Swedish champions HV71 Jönköping will be tough to knock off the top of Group D. Up to the task are a pair of solid Central European clubs - Oceláři Třinec and Adler Mannheim - and two-time defending Danish champions Esbjerg Energy. All four teams have competed in the CHL before, but none have made it past the Round of 16.
HV71 Jönköping
- SHL champions (5th title)
- 4th CHL appearance, R16 in 2015/16 & 2016/17
- Club information
Coming off their fifth SHL title victory, HV71 now hope to make more of an impact in the Champions Hockey League. The club’s greatest international success to date came in the 1995/96 European Cup, with a third-place finish. Since then, they’ve competed in the European Champions Cup, the original Champions League in 2008/09, and in the first three seasons in the current CHL, where they’ve failed to advance past the Round of 16. They had little trouble with the only Danish opponent they’ve faced - Sönderjyske Vojens - and beat Třinec in the Round of 32 on aggregate that same year - the only Czech CHL opponent they’ve faced. The club’s roster, already very experienced in the CHL, has been reinforced by two-time CHL champion Robin Figren from Frölunda.
Oceláři Třinec
- 2nd in Extraliga regular season; 1 title (2010/11)
- 3rd CHL appearance; R32 in 2015/16
- Club information
Oceláři Trinec have established a presence near the top of the Czech Extraliga over the past decade and, as such, have qualified for the CHL for the third time in four years. The team has become known for playing an exciting, offensive brand of hockey led by veterans Jiří Polanský, Zbyněk Irgl, Martin Růžička and Jakub Petružálek. Add to that Slovak forward Tomáš Marcinko and defenceman Lukáš Krajiček, who came late last season, and Třinec is a team that other teams in the group will have trouble with. The Steelers faced HV71 in the Round of 32 in 2015/16 and played them close, drawing 2-2 at home before ultimately falling 5-3 on aggregate.
Adler Mannheim
- 2nd in DEL regular season; 7 titles overall
- 4th CHL appearance, R32 in 2015/16
- Club information
Die Adler are experienced internationally, making the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1980/81, and finishing 6th in the European Hockey League in 1997/98. In their first two CHL appearances they have so far not been able to crack the sweet 16, although they’ve been close. Cheered on by some of the largest crowds the CHL has seen, they’ve been strong at home but had problems away. They’ve taken 4 of 12 possible points against Czech teams (all at home) and 0 of 6 points against Swedish teams. Sean Simpson’s team has a similar look as in previous years, led offensively by David Wolf and Chad Kolarik with Dennis Endras in goal. A notable addition is former NHL forward Devin Setoguchi, who has CHL experience with HC Davos.
Esbjerg Energy
- Two-time Danish Ligaen champions
- 2nd CHL appearance
- Club information
Last year’s CHL appearance marked Esbjerg’s first foray into a major international competition, and they represented Denmark well, playing IFK Helsinki and EV Zug tough. They took each team to overtime once and even beat the Finnish club. This year, they will try again with a largely anonymous roster of players coached by former NHLer Mark Pederson. Having spent parts of his playing career in both Sweden and Germany, the Canadian coach will have his troops ready for their opponents again. He’s added a couple of young North Americans to his lineup for this year: American defenceman Taylor Fleming, straight out of university, and Canadian centre Alexis Loiseau, former captain of the Rimouski Océanic.