Group 6 features three teams all making their Champions Hockey League debuts – HC Litvinov, the Espoo Blues and Grenoble Bruleurs de Loups – who qualified by having success last season in their respective domestic leagues.
Staff Writers
Group 6 features three new Champions Hockey League clubs. They are all excited to be in the competition and have aspirations of advancing beyond the group stage, as you will see.
What does the Champions Hockey League mean to your team?
Robert Kysela (general manager, HC Litvinov): “I think it is a very prestigious competition for Litvinov. With our resources we could not even think of being one of the founding members of the league. This is a reward for the great season we have had last year and of course we will do our best to play well.”
Jarmo Koskinen (CEO, Espoo Blues): “We’re looking forward to this because this is a very good league – a very interesting league. It’s a good opportunity for our players to play a different style of hockey and also in terms of the whole organization and running the hockey business.”
Nicolas Tomasini (sports director, Grenoble Bruleurs de Loups): “We are very excited and it’s a chance for us. We’re back at the top level in France and now we have the chance to play all over Europe. It’s going to be fantastic for our fans, our sponsors and of course our team. For our fans this is going to be incredible. We hope to organize something unforgettable for the visiting fans and for our fans too.”
What do you think of the group you've been drawn into?
Kysela (Litvinov): “I think the draw is good for us. The distance to Grenoble is not that big, we can even travel there by bus. We have the utmost respect for them, but I think our goal must be to win those games and therefore be one of the top two teams in the group. With Espoo we expect an opponent of the highest quality.”
Koskinen (Espoo): “It’s a good measurement for our team because we’ve played quite a lot against Finnish teams, but not so much in the international arena. I think the Czech team, HC Litvinov, and also the team from France are going to be a challenge for us and we’re looking forward to it.”
What are you goals for this year's competition?
Kysela (Litvinov): “We want to advance from the group stage and then have the same attitude like last year – go game by game and see what happens. We will not be in the CHL every year, we should cherish the experience and try to go as far as possible.”
Koskinen (Espoo): “We hope to be one of the top two teams from our pool, and let’s not put any more objectives but hopefully we go as far as we can. We’re capable of playing a very high level, but let’s see. International games are always different than playing in the domestic league.”
Tomasini (Grenoble): “Every time we go on the ice, we play to win, so we’re going to see game by game. We know that there are great teams but we’re a great organization too so we’ll see.”