The 2017 IIHF World Championships - 2005 Germany National Team Robert Müller Jersey

The 2017 IIHF World Championships begin today in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany and run through the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday, May 21st.

The tournament has been co-hosted by multiple countries on three previous occasions, the first being in 1930 when the event was held as its own stand alone event for the first time. (The three previous "World Championships" were  Olympics hockey tournaments which counted as that year's world championships.) The 1930 event was held in Chamonix, France, Berlin, Germany and Vienna, Austria.

It would take until 2012 for the second shared event when Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden with Helsinki's Hartwall Arena hosting the Semifinals and Finals. Then, in 2013, Finland and Sweden again shared the hosting duties, only this time with the Globe Arena in Stockholm hosting the Semifinals and Fnals.

Now, four years later, Germany and France are sharing the event, with the quarterfinals shared between the AccorHotels Arena in France and the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, with the Semifinals and Finals being held in Cologne.

Of note, the other bid to host the 2017 tournament was a proposed as a shared event between Copenhagen, Denmark and Riga, Latvia.

France has hosted the event 5 times previously, first in 1924 in Chamonix as host of the Olympics and again in 1930 as previously mentioned. Paris was the site of the 1951 stand alone event and Grenoble, France in 1968 as hosts of the Olympics.

Germany was one of the co-hosts in 1930 and again as hosts of the 1936 Olympics. They hosted in 1955, 1975 and 1983 as West Germany, and in the reunified Germany in 1993, 2001 and 2010 for eight previous tournaments.

This year's event sees the 16 teams divided into two different groups, playing from May 5th to the 16th, with the last place team in each group relegated to Division I Group A for 2018 and the top four teams in each group advancing to the Playoff Round from May 18th to 21st.

Group A in Cologne sees Russia (ranked 2nd in the IIHF World Rankings), the United States (4), Sweden (6), Slovakia (7), host Germany (9), Latvia (13), Denmark (12) and Italy (18) with all games at the 18,500 capacity Lanxess Arena, home of the Cologne Sharks of the DEL.

Group B in Paris consists of Canada (1), Finland (3), the Czech Republic (5), Switzerland (8), Belarus (10), Norway (11), host France (14) and Slovenia (15) with all games at the 15,000 seat AccorHotels Arena.

Despite being the capital of France, Paris does not have a team in the French Ligue Magnus, the top level of club hockey in France. The AccorHotels Arena was the host of the final of the Coupe de France hockey tournament from 2007 to 2014 and again in 2016 and 2017.

The broadcast schedule for United States games on the NBC Sport Network in the US is a disappointment to be frank. Their opening game today against Germany is not being shown live. In fact, only two of the American Preliminary Round games will be live, on Wednesday, May 10th against Italy at 10:15 AM EST and their game in Tuesday, May 16 versus Russia, also at 10:15 AM eastern.

All other US games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and their app. Games against Germany (3/5), Denmark (5/7), Sweden (5/8), Latvia (5/13) and Slovakia (5/14) will be shown on a late evening tape delay basis after the day's NHL playoff coverage has concluded. The Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Bronze and Gold Medal games sadly all appear to be live streaming only affairs with no mention of airtime on NBCSN.

On the other hand, TSN in Canada looks to have every game of the tournament (not just games involving Canada) on its family of networks with less than a handful only being streamed.

Today begins with Group A action with first Sweden taking on Russia and then the United States facing Germany, while in Group B, Finland meets Belarus followed by the Czech Republic versus Canada.

The France National Hockey Team made its first international appearance back on January 23, 1909. They have played in ten Olympic Games with a high of fifth place in 1920 and 1924. Most recently, the had an unbroken run of participation from 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998 and finally at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City where they were coached by none other than Miracle on Ice architect Herb Brooks. After that run of five straight Olympics, the French have failed to qualify for the last three Games.

The French co-hosted the first stand alone World Championships in 1930, which was also responsible for their best ever finish of sixth. They have been regular participants since then. As the number of member of the IIHF grew, and more levels of play were added, the French were placed in the B Pool for three years.

After eight years away from the World Championships, France returned in 1961 and were placed in the C Pool and earned a promotion the first time out. They played three seasons in the B Pool before a two year drop back down to the C Pool in 1966 and 1967. They played in the B Pool again in 1968, but were immediately relegated to the C Pool once again, where they remained for the next 13 years.

Finally, in 1985, they won a promotion to the B Pool for the next five years. For the 1992 World Championships, the field expanded from 8 to 12, and as a result, the 1991 B Pool promoted four teams up to the expanded Top Division for 1992, with France among them.

Their stay in the Top Division lasted nine years until going down to Division I Group A for 2001. They won Division I Group B in 2003 and were promoted for one year before returning to Division I for three more seasons. Finally, in 2007 they won the Division I Group A and have remained at the top level ever since, despite three 14th place final rankings, one out of a relegation spot. During their most recent stay at the top level, France did achieve a 9th place in 2012 and a best of 8th in 2014, which included wins over Canada in a shootout, Slovakia, Denmark, Norway in a shootout and a point from an overtime defeat by the Czech Republic.

Sebastian Bordeleau celebrates a goal at the 2008 World

Championships while wearing the French throwback jersey

To date, 12 French players have played in the NHL, with the first being Philippe Bozon of the St. Louis Blues.

Philippe Bozon as a rookie with St. Louis

The Dallas Stars Antoine Roussel is the leading scorer among French players, currently with 59 goals and 124 points, while former Montreal Canadien Sebastien Bordeleau is second with 98. Additionally, Cristobal Huet is the only French goaltender in NHL history, who acquitted himself well with 129 victories.

Today's first featured jersey is a Nike 2002 France National Team Philippe Bozon jersey as worn in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The jersey features a subtle black cross pattern running down the length of the arms. It's somewhat easier to see on the white jerseys, as the blue stripe is not lost in the sea of blue as on the road jerseys. One wonders why the blue stripe on the blue jerseys was not changed to either red or white for increased contrast and greater visibility for the black cross design.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2004 France National Team Sebastien Bordeleau jersey. France adopted his style jersey with it's distinctive rooster logo for the 1998 and wore it again in the 2002 Olympics, as well as a number of World Championships during that time period through 2004.

The Germany National Ice Hockey Team have participated in the Olympics in ice hockey 20 times since 1928, with nine of those being as Germany. Three of the teams were called the United Team of Germany during the split between East and West Germany in 1956, 1960 and 1964, but it was actually just the West German Team, which defeated the East German team for the right to represent all of Germany as one "United" team.

Following that ill-fated "united" concept, Germans have also participated seven times as West Germany and once as East Germany in 1968, the only time West Germany and East Germany each sent separate teams to the same Olympic Games, with the West prevailing by a score of 4-2.

East Germany in their only Olympic meeting against West Germany in 1968

Germany's best results have been bronze medals in 1932 as Germany and in 1976 as West Germany.

The Germans are regular participants in the World Championships, having been in the Top Division of the World Championships every year since the reunification of Germany in 1991 except three, with two of those years successfully earning promotion back to the Top Division. Their best finish during that time period was a 5th place in 1993.

While not considered one of the elite countries in hockey, they are just outside of the top group and were been invited to participate in the six team 1984 Canada Cup tournament and the eight team World Cup of Hockey in 1996 and 2004. In 2016, the competition formed a "Team Europe" to allow NHL stars from smaller nations like Slovenia to participate, with Germany having six players on the European roster, second only to Slovakia's seven.

To date 35 Germans have played in the NHL, led by Marco Sturm's 938 games played and 487 points. Jochen Hecht (833 games played), Dennis Seidenberg (831), Christian Ehrhoff (789), Uwe Krupp (729), goaltender Olaf Kolzig (719) and Marcel Goc (636) have all played more than 500 NHL games. Following Sturm in points are Hecht (463), Ehrhoff (339), Krupp (281) and Seidenberg (246).

The logo for the 2017 IIHF World Championships incorporates the image of the late German goaltender Robert Müller.

Müller began his career with the Star Bulls Rosenheim in the German Junior hockey league in the 1996-97 season. That same season, Müller also made his international debut with Germany at the 1997 European Junior Championships, the first of many such appearances in international competitions for the young goaltender.

His second season saw him compete with EHC Klostersee in the German second division as well as making a return to the European Junior Championships B Pool, where he was named the Best Goalkeeper at the tournament.

In 1998-99 Müller returned to his hometown Star Bulls Rosenheim, only now in the senior level German DEL. In addition to moving up to the DEL, he also made his senior level international debut at the World Championships B Pool in 1999.

Müller made his DEL debut with Star Bulls Rosenheim

Müller was back with Star Bulls for a final season in 1999-00 and then competed in both the World Juniors B Pool and the World Championships B Pool where he played two games as Germany successfully won promotion to the A Pool with a 6-1 record.

For the 2000-01 season, Müller joined Adler Mannheim (Mannheim Eagles), who dominated the league with a 40-16-4 record for first place overall and then defeated the Berlin Capitals, Hannover Scorpions and the Munich Barons to win the DEL championship. He also competed in qualifying for the following year's Olympics as well as the 2001 World Championships at home in Germany. Following the season, Müller was selected in the 9th round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, who also employed Müller's Germany National Team teammate and fellow goaltender Olaf Közig.

It was back to the Mannheim Eagles for 2001-02, a season which also saw Müller appear in the DEL All-Star Game as well as making his Olympic debut in Salt Lake City followed by another World Championships later that spring.

Müller during one of his many international appearances for Germany

Müller was again on the move for the 2002-03 season, as he joined the Krefeld Penguins (Krefeld Penguine) as their undisputed number one goaltender, appearing in 47 of the team's 50 regular season games. While Krefeld finished mid-pack during the regular season, 7th out of 14, it was enough to become one of the eight playoff qualifiers. Once the playoffs began, Krefeld easily handled the 3rd ranked DEG Metro Stars 4-1 before knocking off the top ranked Berlin Polar Bears 3-1. Proving that was no fluke, Müller won his second DEL title after the Penguins defeated the second seeded Cologne Sharks in the finals 3 games to 2 with Müller in goal for all 14 of Krefeld's games. He concluded his season with the Germany National Team at the 2003 World Championships.

The Penguins celebrating Müller's second

DEL championship trophy in 2003

His second season with Krefeld again saw him handle the vast majority of the games, appearing in 49 of their 52 games. Also that season, during the Christmas break, Müller and the Penguins travelled to Switzerland to participate in the annual Spengler Cup tournament. With Krefeld failing to qualify for the postseason, Müller joined EHC Basel in the Swiss National League A in their effort to avoid relegation for the following season. Müller then made his now customary appearance at the World Championships, his sixth consecutive time making the German squad.

Müller competing at the 2003 Spengler Cup tournament for Krefeld

Prior to the start of the 2004-05 season, Müller played for Germany at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Once the DEL season would get underway, Müller would play 47 of the Penguins 52 games. He would again fulfill his international duties at the World Championships, which would not go Germany's way, as they were relegated for the 2006 season.

Müller during the 2005 World Championships

His fourth season with Krefeld would see the workhorse Müller now set a personal high with 51 appearances out of  a possible 52 as Krefeld returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. He would also participate in his second Olympic Games during 2006 before Germany sought to return to the Top Division of the World Championships, which required them to participate in the Division I Group A Worlds in France.

Getting ready for battle during the 2006 Olympics, his second Games

Germany announced their intentions of a quick return with an opening 11-2 win over Israel. Müller then made his first start in fine fashion, shutting out Japan 4-0. Great Britain then fell 8-0 for Müller's second consecutive blanking. He stayed unbeaten with a 6-2 win over Hungary and then recorded his third shutout in five starts over the host French 5-0 to finish the tournament with a 0.50 goals against average to earn the Best Goalkeeper of the tournament award as well as accomplishing Germany's goal of returning Germany to the Top Division on their first attempt.

He returned to Adler Mannheim for the 2006-07 season, but was limited to 23 gamesafter being diagnosed with a brain tumor in November of 2006 when he began suffering from migraine headaches. Müller underwent surgery to remove the majority of the tumor and made his return to the Eagles on February 3, 2007 at the DEL All-Star Game despite the fact he was still undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Müller bearing the dramatic scar of his brain surgery

Müller would start the 2007-08 season with Mannheim (5 games), but had lost his starting job and was loaned to EV Duisburg. He would play 12 games with the Foxes before he found a new home as the number one goaltender with Kölner Haie (Cologne Sharks). Müller appeared in 24 games for the Sharks before leading them to the DEL finals, playing in 14 additional playoff games, including winning an epic 6 overtime game, the second longest in professional hockey history during which he faced 100 shots on goal!

Müller moved to the Cologne Sharks in 2007-08

Having seemingly returned to full health, Müller would then make his ninth World Championship appearance for Germany at the conclusion of the season, raising his season total to 44 games played and his career total of international games to 127, which included two Olympics and a World Cup of Hockey.

Unfortunately, the brain tumor returned over the summer, which required a second operation and Müller now allowed his doctor to go public with his condition, who revealed that Müller was now terminally ill and had already exceeded the average anticipated life span of someone with brain cancer, as only 3% of people with his same diagnosis live beyond five years.

Courageously, and despite his dire prognosis, Müller returned to the ice to a thunderous ovation from the 13,000 fans in attendance on this date in 2008 to play the final eight minutes of a 5-1 Sharks win just 44 days after his second operation. Later that month Müller would see action a second time.

The fans show their support and urge Müller to fight on

“I want to return to normality — I love the lifestyle of hockey and want to be part of the team,” he said. “For me, to be able to play ice hockey is the greatest.”

Müller said he recognized that it would be hard for him to play an entire game. But, he said, “I am delighted with every second on the ice,” and added he did not want special treatment. “If I play well, you can praise me, and if I play badly, you should criticize me,” he said. “I have the disease, and I have to live with it.”

Sadly, those two games would prove to be his last, as his doctor would no longer clear him to play as his condition worsened in December of 2008.

Müller passed away five months later on May 21, 2009 at the age of 28, two and a half years after the initial discovery of his tumor, but not before being inducted into the German Hall of Fame in March of 2009.

“We are shocked and very sad. Robert was a great personality,” Thomas Eichin, general manager of his last club Kölner Haie, said in an announcement on Friday. “He impressed us all and was an idol for many people not only as a sportsman. He will leave a big hole. Our thoughts are with his family. We wish them strength in this difficult time.”

“With his strong will, Müller inspired many people in their battle against the terrible disease,” Franz Reindl, the general secretary of the German Ice Hockey Association, said. “He showed us all what it means to never give up.”

At first, four clubs, the Cologne Sharks, Mannheim Eagles and his first senior club EHC Klostersee, as well as EHC Munich, whom he had never played for, would all retire his jersey #80. The DEL then announced that starting with the 2009-10 season that the #80 would be permanently retired league wide.

Always popular with the fans, Müller taking the time to

sign an instantly recognizable #80 jersey

Today's second featured jersey is a 2005 Germany National Team Robert Müller jersey as worn during the 2005 IIHF World Championships which were held in Austria where Müller played in 4 games with a 2.01 goals against average and 0.92 save percentage.

This jersey carries Müller's trademark #80 he would adopted in honor of the year he was born.

For the 2005 World Championships, Nike updated or redesigned the jerseys for all the teams in the IIHF, with this striking Germany jersey being the best of the lot. This design made use of the template used by the NHL All-Star jerseys from 1998 and 1999 to a striking effect when rendered in the colors of the German flag, particularly the road black version.

Sadly, this jersey would have an all too short lifespan, as all the jerseys were completely redone for the 2006 Olympics when Nike introduced their new Nike Swift fabric and form fitting cut for the jerseys.

Of note, the 2005 World Championships was the first use of the new version of the IIHF logo patch on the back of the jerseys.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 2002 Germany National Team Robert Müller jersey. This style was first introduced in 2001 as an evolution of their much moodier 1998 Olympic jersey, now made much brighter with a change to gold now running down the arms of the jersey which was trimmed in both red and grey, as opposed to 1998's black on black body and arms separated by a single red trim stripe.

This style was worn from the 2001 World Championships through the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, but only once with the heraldic eagle crest on the upper left chest, that being the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Extra extra bonus jersey: Today's extra extra bonus jersey is a 2002-03 Krefeld Penquine Robert Müller jersey. This jersey is a prime example of the type of graphic treatment German DEL jerseys, with an overly large team logo, corporate sponsorships, unconventional striping elements and the playful use of the team logo on the back of the jersey, which give many DEL jerseys their offbeat personalities.

The photos of the above jersey was generously supplied by Andy Friedmann, and if you would like to view more of his extensive and incredibly wide-ranging collection, please visit his website here.

In today's video section, Müller makes his first appearance for Cologne following his second surgery when he played in the final eight minutes of the Sharks victory.

Next, the finest of the many slideshow tributes to Müller which can be found on YouTube.

Finally, in a moving tribute, Müller's career is recapped through a highlight video and he then conducts his final TV interview upon receiving an award in March of 2009 (likely his Hall of Fame induction) as he shows the affects of his worsening condition.

The Scandal of Geneva - West Germany Forfeits at the 1961 World Championships

Today is a story of controversy in 1961 when East Germany and West Germany were to meet during the 1961 World Championships in Switzerland by Martin Merk from IIHF.com.

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The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany in 1990 belong among  the most important and far-reaching moments in international history. Prior to that, East and West Germany had a fierce rivalry, a rivalry that sometimes manifested itself in ice hockey. It even led to a cancelled IIHF World Championship game in Geneva 50 years ago.

It was a flag, just a flag that created an uproar – and what later became known as “The scandal of Geneva” in Germany.

After World War II the west part of Germany (as well as a part of Berlin) was occupied by the Western Allies and became the Federal Republic of Germany (usually known as “West Germany”) in 1948. The Soviet-occupied east reacted with the founding of a socialist state, the German Democratic Republic (“East Germany”, or “DDR” in German).

West Germany, the green, blue and gold areas controlled by Great Britain, France and the United States, and East Germany, the red area, which was controlled by the Soviet Union

Both countries used the same flag as we know it today, the black, red and gold tricolour.

The German tricolor, originally used by both West and East Germany

In 1959, however, the GDR decided to change its flag by adding its coat of arms featuring a hammer and a compass surrounded by a garland of corn symbolizing the workers’ and farmers’ state.

 

The flag of the German Democratic Republic,

otherwise known as East Germany

The change of the flag became a touchy issue in the West. It was seen as an insult to the German people and as a clear attempt to permanently divide Germany. Consequently, West Germany banned the flag. It even became chargeable to display it within their territories.

The flag war eventually affected the national teams of East and West Germany. The first time they were supposed to meet each other in an official ice hockey game after the East’s flag makeover was at the 1961 IIHF World Championship in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland.

It was an eight-team round-robin tournament in those days and the two German teams were set to face each other on the last day. Both teams were already out of the medal ranks with East Germany having a 1W-0T-5L record while West Germany stood at 0W-2T-4L.

More than 2,000 fans gathered in the Les Vernets rink to witness the fierce rivalry between the two Germanys, between West and East, capitalists and communists.

Former East German national team player Achim Ziesche recalls the event that unfolded while his team was preparing for the game.

“We were getting ready in the locker room, but we noticed that something was not okay,” he told Deutschlandfunk. “People were running around and they looked sort of helpless. We players didn’t understand what happened, but later we realized that we hadn’t seen anybody from the West German side.”

Some minutes later, the public announcer declared that West Germany refused to play and the game would count as a forfeit and a 5-0 victory for East Germany.

“We were surprised. They were the favourites and we assumed they wouldn’t do that,” Ziesche said. “Not as a team, not as a country and not towards the IIHF and the sporting world.”

The organizers put together a “Swiss selection” so that at least an exhibition game could be staged with East Germany.

The reason for West Germany’s refusal was an order from the government. The President of West Germany’s ice hockey association, Willi Daume, was demanding a guarantee that the East German flag wouldn’t be raised after that game. Otherwise his team would not be allowed to play.

Already in those days the post-game protocol saw the flag of the winning team to be raised, accompanied by the national anthem of the winners. Although the West German team was usually considered as the stronger of the two, Daume didn’t want to take any chances.

A loss to the GDR would be embarrassing, but then he would also lose face in front of his entire nation by hearing the East German anthem while also the outlawed flag were to be raised. So the hockey president drove to Geneva to negotiate with IIHF President, Bunny Ahearne, to change the ceremony protocol regardless of who wins: no anthem, no flags.

Ahearne said no. The ceremony was not be adjusted according to the wishes of some nations.

Daume told the team in the dressing room that they wouldn’t be allowed to play. His players left through the back entrance.

“Our officials were used as a political pawn,” West German national team player Ernst Trautwein recalls. “Thanks God it was the only time I can remember that politicians from our side intervened like this.”

The mix of sports and politics continued each time the teams would meet. East Germany was ahead in 1961 and most time of the ‘60s in ice hockey. This situation changed in the ‘70s when hockey became more professional in West Germany while the East German authorities decided to cut their top league to only two professional teams, Dynamo Berlin and Dynamo Weisswasser. These teams formed the world’s smallest hockey league from 1970 to 1990, and the situation didn’t help the national team.

Only once in the ‘60s did the West Germans display superiority over their brethren. At the 1963 IIHF World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden, the first time both teams were in the A-Pool after the Geneva scandal, the teams finally battled on and not off the ice.

After the controversy in 1961, the two sides met in 1963, the only time the West Germans would defeat the East Germans at the World Championships during the 1960s

East Germany finished one place ahead of the West, but the West won the head-to-head German clash, 4-3. During the post-game ceremony, the East German players ostentatiously turned their backs towards the West German flag.

East Germany in their only Olympic meeting against West Germany in 1968

It took some decades of political division and rivalry until East Germany had its revolution and Germany became unified again in 1991.

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Today's first featured jersey is a 1989 East Germany Torsten Hanusch jersey as worn during the 1989 World Championships B Pool. This jersey was worn in the 1989 World Championships B Pool, Hanusch's only appearance for the East German National Team.

While the East Germans competed in the World Championships on a regular basis from 1956 to 1990, they discontinued their Olympic hockey program after 1968, choosing to take the approach of funding single athletes who could win multiple medals, such as a track and field athlete, swimmers and speed skaters, rather than funding an entire team who could only hope to win a single medal, such as water polo or in ice hockey, which frankly was a long shot when up against the likes of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Canada.

This jersey has an extremely minimalist style, with only simple striping on the arms and waist and is devoid of any traditional main cresting, with only the Tackla branding on the upper right chest and the DDR initials and East German coat of arms on the left chest in the style of a soccer jersey, leaving the rest of the body devoid of any traditional main logo.

Also unusual is the East Germans choice of a primarily blue jersey, as the colors of the East German flag were black, gold and red. Additionally, many of the communist ruled nations favored primarily red sweaters, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia in particular.

Today's second featured jersey is a 1989 West German National Team Udo Keissling jersey from the World Championships held in Stockholm, Sweden. West Germany would finish the Round Robin portion with a 0-5-2 record, but avoid relegation by finishing with a 1-2-0 record and save themselves from the drop with a 2-0 defeat of Poland.

One of the best players in German hockey history, Udo Kiessling set a new record in 1992 with his 5th consecutive Olympic tournament appearance. Kiessling's record shows he played a single game in the NHL, in 1982 on a tryout after his German club team was an early exit from the playoffs, but returned home to play in the World Championships, never to return to the NHL again. But just because a player is not in the NHL, doesn't mean he doesn't exist, as Kiessling would go onto have a 24 year career, ending in 1996 at the age of 40.

He made his first appearance in the Olympics at Innsbruck in 1976, winning a Bronze Medal. In addition to his five Olympics, Kiessling also participated in 15 World Championships and the 1984 Canada Cup, as well as winning six national titles in Germany, where he was named the top player three times.

This beautiful jersey features the vibrant colors of the dye-sublimation process and the arresting graphics of the era with the colors of the tri-color German flag streaking across the chest, as well as the distinctive Tackla diamond logos on the shoulders and drop shadow block font for the numbers. Easily one of our favorite jerseys.

Today's video section is a look at the fall of the Berlin Wall.

1988 East Germany Andreas Ludwig Jersey

After the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) once again became a single, united country for the first time since 1949 with their official reunification on October 3, 1990.

With the division of Germany in the aftermath of World War II into Soviet controlled East Germany and West Germany, which was supported by Great Britian, France and the United States, on October 7, 1949, it necessitated separate national hockey team programs.

The flag of the German Democratic Republic,

otherwise known as East Germany

The East Germans made their international debut on January 28, 1951 in a 8-3 loss to Poland. It would take them until 1956 to make their debut at the World Championships, which they did in style, winning the "B" Pool tournament to earn promotion to the Top Division their first time out.

The East Germans were also represented at the 1956 Olympics by the Unified Team of Germany, a single team of athletes which competed at the Summer and Winter Olympics in 1956. However, in the case of the Winter Olympic hockey tournament, the East German and West German teams were not combined into a single representative team, but instead the two sides faced off against each other prior to the Olympics to determine which one team would represent Germany as a whole, so rather than being a unified team, it served the opposite effect in the case of hockey, pitting the two sides against each other!

For 1956, the West Germans won 7-3, leaving the East Germans out of the Games.

In 1957, the World Championships were held in the Soviet Union for the first time, and due to the Soviets occupying Hungary at the time, the United States, Canada, Norway, West Germany, Switzerland and Italy all stayed home in protest. With the lack of several of the favorites, East Germany was able to finish 5th thanks to wins over Japan, Poland and Austria.

Despite their success in 1957, they did not participate in the 1958 World Championships, but returned in 1959 for a 9th place finish. After being drubbed by the Soviet Union, the United States and Norway in the First Round, being outscored 21-6, they held their own in the Consolation Round, beating Poland 5-1, Switzerland 8-0 and Italy 8-6, but lost to West Germany and Norway for a second time.

East Germany was again represented by the Unified Team of Germany at the 1960 Olympics, only as in 1956, the West Germans prevailed in the qualification matches by scores of 5-2 and 5-3 and won the right to represent Germany as a whole.

After not participating in 1961 or 1962, the East Germans became regulars at the World Championships from 1963 on. Facing the might of the hockey powers of the world, the East Germans finished 6th (with a win over Finland and a tie against the United States) in 1963.

East Germany vs Czechoslovakia in 1963

The following year was another Olympic year, and East Germany was again represented by the Unified Team of Germany, but for a third time it was the West Germans who won the right to participate following a 4-3 win in their second game after a 4-4 tie in the first game gave the East Germans hope of participating in the Olympics for the first time.

East Germany next placed 5th (With wins over the United States, Norway and Finland) in the 1965 World Championships, 5th (with wins over Sweden (despite giving up 74 shots on goal!), Poland and Finland) in 1966 and 7th (with a win over West Germany and a tie with the United States) in 1967.

East Germany scoring against Sweden in 1965

For the 1968 Olympics, both East and West Germany competed as separate nations for the first time since the division of Germany. While they had met several times during the World Championships, this would be the only time the two nations would face each other at the Olympics, with the West prevailing by a score of 4-2.

East Germany in their only Olympic meeting against West Germany in 1968

With that loss, the East Germans finished in last place with an 0-7-0 record at the Olympics (which also served as the World Championships in Olympic years) and were relegated to Group B for the 1969 World Championships.

East Germany, wearing red instead of their customary blue,

faces Sweden at the 1968 Olympics

It was at this point in 1969, following their failure at the Olympics, that the East German authorities examined their national sporting programs, with a focus on maximizing their greatest return on investment, with their main focus being winning medals at the Summer and Winter Olympics.

As a result of this scrutiny, it was determined that the country should focus on individual sports, as a single track and field athlete, swimmer or speed skater could produce multiple gold medals at the Olympics, while team sports like water polo or ice hockey required many players, special facilities (such as pools and skating rinks) and special equipment (much of which needed to be imported), all resulting in higher operating costs - and all for the sake of hoping to win just a single medal, which seemed unlikely for the hockey program in the face of dominant competition from the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia and Sweden.

This thinking, called the Lestungssportbeschluss Directive, resulted in ice hockey being relegated to "Sport 2" status by the East German sports federation, which resulted in East Germany never appearing in another Olympic hockey tournament and the immediate reduction in funding for it's domestic hockey league, which was left with only two clubs, SC Dynamo Berlin and SG Dynamo Weisswasser, to produce top level players for the East German National Team from 1971 on, with those two clubs only being spared because the head of the East German secret police, the Stasi, being an avid hockey fan.

In the 1969 World Championships B Pool, East Germany dominated with a perfect 7-0 record, defeating Poland, Yugoslavia, West Germany, Norway, Romania, Austria and Italy, scoring 11 goals three times and 13 once on their way to a final 62-13 goal differential, which saw them promoted back to the "A" Pool for 1970.

Back in the A Pool in 1970, they found the going much tougher, as they went 2-7-1, managing wins over Finland and Poland as well as a tie with Poland in their other meeting.

For 1971, the East Germans declined to participate in Pool A, and instead competed in Pool B, where they finished 3rd with a competitive 5-2-0 record. In 1972, the World Championships began to be held every year, regardless of it being an Olympic year. Still in Pool B, the East Germans again placed 3rd from a 4-2-0 mark.

As a result of the decision to reduce ice hockey to Class 2 status, the East Germans declined to send a team to the 1972 Olympic games, and would never again compete in the Winter Olympic hockey tournament.

The 1973 World Championship tournament saw the East Germans rise to the challenge despite the lack of support from their own government, waltzing to a 7-0 record with wins over the United States, Yugoslavia, Romania, Austria, Japan, Switzerland and Italy. Almost in spite of themselves, they were again headed back to the A Pool!

Once more swimming with the sharks proved difficult, and East Germany went 1-8-1, defeating Poland 5-3 in their first meeting and playing to a 3-3 tie in their second game of the double round robin schedule. Unfortunately for the East Germans, Poland managed two ties, their other coming against Finland, and the Poles were awarded a 5-0 win over Sweden when Swedish player Ulf Nilsson tested positive for a banned substance after Sweden had won easily by a score of 4-1. The 2 points Poland received in the standings was enough to leap them over East Germany, despite not having beaten them on the ice, resulting in the East Germans being relegated back to Pool B for 1975.

East Germany facing the Soviet Union in 1974

This began a series of promotions and relegations for the East Germans, as they were in the no man's land of international hockey, too good for the B Pool and not strong enough to survive in Pool A. They won the B Pool in 1975 with a 6-1 record, scoring 41 and giving up just 18 in 7 games to gain promotion back to the A Pool for 1976, where they were relegated after a 2-7-1 mark after losing Consolation Round games to Poland and Finland along with a tie against West Germany.

Back in Pool B for 1977, they were once again the dominant side, breezing to a 8-0 record while outscoring the competition 57-16, which only set themselves up for relegation from the A Pool in 1978 when they again faltered in the Consolation Round with ties against West Germany and the Untied States and a loss to Finland sealing their fate yet again.

A new format of play in 1979 saw them win Group 1 easily with a 4-0 mark, but a one goal loss to the Netherlands saw them miss out on promotion back to Pool A for 1981, as the World Championships were not held in 1980 due to the Olympics, which did not count as the World Championships as they had from 1924-1968.

The East German National Team in 1979

A down performance in 1981 saw the East Germans place 4th with a 4-2-1 record but they were again on top of the B Pool in 1982, defeating Norway 10-1 and China 13-7 on their way to a 6-0-1 record to earn their sixth promotion to the A Pool.

Wins over Italy and Finland in the First Round and again in the Consolation Round were enough to ensure their survival in the A Pool for consecutive tournaments for the first time since 1966, again, this coming from a country whose top national league consisted of a mere two clubs to draw national team players from.

Their participation in Pool A for a second consecutive time would have to wait until 1985, as 1984 was an Olympic year.

The 1985 World Championships were the East Germans last hurrah, as they only managed a pair of ties against Finland and the United States, sending them back down to the B Pool, where they would play out the remainder of their days as a separate nation, with a 3rd place finish in 1986 and 5th place finishes in 1987, 1989 and 1990.

The East German National Team at the 1985 World Championships

With East and West Germany reunited in time for the 1991 World Championships, only two players from East Germany would be picked to represent the reunified German National Team, goaltender Rene Bielke and forward Mario Naster. No players from the former East Germany were members of the 1992 Olympic team, but two defensemen from the East, Torsten Kienass and Jorg Handrick would dress for Germany at the 1994 Olympics.

Today's featured jersey is a 1988 East Germany Andreas Ludwig jersey. While West Germany's jerseys were based on the red, black and yellow colors of the German flag, and unlike many of the communist teams who wore red jerseys (the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland), the East Germans wore the surprising color combination of blue accented with red and white for most of their existence.

Today's featured jersey is one of the earliest examples of a jersey made by the Finnish company Tackla, as evidenced by the choice of font for the numbers, which would soon change to a block front with a 3-D drop shadow for the remainder of their time as supplier to the IIHF.

Of note, the "DDR" initials on the front of their jerseys stands for Deutsche Demokratische Republik, which translates to German Democratic Republic, often abbreviated as GDR in English.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1989 East Germany Jens Feller jersey as worn during the 1989 World Championships B Pool. This jersey was worn in the 1989 World Championships B Pool, Feller's only appearance for the East German National Team.

This jersey has an extremely minimalist style, with only simple striping on the arms and waist and is devoid of any traditional main cresting, with only the Tackla branding on the upper right chest and the DDR initials and East German coat of arms on the left chest in the style of a soccer jersey, leaving the rest of the body devoid of any traditional main logo.

Today's video section contains footage from the 1985 World Championships, where the East Germans faced off against Czechoslovakia, with the East Germans wearing red for one of the few times in their history.

2008 Germany National Team Marco Sturm Jersey

Born on this date in 1978, German Marco Sturm began his path to the NHL with the EV Landshut Jr. team the 1993-94 season. That same season he made his international debut for the Germany National Team during the 1994 European Junior Championships. He would play one more season for the Landshut juniors as well as playing in not only the European Juniors, but also the 1995 World Junior Championships.

He moved up to the Landshut senior team for the 1995-96 season, scoring 12 goals and 32 points in 47 games. At age 19, Sturm was still eligible as a junior and again competed in both the European Juniors, leading all players in scoring with 11 points in 5 games as the team captain, and the World Juniors, scoring 4 goals and 10 points in 6 games for Germany.

Later that year, Sturm was selected by the San Jose Sharks 21st overall in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, one of only two players selected in the first round to go on to be an NHL All-Star.

Sturm broke into the NHL with the Sharks

The 1996-97 season was Sturm's second with the Landshut senior team, this time scoring 16 goals and 43 points in 46 games. Following the DEL season, Sturm made his senior international debut at the 1997 World Championships, scoring a goal and 2 points for the Germans.

Sturm then signed with the Sharks and made the team out of training camp, scoring a goal in his first NHL game on October 4, 1997. He would finish the season with 10 goals and 30 points in 74 games, fifth among rookies and quickly established himself as an NHL regular. He would also make his Olympic debut during that season when he competed in two games for Germany at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Sturm spend the most time in the NHL with San Jose

He would play the next six seasons with the Sharks, scoring 38, 27 and 32 points from 1998-99 to 2000-01, with a high of 16 goals in 1998-99. That same season he would be named to the World All-Star Team for the NHL All-Star Game. Following the 2000-01 season, Sturm would return to the World Championships for the first time since 1997, scoring 4 goals and 5 points in 7 games.

His first of six consecutive 20 goal season would arrive in 2001-02 with 21 goals on his way to 4 points. Sturm would also return to the Olympics for the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

Sturm during the 2002 Olympics

He would set new personal bests with 28 goals and 48 points in 2002-03 and achieve another 20 goal, 40 point season in 2003-04. Later that fall, Sturm was a member of the German National Team at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey where he contributed 2 goals in 4 games.

Sturm competed for Germany at the 2004 World Cup

Following the World Cup, the owners locked out the players in a bitter labor dispute, which resulted in the entire 2004-05 NHL season being cancelled. As many NHL players did, Sturm returned to his home country and played with ERC Ingolstadt while hoping the NHL season would resume at any time. Eventually, he played 45 games, scoring 22 goals and 38 points for Ingolstadt as well as playing in the DEL All-Star Game.

Sturm was an all-star for Ingolstadt during the NHL lockout

Sturm returned to the Sharks for the start of the 2005-06 NHL season, but after 23 games, he was part of a blockbuster trade, which sent him, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau to the Boston Bruins for their captain Joe Thornton. When Strum left the Sharks, he was ranked sixth in franchise scoring.

After scoring 6 goals and 16 points for San Jose, Sturm would settle right in with the Bruins and add another 23 goals and 43 points in 51 games in Boston, all of which added up to career highs with 29 goals and 59 points. During the season, Sturm was named as the captain for Germany for the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, but was unable to compete due to an injury he suffered in early February.

Sturm completed his career best season with the Bruins

He was healthy enough to return to the Bruins and, following the regular season, played for Germany at the 2006 Division I Group A World Championships, where he scored 4 goals and 7 points in 5 games as Germany earned the promotion back to the top level of the IIHF World Championships for 2007 with a perfect 5-0 record, as Germany dominated with 34 goals scored while only allowing 4 as they shut out Japan, Great Britain and France.

Sturm helped Germany win promotion in 2006

Sturm had another fine season with the Bruins, where his speed served him well, scoring 27 goals and 44 points, while his defensive play made him a tough opponent to compete against. He matched his 27 goals again in 2007-08, but recorded 29 assists for 56 points, the second highest of his career. Following the Bruins exit from the playoffs, Sturm played in his fourth and final World Championships with 2 goals and 3 points in 6 games while serving as the team captain.

Sturm captained the Germans at the 2008 World Championships

He missed the majority of the 2008-09 season due to a knee injury, which limited him to 19 games. Sturm rebounded with a 22 goal, 37 point season, seeing action in 76 games of the 2009-10 season, proving he was fully recovered from his knee problems. Additionally, Sturm was again named the captain of the German Olympic Team for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where he played in his third Olympic Games.

Sturm scores for Germany during the 2010 Olympics

Unfortunately, Sturm was hurt 21 seconds into the Bruins second round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, which resulted in a tear to his ACL and MCL which caused him to miss nearly half of the following 2010-11 season.

Sturm scores in overtime to win the 2010 Winter Classic for Boston

With his recovery nearly complete, Sturm was traded by Boston to the Los Angeles Kings. Ten days later he was activated from injured reserve. He scored 5 goals and 9 points in 17 games for the Kings, but was placed on waivers in late February. The following day he was claimed by the Washington Capitals, scoring a goal and 7 points in 18 regular season games before adding a goal and 3 points in 9 playoff games.

Sturm in a throwback jersey during his brief time with the Kings

Now a free agent, Sturm signed with the Vancouver Canucks, hoping they would return to the Stanley Cup Finals, but after just six games and no points, he was traded to the Florida Panthers, with whom he played in the final 42 games of his NHL career.

Sturm's final NHL club was the Florida Panthers

For the 2012-13 season, Sturm returned to Germany to play for the Cologne Sharks in February in time to play 5 regular season games and 12 playoff games, during which he scored 6 goals and 9 points in what would be he his final games before his retirement as a player.

Sturm's final season was with the Cologne Sharks

In 2015, Sturm was named the Head Coach and General Manager of the Germany National Team, which recently won their Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament to return to the Olympics in 2018 after missing out on the Game in 2014.

Sturm's final NHL totals were 938 games played with 242 goals and 245 assists for 487 points. He also scored 22 points in 68 NHL playoff games. Internationally, he played for Germany at the European Juniors twice, the World Juniors twice, the World Championships four times, the World Cup once and the Olympics three times.

Today's featured jersey is a 2008 Germany National Team Marco Sturm jersey. The IIHF celebrated it's 100th anniversary in 2008 and for that year's World Championships, all teams wore a throwback jersey for one game. For Germany, their design was based on their sweaters from 1932 and was worn during a 5-1 loss to Finland on May 3, 2008.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2004 Germany National Team Marco Sturm jersey. Germany first wore this style in 2001 and continued to wear it through the 2004 World Cup before it was replaced by a new style for the 2005 World Championships.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1999-00 San Jose Sharks Marco Sturm jersey. After the Sharks introduced the color teal to the NHL in 1991, they debuted a new, bold template with with arched striping as their alternate jersey first introduced in 1997-98.

The following season that third jersey became their new primary road jersey which prompted the need for a white home version. This paring was used through the 2006-07 season when it was retired with the debut of the new Reebok Edge jerseys for the 2007-08 season.

Today's video section begins with Sturm scoring the Game 6 overtime goal against the Montreal Canadiens in the 2008 playoffs.

If that wasn't enough, here are all 29 of Sturm's goals from the 2005-06 season in chronological order.

One more Sturm goal, this his overtime game winner in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic.