After a busy Easter weekend full of Champions Hockey League qualifiers, we are back with our weekly CHL Qualifiers update:
Last week a total of six teams joined our ever-growing list of teams qualified for 2021/22. The first addition were the Växjö Lakers, who became the third team qualified from the SHL. They were shortly followed by newcomers Leksands IF, who clinched qualification by just a single point after an intense points battle with rivals Skellefteå AIK on the final regular season gameday. Then came another first-time qualifier – JKH GKS Jastrzębie, who secured Poland’s sole qualification spot after winning the Ekstraliga championship on Saturday.
Switzerland’s National League produced a trio of qualifiers over the weekend – Lausanne HC, HC Lugano and Fribourg-Gottéron are now all confirmed for 2021/22. The league’s last remaining qualification place will be awarded to the national champions, but if the championship is won by a team already qualified for the CHL, regular season fifth-placed team ZSC Lions Zurich will qualify.
Finland’s Liiga also produced its first CHL qualifier on Saturday. Lukko Rauma, who are currently top of the Liiga table, return after a three season absence. Now that the Liiga regular season is coming to an end, who could follow them?
Similarly to the Swiss NL, Liiga have adopted a Points per matches played (PPM) determining factor and will not reschedule all unplayed games. That means that all teams now have only three to four games left in the regular season. When analysing the league standings there are two main contenders for CHL qualification – IFK Helsinki, who are likely to qualify today, and TPS Turku, who could qualify later this week. One more team will be confirmed at the end of the regular season but it’s hard to predict which one at this point, as the battle for fourth is very close. We’ll keep you updated!
The Czech Extraliga semi-finals are underway. If Sparta Prague or Oceláři Třinec win the championship, Mladá Boleslav qualify as the third-placed regular season team. The only way five-time CHL participants Bílí Tygři Liberec could qualify for 2021/22 is if they are crowned Extraliga Champions. They are currently up 2-0 in their series against Sparta, whilst Mladá Boleslav and Třinec are tied 1-1.
The German DEL, the only national league out of the founding leagues to still not have any CHL qualifiers, still has six to eight rounds to go in the regular season. Adler Mannheim and Eisbären Berlin are still the most likely candidates, but neither are expected to qualify this week.
On the other hand, a league that could produce a new qualifier this week is the ICE Hockey League. The playoff semi-finals are nearly over and CHL side KAC Klagenfurt, who comfortably won their semi-final series against Red Bull Salzburg 4-1, have already cemented their spot in the final. It’s now between HC Bolzano, who are winning the semi-final series 3-2, and the Vienna Capitals to see who will face them in the final.
This matchup is also of interest for Salzburg fans – if Vienna are knocked out, Salzburg automatically qualify for the 2021/22 CHL season. The only way for Vienna to qualify for the CHL for the eighth time in a row is to beat Bolzano twice in the next two games and qualify for the final. The do-or-die fifth game of the series will be played tomorrow so keep one eye on the score!
The battle for the Belarusian Extraleague title is nearing its end. Yunost Minsk are currently 2-0 up in their final series against Gomel. If they win their two next games, they could be confirmed as CHL qualifiers by the weekend.
That's all for this week - follow our social channels to keep up to date about any new CHL qualifiers and tune in again next week for a comprehensive update on Europe's top leagues.