We spoke to representatives of our five Challenger League participants for 2025/26 following the CHL Draw in Stockholm to find out what their goals were for the upcoming season, what they thought about their six Regular Season opponents and who they were most looking forward to playing.
First to speak was Per Hånberg, head coach of Grenoble, who said that, first and foremost, the new Champions Hockey League season is going to be a huge inspiration and challenge for the reigning French champions.
"We can't wait to see what level the very best are at"Per Hånberg, Grenoble
"This season is going to be a new experience for a lot of our players," started Hånberg, "it's going to be really interesting to compete against the very best teams in Europe. Taking them on and seeing what level the very best are at is going to be the challenge!"
The French side will face a trio of opponents from Switzerland at home while on the road the 2025/26 Regular Season will take them to Germany and Czechia. Does one team stand out to Grenoble in Hånberg's view?
"It's hard to pick," he said, "there are a lot of players around that I've coached so you can't really pick one. The CEO of SC Bern was my former CEO in Kloten, so facing his team will be interesting."
Belfast Giants head coach Adam Keefe also gave us his thoughts after the draw, highlighting that to succeed later, you have to put the work in now, during the off-season.
"It all starts now," he said about Belfast's goals for 2025/26 "we're looking to start well and ultimately qualify for the Playoffs."
"The homework starts now"Adam Keefe, Belfast Giants
"All our opponents are going to be tough. We're looking forward to competing with all of them," said Keefe following the Draw, "we have three trips to Switzerland coming up, which won't be easy, and the Finnish champions will be coming to Belfast as well."
Petter Thoresen, head coach of Storhamar Hamar, knows how hard it is to win in the Champions Hockey League: "We're going to meet a lot of good teams and it's hard to win. We're looking forward to playing again!"
At home, the reigning Norwegian champions will face a duo of German teams, Eisbären Berlin and Pinguins Bremerhaven, and they stand out to Thoresen as two "really fun games".
Jarosław Rzeszutko, sport director of GKS Tychy, wanted to highlight what a privilege it is for the Polish team to be back in the CHL for the first time since qualifying for 2020/21: "We're very honoured to be back. The goal is to play our best hockey every game."
"We know we have some very tough games coming up against some very strong opponents, but we have an ambitious team and we want to show our best," said Rzeszutko.
With three former CHL Champions, ZSC Lions Zurich, Frölunda Gothenburg and Luleå Hockey in their 2025/26 Regular Season Draw, Rzeszutko is absolutely right about the tough games ahead.
Ole Nielsen, CEO of the Odense Bulldogs, the sole newcomers for the 2025/26 CHL season, is looking forward to joining the 100+ strong Champions Hockey League family later this year.
"We're new in this competition and are looking forward to being part of it. I hope we can challenge some of the big teams and win some games," said Nielsen.
As a first-timer on the pan-European stage, is very any particular opponent Odense are looking forward to facing? Nielsen admits that there is one that does stand out.
"We can't wait for KAC Klagenfurt to come to our rink with three Danish players in their line-up, that's going to be really fun," he said.
Be sure to return to our website for more news and updates ahead of 2025/26! Also, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X to keep up to date on all the latest CHL action.