Two special guests will help conduct tomorrow's 2023/24 Champions Hockey League Draw at the IIHF World Championship in Tampere as two infamous Finnish ice hockey goaltenders, Pekka Rinne & Niklas Bäckström, will do the honours.
The CHL Draw will set the Regular Season grid for the upcoming season of Europe's elite club ice hockey competition with all 24 participating teams finding out which six opponents they'll face in the first phase of the season.
The show will be broadcasted live on both the CHL website and the league’s official social media channels, starting on 24 May at 16:00 CEST.
Pekka Rinne is a player that needs no introduction. The elite Finnish goaltender spent an astonishing 15 years playing for the Nashville Predators in the NHL, racking up over 700 caps! The 40-year-old won Liiga two times with Kärpät Oulu and was voted best goaltender in the NHL before he finally hang up his skates at the end of 2020/21 season. His infamous jersey number #35 was retired by Nashville at the end of his successful career.
45-year-old Niklas Bäckström is also a two-time Liiga champion from his time at Kärpät Oulu where he played alongside Rinne. Bäckström spent ten seasons playing in the NHL for the Minnesota Wild and a short stint at the Calgary Flames before returning back to native Finland where he ended his playing career at Tappara Tampere. He's currently involved in the Columbus Blue Jackets organisation as a development coach.