BERLIN – The DEL is heading to the Deutschland Cup break, what gives us the chance, to take a look at what happened in October.
The Haie from Cologne look like the new powerhouse in German hockey, especially after adding Christian Ehrhoff to their roster in late October.
Ehrhoff is one of the best German defenseman to play the game. He signed in Cologne after failing an agreement on a new contract with the Boston Bruins of the NHL. 
Ehrhoff has played 862 games in parts with the San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks recording 374 points.
He almost won the Stanley Cup with the Canucks in 2011, falling to the Bruins and fellow Team Germany linemate Dennis Seidenberg in seven games.
Ehrhoff made his debut for the Haie on the 28th October against the Schwenninger Wild Wings, notching two helpers to earn his team a 4:0 victory. He added another assist in his second game just two days later, against the Adler Mannheim, who ended up defeated by Cologne with an equal score of 4:0. The Kölner Haie definitely look hot going into November.
Also red hot, the Wolfsburg Grizzlys, who won eight of last ten games, earning them third place in the standings behind Cologne and the champions from Munich, who again, sit on top of the table.
The Eisbären Berlin took a little drop off to mediocrity, sitting in seventh, after being on top in September. The Eisbären suffering many injuries and are still struggling on the special teams. They allow too many goals on the power play. Eisbären star winger Nick Petersen is still in the mix for the league’s top scorer, earning a steady spot in the weekly Top 10 Highlights list.
The Fishtown Pinguins of Bremerhaven, our late darlings, have performed pretty well during October. While many experts expected them to be Shark Bait, they definitely turned some heads and added five wins to the single one from September to their account. They currently sit in 11th, right on the bubble for a playoff spot.
One team who definitely looks ice cold, are the Straubing Tigers. Out of September, the Tigers sat in second, equaling the points of Berlin. One month later they are dead last after losing eight of their last nine games. November will tell, if there is reason for serious concern. In many games, you could tell that they lack confidence in situations on the ice. However, they also provide good offense in parts, as seen in the win against Berlin and they almost defeated Cologne on the road.
The standings are still tight, every team can easily beat another and finding consistency will be the major quest for the teams down in the table.
Coming into November, the DEL traditionally takes a few days off for the Deutschland Cup, an annual international four-team tournament, hosted in Augsburg. This year, Team Germany invited Slovakia, Switzerland and Team Canada, which consists of Canadians playing in the European top leagues, like former NHL Players Max Talbot and Derek Roy.
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