Swedish side Leksands IF get the honour of playing their first-ever game in the Champions Hockey League at home, as they host another side making their debut in Slovan Bratislava.

The story of the SHL team making the CHL is particularly impressive, given that they were only promoted back to the country's top-flight in 2019. Coming from a town of only 6,000 people also makes their rise to the top of Europe all the more notable.

The Swedes' pre-season saw them win only one of their three fixtures, however they were scoring well with 12 put home in those games. A curious feature of the team coached by Björn Hellkvist is that none of the players in the roster have ever played in the CHL before. Hellkvist himself was named SHL Coach of the Year for 2020/21 after leading the team to a third-placed finish last season.

On the other side of the ice, Slovan Bratislava make their debut and bring the CHL to the capital of Slovakia for the first time. Head coach Robert Döme has spent most of his coaching career to date in Sweden, and he also spent two seasons playing there from 2004 until 2006. Döme has guided his new team to six straight pre-season wins, scoring 24 goals in the process and only seeing 11 go the other way.

Experienced Slovak forward Tomáš Zigo has played in the CHL for both Mountfield HK and Banská Bystrica in previous seasons, while William Rapuzzi and Andrew Yogan have joined the team after being prolific scorers in neighbouring Austria's ICEHL over the past few seasons.