- Both teams return to the competition after time out
- Bolzano played the first CHL season back in 2014
- Skellefteå missed out on last season's competition
History makers HC Bolzano will be looking to cause more upsets when they face off against Group C opponents Skellefteå AIK in the last matchup of Gameday 1.
In 2014, HC Bolzano accomplished what no team had managed to do before by becoming the first non-Austrian side who were able to call themselves Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) champions. The feat was made all the more sweeter as it perfectly aligned the Italian side with the opportunity to play in the first ever Champions Hockey League season. They may not have progressed from their group that year however they had already been successful in capturing the attention of hockey fans across Europe. They return this year after replicating their championship winning form while only retaining two players from their previous CHL adventure, in Captain Anton Bernard and Winger Daniel Frank.
One team who were able to progress from their group in the first CHL season were Skellefteå, who shared similar success in the same year as Bolzano, where they won the Swedish championship. The tournament proved to be an omen for the club, who went on to lose consecutive SHL finals in 2015 and 2016. Their downward spiral eventually cost them a place in the CHL last season however the Swedish team have bounced back and will have a point to prove after adding yet another loss in the SHL final to their growing resume.
"They're a good Swedish team, very talented with great individual players. They're one of the top teams in Europe."Kai Suikkanen (Head Coach, HC Bolzano)
After a summer of celebrations for the Italian side, HC Bolzano returned to a busy pre-season which began with a 3-2 loss against KHL team Vityaz Podolsk. They beat Düsseldorf 2-0 to finish third in the Dolomitencup, after losing 3-0 to Augsburger Panther in the semi-final of the friendly tournament. A 5-0 loss against Ingolstadt in the Vinschgau Cup, another pre-season tournament, sparked The Foxes into responding by beating their fellow DEL side Kölner Haje 4-1. They completed their pre-season with a 2-1 win against Italian side Val Pusteria.
Skellefteå have enjoyed a more relaxed pre-season only taking part in three matches. A 4-1 win against Bjorkloven and 2-0 win against Lulea were dampened by a close-knit affair which saw the Swedish team lose 4-3 to second division side MODO.