We spoke to representatives of our three DEL participants following the CHL Draw in Tampere, Finland, to find out what their goals were for the upcoming season, what they thought about their teams' six Regular Season opponents, and what excites them about the new competition changes in 2023/24.
"The new format is going to be a lot of fun"Christian Winkler, Sports Director of Red Bull Munich
Christian Winkler, Sports Director of Red Bull Munich, was first to take to the microphone, expressing how excited he was for the upcoming season, and stating very clearly that Munich's goal for 2023/23 was "to win the CHL".
"We have very competitive opponents and we're really looking forward to facing all six of them, but if you want to win the Champions Hockey League you have to win the first games," he added.
Jan-Axel Alavaara, Sports Manager of Adler Mannheim, said that die Adler's goal for 2023/24 was to "win every game".
"We have two top Finnish teams in our Group so it will be good for us as a team to travel up to Finland to face reigning CHL Champions and Liiga champions Tappara and another top team in Lukko," he said, "it's also going to be exciting to welcome an Austrian team in Salzburg to Mannheim - it's going to be a challenge!"
Tim Regan, General Manager of ERC Ingolstadt, thinks the CHL is a very good advertisement for European hockey in the world and expects his side to meet six strong opponents.
Who are CHL-returnees Ingolstadt most excited to face?
"Mainly Växjö but also closer to home Salzburg - the best team in Austria currently," he said, "but you can't find a bad opponent in the line-up so we're excited to face each team."
And what did the representatives think of the new format changes for 2023/24?
Winkler said it's a big step forward: "Every game means something, the combined standings - this is all important for the sport."
"I think all the players, coaches and organisations will really like the changes," he ended.
"Important for the sport"Christian Winkler, Sports Director of Red Bull Munich
Alavaara pointed out how competitive making every game count is: "During the old format you had teams that were already qualified for the playoffs and didn't need to play really - this is a more competitive way of playing the Champions Hockey League."
Regan thought that the main benefit of the new format was facing six opponents instead of just three: "That gives you and your fans a better insight into European hockey since you face a wider range of opponents."