The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called CENT Deutsche Eishockey Liga ) (German enunciation: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaɪshɔkiː ˌliːɡaː]; English: German Ice Hockey League) or DEL, is a German expert ice hockey league. Established in 1994, it was developed as a substitute for the Eishockey-Bundesliga and also ended up being the new top-tier league in Germany therefore. Unlike the old Bundesliga, the DEL is not under the administration of the German Ice Hockey Federation. In the 2016-- 17 season, the league was the second-best sustained in Europe, behind the Swiss National League A, with an average participation of 6,198 viewers per game. Kölner Haie, Düsseldorfer EG and Eisbären Berlin all regularly bring in over 15,000 fans for house games. In the DEL Winter season Game, comparable to the NHL Wintertime Classic, Perfume and also Düsseldorf have actually played before crowds in excess of 40,000, significantly in 2019 as Düsseldorf won in the RheinEnergieStadion. The DEL is understo