Winners of the 2022/23 season of the Champions Hockey League, Tappara Tampere begin their European title defence in Denmark against the Aalborg Pirates. It is Tappara’s ninth straight CHL appearance – the only club to play in every season since the competition’s launch. This season marks Aalborg’s third CHL appearance, having won two games in their previous 12.

Despite their long history in the competition, this will be Tappara’s first-ever CHL game against a Danish opponent. Last season, the Pirates played Finnish club Jukurit Mikkeli twice in the Group Stage, losing both times.

This is a match-up of two teams that are both two-time reigning champions of their domestic leagues. It is also a meeting of two teams that have a fair bit of international name recognition.

Aalborg’s line-up boasts Danish national team veterans Julian Jakobsen, Patrick Bjorkstrand, Thomas Spelling and Anders Koch.

Tappara’s lineup boasts Veli-Matti Savinainen and Valtteri Kemiläinen of the Finnish national team, former NHLer Nick Baptiste and CHL MVP goaltender Christian Heljanko. As well, Swedish coach Rikard Grönborg will be making his competitive debut behind the Finnish squad’s bench, looking to follow in the successful footsteps of predecessor Jussi Tapola.