Do you wonder how the 44 teams in the 2014/2015 edition of the Champions Hockey League qualified? Do you know what A, B and C licenses are? This should clear things up.

by Shaun Nicolaides

The Champions Hockey League is an elite competition, therefore only the cream of the European crop can take part. The tournament is divided the way that the teams are seeded into the competition using a license system. Twenty six clubs have A-licenses A, 12 clubs have B-licenses, and six have C-licenses. To make things easier for you here is an overview of each license category, and just how each team qualified to take part in the 2014/2015 season of the Champions Hockey League.

A-Licence

The 26 clubs that were involved in the founding of the Champions Hockey League all have A-licenses. These clubs come from the six founding national leagues, and as a minimum requirement each club has to be in the top division of their respective national championship. Here is a list of all these 26 clubs and to which founding league they belong.

• Austria (EBEL): Red Bull Salzburg, Vienna Capitals.
• Czech Republic (Extraliga): Bili Tygri Liberec, HC Pardubice, Sparta Prague, Vitkovice Ostrava.
• Finland (Liiga): IFK Helsinki, JYP Jyvaskyla, KalPa Kuopio, Karpat Oulu, Tappara Tampere, TPS Turku.
• Germany (DEL): Adler Mannheim, Eisbaren Berlin, ERC Ingolstadt, Krefeld Pinguine.
• Switzerland (NLA): SC Bern, Fribourg-Gotteron, ZSC Lions Zurich, EV Zug.
• Sweden (SHL): Djurgarden Stockholm, Frolunda Gothenburg, Farjestad Karlstad, HV71 Jönköping, Linkopigs HC, Lulea Hockey.

B-License

If you aren't among the A-license clubs, you can still qualify for a B-license. Twelve teams have been awarded B-licenses, and as well as being part of one of the six founding leagues there are other requirements that you have to meet. If you are either your national league’s champion, the regular season winner, the regular season runner-up, a playoff finalist or playoff semi-finalist then you are eligible to qualify for the Champions Hockey League with a B-license. Here are the teams who have qualified via B-license for the 2014/2015 season, and to which founding league they belong.

• Austria (EBEL): Sudtirol Bolzano (champion/regular season runner-up), Villach SV (playoff semi-finalist)
• Czech Republic (Extraliga): PSG Zlin (champion), Ocelari Trinec (regular season runner-up)
• Finland (Liiga): Lukko Rauma, SaiPa Lappeenranta (both playoff semi-finalists)
• Germany (DEL): Hamburg Freezers (regular season winner), Koln Haie (finalist)
• Switzerland (NLA): Geneve-Servette, Kloten Flyers (both playoff semi-finalists)
• Sweden (SHL): Skelleftea AIK (champion/regular season winner), Vaxjo Lakers (semi-finalist)

C-License

This is the category where wildcard berths are offered to the teams who wish to compete in the Champions Hockey League, but do not belong to any of the six founding leagues. For the 2014/2015 season six wildcards have been put on offer, with the teams receiving them having to have won a championship in their respective country in the past season. Here are the lucky few who have claimed a wildcard for themselves for the upcoming season.

• Stavanger Oilers, playoff champion (NOR)
• Valerenga Oslo, regular season winner (NOR)
• Nottingham Panthers, Challenge Cup winner (GBR)
• SonderjyskE Vojens, playoff champion (DEN)
• Briancon Diables Rouge, playoff champion (FRA)
• Kosice, playoff champion (SVK)