photo: © CHL
Hockey fans across Europe can mark September 3 in their calendars as the start date for the 2026–27 Champions Hockey League campaign, the league announced at its group draw in Zurich on Wednesday.
The CHL keeps taking steps forward, said Champions Hockey League President Jorgen Lindgren.
“Overall, I think the competition is improving and the gap between bigger and smaller teams is getting smaller,” he noted.
“This season, every game had meaning all the way to the end. We had smashing playoffs and then, crowning the season, we had the final between Frolunda and Lulea. It was a really good season,” he added, pleased.
In the draw, the 24 participating teams were allocated to four pots, A through D, based on the strength of their league according to the CHL ranking and their performance in that league.
All in all, there are four teams from the Swedish SHL, while the Finnish Liiga, Swiss National League, German DEL, Czech Extraliga, and multinational ICEHL send three teams each. Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, France, and Poland send one team each.
This year also brings three first-time teams to the Champions Hockey League: Herning Blue Fox (Denmark), KooKoo Kouvola (Finland), and Bordeaux Boxers (France).
It’s the diversity that makes international club hockey unique, said HC Davos head coach Josh Holden.
“Being able to see how other coaches coach, how other skill sets are implemented in different countries, and to be able to evaluate yourself against others,” he said.
“It’s tough to pre-scout them,” he joked, “and games come at you fast. But guys want to play games that mean something, and in the CHL, right away every win matters. That’s going to be key for us.”
The ability to measure your team against the best in Europe was something Jussi Markkanen, Finnish Liiga Director of Hockey Operations, wanted to highlight.
“The best clubs want to compete against the best, also internationally, and the CHL is an excellent platform for that,” he said.
After the teams were drawn into the grid, each team was then pitted against six other teams—three home games and three away games—according to the CHL algorithm, which makes sure that teams from the same league won’t play against each other in the regular season and that the league’s level of competitiveness is taken into account.
For the full matchup schedule, please see chl.hockey, but here are some interesting notes:
The Champions Hockey League also recently announced that it had raised its team contribution for the upcoming season by 26 percent to 3.2 million euro. Also, it doubled the compensation for the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals.
This adjustment is designed to address clubs’ concerns about increasing travel and logistics costs, especially in the playoff stage and the short turnaround time between stages for clubs that advance.
The CHL keeps taking steps forward, said Champions Hockey League President Jorgen Lindgren.
“Overall, I think the competition is improving and the gap between bigger and smaller teams is getting smaller,” he noted.
“This season, every game had meaning all the way to the end. We had smashing playoffs and then, crowning the season, we had the final between Frolunda and Lulea. It was a really good season,” he added, pleased.
In the draw, the 24 participating teams were allocated to four pots, A through D, based on the strength of their league according to the CHL ranking and their performance in that league.
All in all, there are four teams from the Swedish SHL, while the Finnish Liiga, Swiss National League, German DEL, Czech Extraliga, and multinational ICEHL send three teams each. Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, France, and Poland send one team each.
This year also brings three first-time teams to the Champions Hockey League: Herning Blue Fox (Denmark), KooKoo Kouvola (Finland), and Bordeaux Boxers (France).
It’s the diversity that makes international club hockey unique, said HC Davos head coach Josh Holden.
“Being able to see how other coaches coach, how other skill sets are implemented in different countries, and to be able to evaluate yourself against others,” he said.
“It’s tough to pre-scout them,” he joked, “and games come at you fast. But guys want to play games that mean something, and in the CHL, right away every win matters. That’s going to be key for us.”
The ability to measure your team against the best in Europe was something Jussi Markkanen, Finnish Liiga Director of Hockey Operations, wanted to highlight.
“The best clubs want to compete against the best, also internationally, and the CHL is an excellent platform for that,” he said.
After the teams were drawn into the grid, each team was then pitted against six other teams—three home games and three away games—according to the CHL algorithm, which makes sure that teams from the same league won’t play against each other in the regular season and that the league’s level of competitiveness is taken into account.
For the full matchup schedule, please see chl.hockey, but here are some interesting notes:
- Slovakia’s Nitra drew three Swedish teams — Skelleftea, Vaxjo, and Rogle — as their home games.
- Reigning CHL champion Frolunda will welcome Finnish Liiga runners-up from 2025 and 2026, SaiPa and KooKoo, respectively.
- Skelleftea will take on HC Davos, Geneve-Servette, and Red Bull Salzburg at home, while Eisbaren Berlin will play the same three teams on the road.
- Adler Mannheim gets a good test in games against the Swedish champions Skelleftea, Swiss champions Fribourg-Gotteron, and Finnish runners-up KooKoo Kouvola, the last two on the road.
The Champions Hockey League also recently announced that it had raised its team contribution for the upcoming season by 26 percent to 3.2 million euro. Also, it doubled the compensation for the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals.
This adjustment is designed to address clubs’ concerns about increasing travel and logistics costs, especially in the playoff stage and the short turnaround time between stages for clubs that advance.