Last season's CHL Semi-Finalists go up against Swiss Semi-Finalists, and the silver medalists from the Czech Republic and Great Britain in Group E of this year's Champions Hockey League. Davos, Liberec, and Vaxjo have all made it to at least the CHL Round of 16 in recent seasons, while HCD and the Lakers have both been semi-finalists. Liberec & Davos faced each other in the 2015/16 Round of 16, the Swiss coming out on top 9-6 on aggregate.
Bili Tygri Liberec
- Extraliga Silver-Medalists; Regular Season Champions
- Only Title: 2015/16; CHL Best: 2x Quarter-Final losses
- Club information
Liberec were almost back-to-back Czech Extraliga champions but fell at the final hurdle in four games to Kometa Brno last spring. They have however topped the regular season two years in a row, and their success is relatively recent given that the team was playing in the third tier of Czech hockey as late as 1995. Having lost defenseman Radim Simek to the San Jose Sharks and netminder Jan Lasek, the 'White Tigers' have brought in some talent too - Martin Bakos returns after a year with Kunlun in the KHL, while Ladislav Smid has spent the past 10 years in the NHL. Veteran blue-liner Martin Svec is well-known to Swedish fans as a four-time SHL champion from his time in Farjestad.
Vaxjo Lakers
- SHL Regular Season Champions
- Only title 2014/15; CHL Best: Semi-Finals
- Club information
Last season was an 'almost' season for the Vaxjo Lakers - they got the CHL Semi-Finals but lost out to Sparta Prague; they won the SHL regular season but then saw the off-season start early as Malmo knocked them out in the Quarter-Finals. That said the Lakers have shown they can compete with Europe's best and have strengthened further for the upcoming season despite losing a handful of players to the NHL and KHL. Netminder Viktor Fasth returns after seven seasons away- including two and a half years in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers, and the past two years in the KHL with CSKA Moscow. Experienced defenseman Daniel Rahmi returns to Sweden from Davos, while Janne Pesonen will also be known to Swiss fans after his year with Ambri-Piotta last season. Head Coach Sam Hallam was voted 'SHL Coach of the Year' for the past season.
HC Davos
- NLA Semi-Finalists
- Last title in 2014/15; CHL best Semi-Finals
- Club information
Arno Del Curto's team return to the CHL after exciting last year's competition in the Round of 32 to Linkoping HC. The side finished fifth overall in the NLA last season before going on to reach the play-off semi-finals where they lost out to EV Zug in six games. Broc Little has joined the team from Linkoping for this upcoming season after hitting 53 points in the SHL last season and scoring the most goals by an import in the league (19). Also known two Swedish hockey fans is defenseman Magnus Nygren, a former Montréal Canadiens draft pick who has spent the last two seasons captaining Farjestad BK in the SHL and CHL. Finn Pettru Lindgren has also re-signed with the team after putting up over 100 points in his last two seasons in the NLA. Having made the semi-finals in their first CHL season, but fallen at the first play-off stage last year, HC Davos are a team that can cut it with the best on their day.
Cardiff Devils
- Elite League Regular Season Champions
- First CHL Appearance
- Club information
The CHL debutantes probably couldn't have asked for a harder group as they bring European hockey back to Wales for the first time since 1999. The Devils played in Europe during the 90s where the team were twice Continental Cup participants (98/99, 99/00), and also played in the European Trophy in 1994 and 1995. Spring forward to 2017 and the Devils have kept many of the players who helped them clinch the Elite League title last season, including Great Britain netminder Ben Bowns and local hero Matthew Meyers - one of few Brits to play in the ECHL. New faces include Drew Paris who played two seasons in the Allsvenskan, while player-coach Andrew Lord will be calling the shots for the fifth straight season.