39 clubs known for 2015

The Champions Hockey League is proud to welcome KAC Klagenfurt, HC Davos, the Sheffield Steelers and Braehead Clan Glasgow.

Press Release

In its second year of existence, the Champions Hockey League will have several returning clubs from 2014–15, but will also feature several new entries. Adding to the earlier announced Red Bull Munich (German DEL league), Black Wings Linz (Austrian EBEL league) and Belarus’ Neman Grodno, the Champions Hockey League is proud to welcome clubs with great domestic and international traditions, as well as clubs which are fairly new to pan-European competition:

HC Davos (SUI, B-License) – 30-time Swiss champion, Spengler Cup host
KAC Klagenfurt (AUT, B-License) – 30-time Austrian champion
Sheffield Steelers (GBR, C-License) – British EIHL league champion
Braehead Clan Glasgow (GBR, C-License) – British EIHL league runner-up

With 30 national titles each, HC Davos and KAC Klagenfurt are two of Europe’s most distinguished clubs, whose hockey traditions go back to the 1920s. As host of the Spengler Cup since 1923, HC Davos is a hockey landmark not only in Europe, but also globally.

The team is coached by the incomparable Arno del Curto, who in his 19th consecutive season with HCD, has taken the club to its ninth Swiss final during his tenure, with a chance to win his sixth national title.

KAC Klagenfurt, founded in 1909 and with ice hockey on its program since 1923, is one of Europe’s most frequent international competitors with 18 participations in the European Cup (1966–1997).

With Sheffield and Braehead (Glasgow), the CHL goes to two of the most famous industrial cities in the world, which have contributed immensely to Great Britain’s economic position in the world and lately also to its development in ice hockey.

The Steelers, playing out of the beautiful 8,500-seat Motorpoint Arena, secured their ninth British hockey championship last week, a very impressive feat considering that the club was founded in 1991. Even more impressive is the rise of the Braehead Clan, who were founded in 2010 and have quickly established themselves as one of the strongest franchises in the British Elite Ice Hockey League, featuring fan support that is second to none.

The following clubs have also qualified for next season’s competition, all of them having taken part in the inaugural 2014-2015 CHL season.

HC Oceláři Třinec (CZE, B-License) – regular season winner of the Czech Extraliga
Skellefteå AIK (SWE, B-License) – regular season winner of the SHL
Växjö Lakers (SWE, B-License) – qualified for SHL semi-final
Genève-Servette HC (SUI, B-License) – currently in Swiss NLA semi-final.
HC Košice (SVK, C-License) – regular season winner of Slovak Extraliga
Stavanger Oilers (NOR, C-License) – regular season winner of the Norwegian Ligaen

Potential participation update from leagues with CHL spots open:

Finland (Liiga): Lukko Rauma, Saipa Lappeenranta and Espoo Blues are in the race for the two Finnish B-License spots. Teams are currently in the playoff quarter-finals.

Czech Republic (Extraliga): HC Litvínov or Kometa Brno will get the second Czech spot. The teams are currently facing each other in the playoff semi-finals.

Germany (DEL): Wolfsburg or Düsseldorfer EG will get the second German spot. Both teams will open their respective semi-final series.

Slovakia (Extraliga): Nitra or Banska Bystrica, currently playing against each other in the semi-finals, will get the Slovak league’s second C-License spot.

Norway (Ligaen): Vålerenga Oslo, Storhamar Dragons Hamar and Sparta Sarpsborg are in the race for Norway’s second C-License spot. All are currently in the semi-finals.

Denmark (Ligaen): SønderjyskE Vojens, Blue Fox Herning, Fredrikshamn White Hawks and Esbjerg are in the semi-finals. The champion will get Denmark’s C-License spot.

France (Ligue Magnus): Gap Rapaces and Epinal are in the final. The champion will get France’s C-License spot.

The number of teams competing in the Champions Hockey League in its second year has been expanded to 48 and, as such, the number of C-Licenses has been increased to 10.

The C-Licenses, also called Wild Cards, are awarded by the CHL to top teams from the five “Challenge Leagues”, which are ranked below the six Founding Leagues.

As was the case in 2014–15, C-Licenses will be extended to the leagues of Norway, Slovakia, Denmark, Great Britain and France.

The 10 C-License clubs will join the 12 B-License (in principle the national champions and regular season winners of the six founding leagues) and 26 A-License (founding clubs) clubs for a total of 48 teams, which will be divided into 16 groups of three.

The Group Stage of the 2015–16 season will begin on 20 August and finish on 6 September. Each team will play four games – one home and one away against the other two teams in its group. The first- and second-placed teams in each group will then advance to the Playoff Stage.

With 32 teams in the playoffs, five rounds will be required to determine a champion. The first four rounds will all be two-game, home-and-away, total-goal series, similar to this season. The playoffs will begin on 22 September and finish with a one-game final on 9 February.