photo: © Nabil Kacem - GSHC
When the puck drops on the 2024-25 season of the Champions Hockey League, it also marks the tenth anniversary season for the league that showcases the best European club team hockey. The league has come a long way since the opening faceoff took place in Czechia, in a game between Vítkovice Ridera and ERC Ingolstadt, in 2014.
Today, the CHL is an established part of the European hockey calendar.
As the CHL enters its second decade, it kicks into a higher gear amid several changes, most of them behind the scenes. In March, it was announced that Martin Baumann, the only CEO the league has ever known would leave the CHL. Communication and Digital Media Director Monika Reinhard was named the new Chief Operating Office. And the board will only have five members going forward, instead of nine, to make the CHL a more agile organization.
A new member on the board is Veli-Pekka Marin, the CEO and co-founder of Uplause, a sports technology company and vice chairman of TPS Turku. He will join CHL President Jörgen Lindgren, Henrik Bach Nielsen, Patrick Lengwiler, and Miha Butara on the board.
The anniversary season is played in the same format as last season, when the number of participating teams was dropped to 24. As in 2023-24, all teams drew two opponents from the three other pools in a system that creates a competitive and exciting league. The first round of playoffs will see the top-seeded team take on the 16th-place team and so on.
Rickard Wallin, the GM of Swedish Farjestad, summed up the charm of the CHL when he analyzed his team’s draw luck.
"The two Finnish teams will be tough, but we've also got a Norwegian team, a Hungarian team and an Austrian team, which are all teams we don't know too much about,” he said.
Today, the CHL is an established part of the European hockey calendar.
As the CHL enters its second decade, it kicks into a higher gear amid several changes, most of them behind the scenes. In March, it was announced that Martin Baumann, the only CEO the league has ever known would leave the CHL. Communication and Digital Media Director Monika Reinhard was named the new Chief Operating Office. And the board will only have five members going forward, instead of nine, to make the CHL a more agile organization.
A new member on the board is Veli-Pekka Marin, the CEO and co-founder of Uplause, a sports technology company and vice chairman of TPS Turku. He will join CHL President Jörgen Lindgren, Henrik Bach Nielsen, Patrick Lengwiler, and Miha Butara on the board.
The anniversary season is played in the same format as last season, when the number of participating teams was dropped to 24. As in 2023-24, all teams drew two opponents from the three other pools in a system that creates a competitive and exciting league. The first round of playoffs will see the top-seeded team take on the 16th-place team and so on.
Rickard Wallin, the GM of Swedish Farjestad, summed up the charm of the CHL when he analyzed his team’s draw luck.
"The two Finnish teams will be tough, but we've also got a Norwegian team, a Hungarian team and an Austrian team, which are all teams we don't know too much about,” he said.
photo: © Nabil Kacem - GSHC
And he’s right, the two Finnish teams probably will be tough opponents. They happen to be the two Finnish Liiga finalists from last season, Lahti Pelicans and Tampere Tappara, which is the only team to have qualified for the CHL every year.
While Wallin doesn’t know too much about their Hungarian opponents, Fehérvár’s coach knows something about Farjestad.
“Farjestad have a great defence, and it will be tough to break through them. It will be a challenge, but I believe our team can rise to the occasion and show what we are capable of,” head coach David Kiss said.
And if not Farjestad, maybe Kiss’s team can surprise Dynamo Pardubice ?
“We haven’t faced Czech teams at this level before. It’s rare for a Hungarian team to meet such top-level Czech teams. The road trip is also a team-building period, and it’s a nice challenge,” Kiss said.
But then again, Pardubice will also face Lahti Pelicans.
“Lahti are another of our opponents that are one of the best in Europe. They have a very high-quality team, including several Czech players. They are a very well-organised team,” said coach Marek Zadina.
Pelicans, in turn, take on the reigning CHL champions Genève-Servette HC, the first non-Swedish or Finnish team to win the title.
“They have some top Finnish players – defenceman Sami Vatanen and forwards Teemu Hartikainen, Sakari Manninen, and Markus Granlund. A star-studded team to be seen in the small rink of the Isku Arena,” Pelicans coach Juhamatti Yli-Junnila said.
And so it goes, round and round, for all 24 teams. All of them full of hope and expectations. Anything is possible.
Seventy-two games will be played between 5 September and 16 October to find out who the Top 16 are.
The new champion will be crowned on 18 February 2025.
While Wallin doesn’t know too much about their Hungarian opponents, Fehérvár’s coach knows something about Farjestad.
“Farjestad have a great defence, and it will be tough to break through them. It will be a challenge, but I believe our team can rise to the occasion and show what we are capable of,” head coach David Kiss said.
And if not Farjestad, maybe Kiss’s team can surprise Dynamo Pardubice ?
“We haven’t faced Czech teams at this level before. It’s rare for a Hungarian team to meet such top-level Czech teams. The road trip is also a team-building period, and it’s a nice challenge,” Kiss said.
But then again, Pardubice will also face Lahti Pelicans.
“Lahti are another of our opponents that are one of the best in Europe. They have a very high-quality team, including several Czech players. They are a very well-organised team,” said coach Marek Zadina.
Pelicans, in turn, take on the reigning CHL champions Genève-Servette HC, the first non-Swedish or Finnish team to win the title.
“They have some top Finnish players – defenceman Sami Vatanen and forwards Teemu Hartikainen, Sakari Manninen, and Markus Granlund. A star-studded team to be seen in the small rink of the Isku Arena,” Pelicans coach Juhamatti Yli-Junnila said.
And so it goes, round and round, for all 24 teams. All of them full of hope and expectations. Anything is possible.
Seventy-two games will be played between 5 September and 16 October to find out who the Top 16 are.
The new champion will be crowned on 18 February 2025.