Udo Kiessling
Udo Kiessling ( born May 21, 1955 in Crimmitschau ) is a former German professional ice hockey player. With 320 missions he's most capped player of the German national ice hockey team. In the season 1981/1982 he also played one NHL game for the Minnesota North Stars and was the first German player in NHL history. ( Although born in Germany Canadians Walt Tkaczuk and also playing this season, Canadian-born Ron Fischer played before him, had at this time, however, no German passport. )
Career
When he was born, his father Gerhard Kiessling was coach of the national hockey team of the GDR. His parents sat in 1957, before the construction of the Berlin Wall to West Berlin from. In Krefeld, where his father began his first coach position in West Germany, Udo began even before his third birthday with the skating. From Canada, his father had brought kids ice skates for him. In Preussen Krefeld Udo played in youth. Had accepted a position as also his father in Frankfurt, Udo traveled to play there on the weekends to Krefeld. During the week, he trained with his father.
A task in the DEB brought his father to Garmisch -Partenkirchen. Therefore Udo moved to SC Riessersee. There he made his debut in the Bundesliga, together with Ignaz Berndaner. As the two young defender made a good impression, nominated coach Gerhard Kiessling his son and Berndaner for the Germany squad for the World Ice Hockey Championships in 1973. There have been discussions as to whether the two were not too inexperienced for the job, but never got a discussion about the preference by the father.
The Augsburger EV was the next stop of Kiessling after the World Cup. He could not prevent the descent of the team, but was chosen as one of the best defenders in the All-Star team. In 1974 he moved to the 2nd Bundesliga for EV Rosenheim, in which his father had been involved as a coach. He managed to Rosenheim in the first year promotion to the Bundesliga. In 1981 he played his first and only NHL game for the Minnesota North Stars, for he remained despite a contract offer in the hockey league.
Overall, he made 1,020 games in the German top flight and scored 881 points scorer. With the Kölner EC, he was 6- times German champion. Internationally, he is Germany's most capped player with 320 international appearances and was until 2003 the world record player.
Particular successes were here winning the bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in 1976 and the appointment to the World Cup All Star team in 1987. Overall, he took five times in the Olympic Games and once in the Canada Cup in part. Due to injury, he ended his active career in 1996 and since then lives in Cologne. His extraordinary talent and his achievements have been honored with induction into the Hall of Fame Germany and the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Achievements
- German champion with the Cologne EC: 1977, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988
- Player of the Year: 1977, 1984, 1986
- League All-Star Team: 1977-91 15 times in series
- Leonhard Waitl Trophy: 1977, 1979, 1980, 1985
- Bronze medal at the Olympic Winter Games in 1976
- Vocation in the World Cup All Star Team 1987
Career Stats
( Key to Career statistics: Sp or GP = Games Played, T or G = goals scored, V or A = achieved assists; Pts or Pts = scored points scorer, SM or PIM = received penalty minutes, / - = Plus / Minus balance sheet; PP = scored majority gates; SH = scored shorthanded goals, GW = achieved victory gates; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )