HC Bolzano are coming into this match-up following a one-year hiatus, and now the regular season winners of the ICE are looking for better results than their 2021/22 showing. Having been finalists in two of the last three seasons in the ICE, the Italian side continues to improve each year and are poised to challenge for a spot in the Champions Hockey League Playoffs.

Leading the charge in the forward corps are Dustin Gazley and Christian Thomas. Gazley finished second in team scoring with 17 goals and 31 assists for 48 points in 47 games; he was also the second leading scorer during the 2021/22 CHL campaign where he netted two goals and three assists for five points in seven games. Thomas was third in scoring on Bolzano's roster with 25 goals and 10 assists in 48 ICE contests.

German side Adler Mannheim are also returning after not participating in last year’s iteration and didn’t fare much better than their Italian opponents during the 2021/22 campaign. That year, Mannheim made it to the Round of 16 but were ousted by Frölunda Gothenburg to end with a 4-4 record. This year’s third-place finishers in the DEL regular season, however, have enlisted experienced players, including former NHLers Tom Kühnhackl and seasoned defenceman Korbinian Holzer to help their chances of advancing to the latter stages of the competition. Kühnhackl has appeared in 232 NHL games while Holzer has suited up for 206 games played over eight seasons.

Bolzano and Mannheim have never met before and have faired evenly in their success in the pan-European competition. Both have advanced to the Round of 16 with neither able to go past this stage so the match-up between the two clubs is on a level playing field. According to Mannheim’s Head Coach Johan Lundskog, Bolzano are, “definitely a tough opponent and a great challenge for us.” While Bolzano’s Head Coach, Niklas Sundblad, believes, “it will be a challenge to play Adler Mannheim at home.”