Ahead of the start of the upcoming Champions Hockey League season, we asked the Head Coaches of GKS Tychy's six Regular Season opponents what their thoughts are on the Polish team - here's what they had to say!
Red Bull Salzburg Head Coach Manny Viveiros: “Any team that has had as much success as they have had over their strong history is a team to be respected. I look forward to learning more about them as we get closer to our game.”
ZSC Lions Zurich General Manager Sven Leuenberger: “I don’t know this team in detail yet, but I remember well how we struggled in our last encounter with a Polish team and lost in overtime. So, we are warned!”
Frölunda Gothenburg Head Coach Robert Ohlsson: “Polish champions with a Finnish touch! The team are coached by a Finn, their roster reveals nine Finnish players and they have a game plan similar to the Finnish national team. A well-organised team.”
Luleå Hockey Head Coach Thomas Berglund: "It will be fun to test ourselves against international competition. We will play GKS Tychy, a team we don’t know as much about, but they will be as much of a challenge as any other opponent.”
KAC Klagenfurt Head Coach Kirk Furey: “Tychy will be our last opponent at home in the Regular Season. They are the current champions of Poland and we’ve been in this situation last year, when we played their predecessors from Oświęcim. We had the game under control and a three-goal lead, but still lost the game. So, our main goal has to be to stay focused for the full 60 minutes in order to be successful. We see this game as an opportunity to show that we have learned as a group, we will not underestimate Tychy.”
Lukko Rauma Head Coach Tomi Lämsä: "An interesting and also new acquaintance for us from Poland. The team includes as many as eight Finnish players. They are the Polish champions, so there is certainly plenty of quality on the team.”