Skelleftea AIK, Bili Tygri Liberec and HK Nitra are the three teams that make up Group 4 of this year's Champions Hockey League. Skelleftea will be the favourites and Nitra the underdogs, but all three teams are aiming to escape the group stage and advance as far as possible. 

Staff Writers

Skelleftea AIK and Bili Tygri Liberec were both in the Champions Hockey League last year, so both of those clubs know what to expect from the competition and would like to improve on last year's standing, as general managers Lars Johansson and Ctibor Jech indicate. For Nitra's Tomas Chrenko, this is something new and exciting, but his club doesn't just plan to roll over and concede defeat.

What does the CHL mean to your club?

Lars Johansson (general manager, Skelleftea AIK): “It is really great to be in the tournament. We are happy to be there.”

Ctibor Jech (general manager, Bili Tygri Liberec): “We have been part of the CHL from the very beginning when it was the toughest. There were many challenges but we believe in the project, we believe it is a good and important thing for hockey. We are happy to be part of this group of teams and now we need a success on the ice, as well.”

Tomas Chrenko (general manager, HK Nitra): “This tournament is very interesting for our team. We aren’t such a famous club, but we had good results the last three seasons and we were at the top of our league. It is very interesting, especially for our fans. Our games in the Slovak Extraliga are usually sold out so I expect that in the Champions Hockey League the arena will also be full. And I think that also many fans will travel with us to Liberec and maybe even to Skelleftea as well to watch the games.”

What do you think of the teams in your group?

Johansson (Skelleftea): “It is gonna be really fun to meet new teams with which we’ve never played. We are looking forward.”

Jech (Liberec): “The draw is quite good for us, I think. It is a bit similar to last year for us, because once again we face a Slovak team. Nitra is a club with a strong fanbase that has recently become one of the top teams in Slovakia. And of course a team from Sweden always means we will face a top-quality opponent.”

Chrenko (Nitra): “We are satisfied. Almost every team in the Champion Hockey League is really interesting. Maybe we wished before the draw not to travel by plane, but we got a team from Sweden. But we are content. Playing a Czech and a Swedish team is really very interesting for us.”

What are your goals for the tournament this year?

Johansson (Skelleftea): “We are going to try to win. We went to the semi-finals last year, and We’re gonna try to go the whole way this year.”

Jech (Liberec): “It is important for Czech teams to be part of the playoffs, as well. We will do all we can to progress from the group stage. Last year we were eliminated in the last game of the group stage when we played in Oulu. This year we want to be better.”

Chrenko (Nitra): “Our goals are always to entertain our fans and to play well. At the very least, we want to make it to the next round of the tournament.”