Kölner Haie going to honour Udo Kießling

The DEL club Kölner Haie was founded in 1972. In June the management announced that for their 40th anniversary they are holding a special event on 8 November 2012 when dozens of former Haie players are going to play in a friendly match. Among the players who already confirmed their participation are former club legends from all over the world like Dave McLlwain (CAN), Tomas Forslund (SWE), Bruno Zarillo (CAN/ITA), Andrew Verner (CAN/AUT) and Leo Stefan (GER). There are also talks with other former KEC star players like Russian long-time NHLer Sergei Berezin who couldn't yet confirm his participation.

Recently the club announced that they are going to honour former Haie defenseman and German international Udo Kießling by retiring his jersey #4 during the event and getting him a banner under the roof of the Haie home stadium Lanxess Arena. Before him only Peppi Heiss (1), Jörg Mayr (6), Ralph Philipp (8), Miro Sikora (11), Detlef Langemann (14) and Robert Müller (80) were honoured that way by the team.

Who is Udo Kießling?

Born in Crimmitschau in the former German Democratic Republic in 1955 as son of the GDR's national ice hockey coach Gerhard Kießling, the family left the country only two years later. In the German Bundesliga Kießling played for SC Riessersee, Augsburger EV, EV Rosenheim, Kölner EC, Düsseldorfer EG, EV Füssen and EV Landshut. When the Bundesliga was followed by the DEL in 1994 he stayed another two years at the highest German level with Landshut before retiring for good. During his playing career the defender also stood on the ice in one NHL game for the Minnesota North Stars in 1981 - as the first German player to ever play in the league - but preferred to stay in Germany.  

As a Haie player Kießling won six national championships between 1977 and 1988. He was three times elected player of the year in Germany, was voted into the German All-Star Team 15 consecutive times and in 1987 he was part of the All-Star Team of the World Championship. His biggest international success was the win of the bronze medal during the 1976 Olympic Winter Games with the German national team. His 320 games for the German national team make him still the record player of his country.

After Kießling already being a member of the German and the International Hockey Hall of Fame, having the club where he was most succesful in his career, retiring his jersey number seems only logical.

 

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