The 2015 Champions Hockey League Draw is now complete! All 48 clubs have been placed into 16 groups of three. See the results below.
by Derek O'Brien
PRAGUE – The second annual Champions Hockey League Draw took place on Wednesday, almost one year after the first Draw in Minsk. Since then a season of 61 games was played and a European club champion was crowned, but to a lot of people in the room at O2 Arena, it seemed like just yesteday.
“The year went very quickly, it's amazing how fast it went,” said CHL CEO Martin Baumann. “But we learned a lot and I think the upcoming year will be even better.”
The new season will include four more teams and one new country – Belarus, which is represented by IIHF Continental Cup champions Neman Grodno.
“This is a special moment for our club, it's very prestigious thing to participate in this big competition,” said general manager Anatoli Varivonchik. His club would ultimately get drawn into Group 9 with Adler Mannheim and Vitkovice Ostrava.
Assisting with last year's Draw in Minsk was former Czech player Jaroslav Spacek. This year it was a pair of his 1998 Olympic championship teammates – captain Robert Reichel and legendary goaltender Dominik Hasek.
Reichel's former club, HC Litvinov, qualified for the CHL this season as Czech champions. About the team's prospective opponents he said, “The general manager of our team said he'd like to be grouped with some team from Germany because it's very close to our border.”
That didn't happen, however – Litvinov was drawn into Group 6 with the Espoo Blues from Finland and the French champion Gap Rapaces. Hasek's HC Pardubice was also shut out of drawing border opponents, ending up in Group 5 with Swiss champions HC Davos and Swedish club Farjestad Karlstad.
“I like what I see here,” Hasek said of the CHL. “It's a great competition and I hope it will grow. I plan to go to a few games this year to see Pardubice – they have a great team and they don't care who they play.”
In addition to a new league and new country, there are also three countries that had one representative last season, but will have two this season – Slovakia, Great Britain and France. The Braehead Clan from Glasgow represent the CHL's first team based in Scotland, and the club seems excited about the prospect of playing in Group 15 with the Swedish champion Vaxjo Lakers and German finalist ERC Ingolstadt.
“There’s no doubt Ingolstadt and Vaxjo will present a massive challenge to us, but it’s one we’re really looking forward to and can’t wait to play them,” said Braehead head coach Scott Finnerty. “It’s a good draw for us to get and now the preparation continues as we get the team ready for the CHL.”
One interesting result is that Lukko Rauma and Lulea Hockey have once again been drawn together. Last season, the two clubs split their group games and finished tied in points, with Lukko winning the group based on goal difference and Lulea advancing as one of the best second-placed clubs. They met again in the quarter-finals, with Lulea winning this time 7–3 on aggregate. This season will mark the fifth and sixth meetings between the teams in CHL play.
Here are the 16 groups for the 2015-16 CHL season:
Group 1: SC Bern (SUI), Linkoping HC (SWE), IFK Helsinki (FIN)
Group 2: Tappara Tampere (FIN), EV Zug (SUI), Djurgarden Stockholm (SWE)
Group 3: Red Bull Salzburg (AUT), HV71 Jonkoping (SWE), SonderjyskE Vojens (DEN)
Group 4: Skelleftea AIK (SWE), Bili Tygri Liberec (CZE), HK Nitra (SVK)
Group 5: HC Davos (SUI), HC Pardubice (CZE), Farjestad Karlstad (SWE)
Group 6: HC Litvinov (CZE), Espoo Blues (FIN), Grenoble (FRA)
Group 7: Black Wings Linz (AUT), Dusseldorfer EG (GER), TPS Turku (FIN)
Group 8: Red Bull Munich (GER), KAC Klagenfurt (AUT), HC Kosice (SVK)
Group 9: Adler Mannheim (GER), Vitkovice Ostrava (CZE), Neman Grodno (BLR)
Group 10: Karpat Oulu (FIN), Vienna Capitals (AUT), Krefeld Pinguine (GER)
Group 11: Lukko Rauma (FIN), Lulea Hockey (SWE), Fribourg-Gotteron (SUI)
Group 12: Ocelari Trinec (CZE), KalPa Kuopio (FIN), Stavanger Oilers (NOR)
Group 13: Sparta Prague (CZE), Geneve-Servette (SUI), Storhamar Hamar (NOR)
Group 14: Frolunda Gothenburg (SWE), JYP Jyvaskyla (FIN), Sheffield Steelers (GBR)
Group 15: Vaxjo Lakers (SWE), Ingolstadt (GER), Braehead Glasgow (GBR)
Group 16: ZSC Lions Zurich (SUI), Eisbaren Berlin (GER), Gap Rapaces (FRA)