With the Regular Season of the Champions Hockey League in the rearview mirror, we thought it a great time to take a look back at some of the best of the best. This time around, we’ll be focusing on the forwards that provided the firepower upfront!
Corey Mackin
HC Innsbruck's Corey Mackin was a key part of the Austrian club's impressive Regular Season in which they picked up three wins in six games to land them a place in the Playoffs on their pan-European debut. The 28-year-old leads the CHL with five goals in six games and with an extra three assists, he's been averaging over 1.3 points per game.
What's been most impressive about Mackin has been his consistency - Innsbruck's 2-4 loss to Skellefteå AIK on Game Day 6 aside, the US-born player has been on the scoresheet in every single game. He spends a lot of time on the ice, with his TOI per game attacking 20 minutes, and is looked to when the going gets tough as two of his goals were game-winners.
There's more to come from this attacking threat in the Playoffs!
Libor Hudáček
Oceláři Třinec forward Libor Hudáček ended the Regular Season as the CHL's Top Scorer with four goals and six assists for a grand total of 10 points in six games. The 33-year-old was a huge part of Třinec's bid to make the Playoffs and secured his club qualification with a huge three-point effort on the final Game Day.
Looking back, Hudáček scored two goals in a 13-goal thriller against the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers on Game Day 1 and picked up three assists against Ilves Tampere to highlight two of his masterclasses.
The Slovak national combines experience from the SHL, NL, KHL and the Slovak and Czech Extraligas and is especially dangerous with his accurate shooting and dead-perfect position play. He's also no stranger to strong physical play and isn't afraid to make space where he sees fit.
A player like Hudáček combines so much - experience, confidence, ability. Watch this space!
Aatu Jämsen
21-year-old Aatu Jämsen of the Lahti Pelicans may have scored only seven points, but with just four games played this rising star has really shown Europe what he's all about - especially when looking back at Game Day 2.
Jämsen, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, scored a massive four points (1G+3A) against the Rouen Dragons to help the Pelicans control this crazy game that saw eight goals in the first period alone.
The Lahti Pelicans academy graduate has averaged nearly two points per game in the CHL and is hovering around the magical point/game mark in the Liiga - these stats are both on par with CHL superstar and teammate Ryan Lasch.
Being compared to the greats at such a young age proves that this kid is going places!
Dylan McLaughlin
The Växjö Lakers' Dylan McLaughlin was the standout player of the second-best team of the first phase of the pan-European competition. With eight points (3G+5A) in five games played, McLaughlin led the reigning SHL champions' roster in points scored and was also one of the goal-scoring leaders.
The 28-year-old ex-AHLer started the CHL season slowly with only a few points a game, but ended the Regular Season with a massive three-point game against Rapperswil in which he scored two goals, including a spectacular game-winner that picked up our Play of the Night!
McLaughlin has confidence, makes decisions quickly and knows when to shoot and when to pass - backed up by his above-average 42.86% shot efficiency.
Dominik Lakatoš
Vítkovice Ridera have a captain who leads by example and his name is Dominik Lakatoš!
The 184cm, 97kg forward isn't afraid of anything and with four goals and five assists in six games, he's been the main man behind Vítkovice's strong display on the European stage - something they have been lacking domestically in the last few months.
The 26-year-old is one of the highest-scoring players after the Regular Season and with 24 shots on goal and two game-winning goals, he's the one to go to when you need results.
Another stat to further his case - 75% face-off win. Nothing more to say.