Mathias Niederberger is a German professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). His father, Andreas Niederberger, is a member of the German ice hockey Hall of Fame.

Mathias Niederberger
Niederberger with Eisbären Berlin in 2021
Born (1992-11-26) 26 November 1992 (age 31)
Düsseldorf, Germany
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
DEL team
Former teams
EHC München
Düsseldorfer EG
Manchester Monarchs
Eisbären Berlin
National team  Germany
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2010–present

Playing career

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Coming through the youth ranks of Düsseldorfer EG, he made his debut in Germany's top flight Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) during the 2010–11 season.[1] He joined EHC München of the DEL after two seasons of major junior hockey with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). With NHL aspirations, Niederberger was later granted a release from his contract with EHC to sign a one-year American Hockey League contract with the Manchester Monarchs on 19 July 2013.[2]

In his only North American season in 2013–14, Niederberger struggled to adapt and was also hampered by injuries, appearing in 6 games with the Monarchs. At the season's end, he opted to return to Germany's top division, signing a multi-year contract to compete for a starting position with Eisbären Berlin on 5 June 2014.[3] After spending the 2014–15 season with the Eisbären squad, seeing the ice in 12 DEL contests, Niederberger went back to Düsseldorfer EG on loan.[4] He received 2015–16 DEL Goaltender of the Year honors.[5]

Following his fifth consecutive season with Düsseldorfer in 2019–20, Niederberger left the club at the conclusion of his contract, agreeing to join former loan club, Eisbären Berlin on an optional multi-year contract on 19 March 2020.[6]

International play

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Medal record
Representing   Germany
Ice hockey
World Championships
  2023 Finland/Latvia

In April 2016, he made his debut for the German national team.[7] He also represented Germany at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.[8]

Career statistics

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International

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Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2010 Germany U18-D1 11th 3 3 0 0 180 2 1 0.67 .965
2012 Germany WJC-D1 11th 5 5 0 0 260 7 0 1.62 .921
2018 Germany WC 11th 1 1 0 0 62 2 0 1.94 .947
2019 Germany WC 6th 4 3 1 0 237 7 0 1.77 .942
2021 Germany WC 4th 7 4 3 0 423 12 0 1.70 .929
2022 Germany WC 7th 2 2 0 0 120 6 0 3.00 .842
2023 Germany WC   9 6 3 0 542 20 1 2.21 .903
2024 Germany WC 6th 3 1 2 0 140 9 0 3.86 .880
Junior totals 8 8 0 0 440 9 1 1.23 .957
Senior totals 26 17 9 0 1,524 56 1 2.20 .907

Awards and honors

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Award Year
DEL
Goaltender of the Year 2016, 2020
Champion (Eisbären Berlin) 2021 [9]

References

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  1. ^ DEG Metro Stars' 2010–11 Roster
  2. ^ "Monarchs sign Niederberger". Manchester Monarchs. 19 July 2013. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Berlin commit to goaltender Mathias Niederberger". Eisbären Berlin (in German). 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  4. ^ Berlin, Eisbären. "Eisbären Berlin :: Mathias Niederberger wird ausgeliehen | Marvin Cüpper kommt". www.eisbaeren.de. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. ^ Scheer, Mareike. "Mathias Niederberger von der DEG ist Torwart des Jahres". NRZ. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Mathias Niederberger returns to the Polar Bears" (in German). Eisbären Berlin. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  7. ^ e.V., Deutscher Eishockey-Bund. "Nationalmannschaft: Am Ende fehlte die Kraft | Deutscher Eishockey-Bund e.V." www.deb-online.de. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  8. ^ "IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - TEAM ROSTER - GER - Germany" (PDF). IIHF. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  9. ^ "New champion in unique DEL season". IIHF. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
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