Group A sees Tappara Tampere, Red Bull Salzburg, Grizzlys Wolfsburg, and Banska Bystrica face each other in in an intriguing matchup of Finnish champions and strong Central European clubs. We take a look at the four teams involved.
Tappara Tampere
- Two-time reigning Finnish champions, 17 overall titles
- 4th CHL appearance, made Round of 16 in 2014/15 and 2015/16
- Club information
Tappara heads into this season CHL as they did the last, as defending Liiga champions. Now with two Finnish titles in a row, the Tampere club will try to make more of a mark in the European championship, where they went out in the Round of 32 last season. The team has eight new faces from last year's roster, including Slovak forward Tomáš Zaborský (from Brynäs IF), and young Finnish defenceman Niko Mikkola (from KalPa). Tappara has never played a CHL game in either Austria or Slovakia, but did visit Germany last season, losing 4-1 in Mannheim.
Red Bull Salzburg
- 2nd place in EBEL regular season, 6 titles between 2007 and 2016
- 4th CHL appearance, made Round of 16 in 2014/15
- Club information
Dominant in Austria and mainstays on the international scene, the winners of the 2010 Continental Cup and European Trophy will try to finally break through in the CHL. Their most lasting memory was blowing a five-goal aggregate lead to Lulea in the Round of 16 in 2014-15, and they haven’t made it that far since. The Red Bulls have a roster with a fair bit of international experience, such as Slovenian goalie Luca Gracnar and veteran Austrian international winger Thomas Raffl. Canadian John Hughes, the team's top scorer in the domestic league last year, played six games for Tappara in 2009/10, so fans in Tampere with keen memories will see a name they recognize, and they'll probably also be familiar with newly-added American defenceman Matt Generous, who played the past six seasons in the Liiga, suiting up for IFK Helsinki in the last two CHL campaigns.
Grizzlys Wolfsburg
- DEL finalists in 2010/11, 2015/16, 2016/17
- 2nd CHL appearance, made Round of 32 in 2015/16
- Club information
The Grizzlys surprised many by beating both Dynamo Pardubice and the Frolunda Indians in last year’s CHL. Now, after their second-straight appearance in the DEL finals, they’ll try to get out of their group again. If they play as feisty as they did last year, finishing in the top two in a group that includes teams from Finland, Austria and Slovakia is definitely attainable. The Grizzlys will return with much of last year's team in tact, including goaltender Felix Brückmann and German international Gerrit Fauser. As well, high-scoring Canadian winger Brent Aubin will face the Salzburg team he played three seasons for, with a fair bit of success.
HC05 Banská Bystrica
- 1st Slovak title in 2016/17
- 1st CHL appearance
- Club information
Not only is this the first CHL appearance for Banska Bystrica, but is the Slovak club’s first ever appearance in a meaningful international competition. Therefore, they don’t have much of a record to go on. Past Slovak clubs Košice and Nitra have given tough battles to elite teams, with Nitra going as far as the Round of 16 last year. This off-season they have added several international players to their roster, including former Tappara goalie Teemu Lassila, who has lots of CHL experience. The team's other goalie, Czech Jan Lukáš, played in the CHL last year for Mladá Boleslav, and French-Canadian defenceman Olivier Dame-Malka played for the Rouen Dragons. A familiar returnee is captain Tomáš Surový, the former PIttsburgh Penguin who also played in Sweden, Latvia, Russia, Belarus and the Czech Republic.