Hartmut Nickel

Hartmut Nickel (16 November 1944 – 27 June 2019)^[1] was a German ice hockey player, who competed for SC Dynamo Berlin between 1963 and 1974. He played for the East Germany national ice hockey team at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.^[2]

Hartmut Nickel
Nickel (right) in 1974
Born	(1944-11-16)16 November 1944 Weißwasser, Nazi Germany
Died	27 June 2019(2019-06-27) (aged 74)
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Played for	SC Dynamo Berlin
National team	East Germany
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	1963–1974

Nickel was popularly called "Father Polarbear" (German: Papa Eisbär) at Eisbären Berlin. After the passing of Nickel in 2019, the northern curved end of the Mercedes-Benz Arena, with terracing for active supporters of Eisbären Berlin, was officially named the Hartmut Nickel Curve (German: Hartmut Nickel Kurve), at the request of club supporters.^[3][4]