In the second press conference to be held in the space of two days, the three German participants in this year's Champions Hockey League all expressed their excitement for the upcoming season. Representatives from German champions Adler Mannheim and CHL newcomers Augsburger Panther assembled in Munich, home of last seaon's CHL Finalists Red Bull Munich, who will also face off in Europe's elite club competition in 2019/20.
The European Trophy took a tour and saw the sights of Munich as it stopped for a quick photoshoot on the city's famous Marienplatz. Teams were given a briefing from CHL CEO Martin Baumann, before representatives gave their thoughts about their respective upcoming CHL campaigns.
Pavel Gross (Head Coach): Our first goal in the tournament is qualifying for the Round of 16. We obviously want to win every game in the CHL. But at the same time, we can’t forget the tough opponents we will face in our group. We’re going to work hard and give it everything to be as difficult opponent we can be for all of them.
Philip Gogulla (Forward): It’s always amazing to get as far as possible and be successful in competitions like this, especially such a European tournament as the CHL is This year, we’ll try to do even better and maybe come out as winners at the very end of it.
Steffen Tölzer (Defenceman): We’re looking forward to our first season in the CHL. It’s something really special for us in Augsburg. Our fans, the team, the whole club and community have earned this chance to play in Europe. We might be kind of an underdog, but it could also be to our advantage in a way. We aim to represent Augsburg well on the European stage and we can’t wait to be a part of the European adventure.
Stay tuned for news from the Czech Press Conference, which will be held in Prague on 21 August.