ZSC Lions Zurich enter the 2014/15 season defending two titles -- last season's Swiss Nationalliga A as well as the Champions Hockey League title from 2009. CEO Peter Zahner looks forward to the challenge, and evaluates his team's chances of repeating.

by Derek O'Brien and Jakub Mezlík

ZSC Lions Zurich finished the 2013/14 season as champions of the Swiss Nationaliga A, with a four-game sweep of their local rivals, the Kloten Flyers, in the final. They will begin defence if their national title with much the same squad -- other than losing Guillaume Latendresse to retirement but acquiring Derek Smith via free-agency. However, they're defending another title too.

"We're the defending champions of the Champions Hockey League, which played only one season in 2008/09," CEO Peter Zahner proudly reminds everyone. And who could forget it.

After winning the Swiss title in 2008, the Lions qualified for the Champions Hockey League the next season and surprised a lot of people by what they accomplished. They scored four goals in the third period of their last group-stage game to advance to the semi-finals, where they swept the Espoo Blues to reach the finals against Russian powerhouse Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the defending European champion. After a 2-2 draw in Russia, they won 5-0 at home to claim the title. But they have not had a chance to defend that title until now.

"It's too bad that we hadn’t had a European competition the past few years, so I look forward to this new Champions Hockey League because I feel it is very important for ice hockey to have this type of international competition," says Zahner.

This time around, ZSC is again the Swiss champion, and Zahner would like nothing better than to defend both their domestic and continental titles. It won't be easy though. Even getting out of the group will be a challenge.

"It's interesting group for us," he begins. "Of course the Swedish teams are some of the best in Europe and they are favourites in their groups."

The Swedish team in Group B is Färjestad Karlstad, who went to the SHL final last year. The other teams are Norwegian finalist Vålerenga Oslo and the Vienna Capitals, a perennial Austrian power.

"Färjestad has a really good team, well known in Europe, but we like to play against Swedish teams and we have a good chance," says Zahner, sizing up the opposition. "Maybe we're the favourites on paper against Oslo and Vienna, but countries like Norway and Austria have made so much progress in recent years so it will be very interesting and everybody in the group has chance to make the 'sweet 16'."

And how far does Zahner expect his team to go? "I expect to proceed to the next round of course. You cannot play in the group stage and not have this goal, but all four teams will have the same goal, so let's see who'll make the next step."