Its a first-time match-up in this Round of 16 duel as Skellefteå AIK and ZSC Lions Zurich have somehow never faced each other on the ice over their countless seasons in the Champions Hockey League - but in 2022/23, the Swedish side will face the runners-up of the Swiss NL in the first round of the Playoffs!
- Skellefteå topped Group H with a 5-1 win-loss record
- Zurich finished in second place in Group D
- The two teams have never faced each other in the CHL
For Skellefteå, the opening Group Stage games were a dream start to their CHL season. The wins came in quick succession for the Swedes who had a near-perfect record in Group H. Their penultimate game would see Czech rivals Oceláři Třinec push them into OT, but the Scandinavian side came out on top. They would falter just once, in their last game to Swiss rivals HC Davos who edged them for a 3-2 win.
Offensively, 23-year-old Rickard Hugg has been a stand out for the Swedish side sniping nine points (6G, 3A) over five games, placing him as one of the top three goal scorers in the league, but interestingly this team has a wide distribution of goal scorers. Contributions from both forwards and defencemen have made it difficult to pinpoint and shutdown a particular offensive threat or line.
As far as netminding responsibilities go, Gustaf Lindvall has played all but one game for Skellefteå, and posts a healthy 91.28% save average, while teammate Hellnemo has made just one appearance.
It was a mixed bag of results in Group D for the ZSC Lions Zurich. On the one hand, they made light work of some games against Hungarian side Fehérvár AV19 and Polish team GKS Katowice, amassing 17 goals in just three games, but at other times were less dominant, suffering two OT losses.
What can be said with certainty is that the Lions were up against the best early, including 2021/22 CHL victors Rögle Ängelholm. Zurich nearly came through in their first match-up, taking the Swedes to OT where they lost 3-2. The reigning CHL Champions would get the better of them again during the return-leg game, but the one-goal differential over two games is a testament to just how little there was separating the two teams.
Like Skellefteå, the Lions have scoring depth across their offense, and although none of their forwards rank highly in the overall stats, Finnish defender Mikko Lehtonen has been a star performer for the Swiss side. The 28-year-old, also in his first season for the NL team, has collected seven points (1G, 6A) over six games, and rates among the top three players in the league for plus/minus, with his +10 metric.
Crease wise, Czech netminder Šimon Hrubec has played the bulk of the minutes for the Lions, including both contests against Rögle. He posts a save average of 89.69%, while teammate and Swiss native Ludovic Waeber has 65 minutes to his name.
This time last season both teams qualified for the Round of 16, but both would also suffer defeat, Zurich at the hands of Rögle, while Skellefteå would fall to Sparta Prague. The pitting of these two sides is an untested battleground, and with many similarities in their playing styles, expect to see limits tested early as the two-legged fight to move on to the Quarter-Finals will be a close one!