisbaren GM Peter John Lee. “Nobody else exemplified the past and present of the club as he did. His work will always be part of our DNA. In Hartmut Nickel Eisbaren Berlin loses an ice hockey expert, role model but mostly a warm-hearted human and friend. Hartmut was ‘Papa Eisbär’ and will remain it forever.”
Nickel was born in 1944 in Weisswasser and went through the youth system of Dynamo Weisswasser before transferring within East Germany to archrival Dynamo Berlin when he was 19. The forward would play for the club between 1963 and 1974 before moving to coaching, first as a youth coach, then as a co-coach with Joachim Ziesche, whom he also assisted at the national team of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Nickel also represented East Germany as a player in 45 international games including the 1968 Olympics and the 1970 and 1974 World Championships.
After 1988 he was the head coach of Dynamo Berlin / Eisbaren Berlin for five years. He then coached Hanover for three years before returning to Berlin in 1996. He has been with the club ever since, for 17 years as an assistant coach, then as an advisor.
After winning East German championships with the old Dynamo outfit as a player, he was part of a successful era of the rebranded Eisbaren Berlin club and of seven German championships between 2005 and 2013. Head coaches came and left during that period of time but Nickel stayed.
On 23 September 2016 the member of the German Hall of Fame retired. He was the good soul of the club and a fan favourite. “Papa Bär” (papa bear) as fans called him had his official farewell for the long service and dedication for his club and a banner with his name was lifted under the roof. A few weeks later he was hospitalized after a heart attack. He continued to follow his team as a faithful supporter until his death.
“Hartmut Nickel shaped the club like no other player or coach in club history,” said Eisbaren GM Peter John Lee. “Nobody else exemplified the past and present of the club as he did. His work will always be part of our DNA. In Hartmut Nickel Eisbaren Berlin loses an ice hockey expert, role model but mostly a warm-hearted human and friend. Hartmut was ‘Papa Eisbär’ and will remain it forever.”