Luleå Hockey, SHL standard-bearers since the 1980s, enter the 2025/26 Champions Hockey League opener with their sights set on repeating past glories. The northern Swedish team won the inaugural CHL in the 2014/15 season, a triumph defined by resilience and determination. Along the way, they managed to make a series of audacious comebacks, including overturning a five-goal aggregate deficit in the Round of 16 and storming back in the Final.

Since then, they've maintained a strong presence in the competition, highlighted by a Semi-Final run in the 2019/20 season and a second Final appearance on home ice in the 2022/23 season.

Standing across the rink are EV Zug, a respected Swiss powerhouse. Founded in 1967 and crowned National League champions in 1998, 2021 and 2022, Zug have succesfully translated their domestic success into continental promise.

After years of steady CHL appearances, they made a breakthrough by reaching the Semi-Finals in the 2022/23 season, their best achievement to date, and now enter the season-opener brimming with ambition and momentum. Helping them will be five new additions, including Tomáš Tatar from the New Jersey Devils and Raphael Diaz from Fribourg-Gottéron.

This Game Day 1 clash will serve as the opening statement for both clubs. Can Luleå harness their championship mentality once more, or will Zug strike early and assert themselves on the European stage?