Consisting of 16 groups with three teams apiece, here’s how the Group Stage unfolded:

• Although the majority of the Wild Card entries were unsuccessful in their attempts, three teams stood fast, Belarusian side Yunost Minsk, along with Slovakian teams, HC Košice and HK Nitra
• Securing just one win each over their four games, the competition was over abruptly for half of Germany's teams inclduing Adler Mannheim, ERC Ingolstadt and Krefeld Pinguine
• The Czechs bid farewell to HC Pardubice and BK Mladá Boleslav, as well as the Czech-based EBEL qualifier Orli Znojmo, who all finished bottom of their groups
• Austrian-based EBEL teams also struggled, as Black Wings Linz departed the competition after managing just one win, and the Vienna Capitals, despite two wins against Sweden's Skellefteå AIK, also bowed out at the first stage.

• Luleå Hockey, the first ever CHL Champions, exited the competition at an early and unexpected stage, however every other Swedish team topped their respective group in points!
• Emerging unscathed, Switzerland and Finland were the only countries that retained all their teams. Eight Finnish teams advanced to the Playoffs, while the Swiss made history, as all six teams qualified for the knockout stage for the first time
• It was frustration for Norway, which for the first time was left without a Playoff team. The Stavanger Oilers collected just one win while Lørenskog IK had no luck at all

With the Group Stage completed, the Round of 32 had some monumental wins and unexpected exits:

• Slovak side Nitra's incredible high after topping their group during the Group Stage dissipated as they went down 12-0 on aggregate to Czech rivals Vítkovice
• Sparta narrowly advanced past 2015/16 CHL Runners-Up Kärpät Oulu in two tight matches. A 1-0 win in the first game, followed by a 1-1 tie in the return, was all the Czech club needed to progress
• It was shock for Swedish teams Färjestad Karlstad, Djurgården Stockholm, and Skellefteå AIK who all bowed out despite their initial dominant starts

• Of the three remaining German teams, the Grizzlys Wolfsburg and Red Bull Munich were ousted by ZSC Lions Zurich and Växjö Lakers, respectively, leaving Eisbären Berlin to carry the nation’s CHL hopes.
• The lone Austrian contenders, Red Bull Salzburg, put up a good fight to tie the first game, but were overcome by SC Bern, who claimed a 7-4 victory in the home-and-away series 
• Swiss side Fribourg-Gottéron eliminated Košice, extinguishing any chance of a Wild Card team making it past this round, and fans of EV Zug and HC Davos had little to cheer about as the two teams were eliminated.

The Round of 16 brought surprises both good and bad:

• It was a challenging round for the remaining German team, Eisbären Berlin, who lost 10-2 on aggregate, courtesy of the Frölunda Indians, the defending CHL Champions
• For the first time in three CHL seasons Finland would be absent from the Quarter-Finals. KalPa Kuopio, IFK Helsinki, JYP Jyväskylä and SaiPa Lappeenranta were all bested by their adversaries
• It was a close call, but both ZSC Lions and SC Bern would win by an aggregate score of 6-5 against HC Lugano and JYP, respectively
• Sparta Prague, who initially had a rocky start splitting wins and losses, shined against their Nordic opponents. Their Round of 32 victory against Karpät was followed by a 7-4 aggregate win against Swedish side HV71 Jönköping

Unlike the Quarter-Finals of the previous two CHL seasons, 2016/17 showcased more teams from Central Europe with three Swiss, and two Czech teams plus the ever-present Swedes, to make up the final eight.

• Fribourg-Gottéron won the series against Vítkovice by a four-goal margin, while the gap was even greater between the Indians who blew away domestic rivals Linköping 9-2 overall
• In a highly contested battle, it was Växjö who edged out the Lions 3-2, and despite a first game tie, Sparta would conquer Bern in the return game to advance.
• In the Semi-Finals, Frölunda made light work of Fribourg-Gottéron, winning 9-1 on aggregate. Not to be outdone, Sparta ran out 6-1 aggregate winners against Växjö, simultaneously ending the prospect of an all-Swedish final, and creating CHL history by becoming the first country outside of the Nordic nations to make the Final

Just over 6,000 fans packed into the Frölundaborgs Isstadion to witness the CHL Final on 7 February. By virtue of having the better record throughout the competition, Frölunda would enjoy home ice advantage in Gothenburg after playing the previous two CHL Finals on the road.

Sparta forward Lukáš Cingel opened up the scoring sending Sparta fans into a frenzy. Minutes later the Czechs would take a minor penalty allowing the Swedes their first powerplay of the game. The Indians capitalised on the opportunity with Casey Wellman netting Frölunda's first goal of the night. A shorthanded goal by Petr Vrána gave Sparta a shortlived lead, before Joel Lundqvist tied the game 2-2 with a second powerplay goal. In the second period, Wellman netted his second goal of the game, unassisted, to give Frölunda the lead going into the third.

With the clock ticking down, the pressure was on Sparta to equalise and Lukáš Klimek did just that, finding the back of the net to send the game into overtime. However, it was not to be for the Czech club. At 1:27 of the extra frame, Frölunda’s Niklas Lasu would become the man of the moment as he netted the all-important OT winner. The dramatic 4-3 win would be Frölunda’s second title, and their first Final win on home ice. With back-to-back CHL titles Frölunda didn't just write themselves into CHL history, they became the team to beat.