It's been a long time for the Cardiff Devils, but their 17-month wait to return to the ice is over, as they welcome Adler Mannheim to South Wales to open both sides' Champions Hockey League campaigns this season.

Cardiff come into the season with a completely new look. Jarrod Skalde will make his coaching debut for the club on Thursday night, with a whole host of new faces to the lineup, which is a lot different to the usual core group of players the Devils have used over recent seasons.

One of the standout arrivals for the Devils is defenceman Brendan Mikkelson, who has five years NHL experience to his name, while they've also gone for more unproven forwards like Trevor Cox and Cole Sanford, who both bring a lot of speed and skill to the lineup.

For Adler Mannheim, they've been one of the most consistent teams in the German DEL in recent seasons, and enter this year on the back of another regular season title.

Head Coach Pavel Gross will be leading the side into the CHL once again, and Mannheim will be hoping to start their sixth campaign strong as they look to top their group once again.

With a mixture of veterans like Denis Reul and Matthias Platcha, as well as young players like Florian Elias, Mannheim have also added others with NHL experience, headlined by German forward Lean Bergmann, who returns to Germany after spending parts of the last two season with the San Jose Sharks, and at just 22, he's got a big future and could play a huge part in the teams opening contest. 

Additionally, legendary KHL forward Nigel Dawes could be set to make his CHL debut in this contest.