Wednesday, 18. March 2026 |
EHC Red Bull München: Young defenseman Phillip Sinn looks ahead to the playoffs
The final two home games of the regular season brought two more highlights for Phillip Sinn. First, our young defenseman was on the ice for the historic 10-1 derby victory over the Straubing Tigers. Second, five days earlier, he finally scored his first DEL goal in his 35th game against the Löwen Frankfurt.
2:2 | Phillip Sinn gleicht mit seinem ersten DEL-Tor aus
// IN-GAME-VIDEO
With this result, Sinn heads into the playoff quarterfinal series against ERC Ingolstadt, which begins on March 24, brimming with confidence and riding a wave of momentum.
A defining memory
For a long time, however, he felt uneasy about the biggest DEL victory in our club’s history. “I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical. I expected Straubing to come back for a long time,” he confessed. That changed during the second period. “That’s when I was sure we’d win the game,” said Sinn.
Highlights: EHC Red Bull München vs. Straubing Tigers (13.03.2026)
// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS
That uneasy feeling when a team has a big lead is actually well-founded and dates back 14 years. The context: the DEL Finals series in April 2012 between the Adler Mannheim and the Eisbären Berlin, which was still played in a “best-of-five” format at the time. The Kurpfälzer were leading the series 2–1 and thus had match point at home.
Sinn, a native of Mannheim, recalls: “With 14 minutes left, Mannheim was leading 5-2; everyone was already ready to celebrate. And then Berlin came back,” he says. The Eisbären completely turned the game around, ultimately winning in overtime and securing the championship in Game 5.
The other side of the coin – again with Sinn
In the following season, the Adler unfortunately managed to hold onto a big lead all the way to the end. On October 12, 2013, Mannheim beat Munich 9-0, handing us our biggest DEL loss to date. Sinn, who was only nine years old at the time, was also at the stadium for that game—albeit in a completely different role than during the Red Bulls’ record-breaking victory nearly 13 years later. Namely, as a spectator.
“I don’t remember much about it, except that it ended 9-0. But I do remember watching the game with a friend,” recalls the now 22-year-old. “He took a photo of the score, and everyone was wondering what was going on.”
“We want to take it up a notch”
But that’s all in the past, of course; today, only the here and now matters. Sinn, who played in Mannheim’s youth system up to the U16 level, announced as early as last September, shortly before the season started: “I’m a Munich player now, and against Mannheim I’ll throw my body into the game just as hard as against any other team. I’ll probably even play extra hard against Mannheim, simply because it’s my hometown.” And that proved true after the three matchups against his former youth club in the regular season—he missed one game due to injury. “Especially now in the playoffs. We want to take it up a notch,” he promised.
Just like with EC Red Bull Salzburg over the past two years. The left-handed shooter won the ICEHL championship in the city of Mozart each season alongside Ryan Murphy, Philipp Krening, and our coach Oliver David. The first title, in particular, had a special story behind it. “We won Game 7 of the finals in Klagenfurt. That was basically my breakthrough and just an awesome time,” he says.
Two goal debuts in one season
Sinn also made a great impression in his first full PENNY DEL season, which even led him to the national team. In November, he wore the DEB jersey for the first time at the Deutschland Cup in Landshut and scored immediately in his first international match during the 4-1 victory over Latvia.
Four months later, he celebrated his first goal in Germany’s top league with a powerful slap shot against Frankfurt. “That was a great feeling—there was a bit of relief in there too. Plus, it was a relatively important goal to tie the game. I was really happy,” Sinn described that special afternoon.
“I think I’ve developed well”
Overall, he’s satisfied with his season so far. As a U23 defenseman, he’s delivered strong and consistent performances. “I think I’ve taken a step forward. The start of the season went very well, then unfortunately I got injured. That made things a bit more difficult. Nevertheless, I believe I’ve developed well this year.”
It’s quite possible that NHL scouts have taken notice as well. They regularly watch our top prospect, Alberts Smits, at our games. It wouldn’t be surprising if Phillip Sinn’s name were now appearing in the scouts’ notebooks as well.
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