GKS Katowice will have their trial by fire in their Champions Hockey League debut as they host defending Champions Rögle Ängelholm at Jantor to begin their 2022/23 campaign.

Rögle continued their dominating performance from the European stage back in their domestic league. The Swedish side earned a first-place finish and skated all the way to the semi-finals before falling to Färjestad BK. The past three seasons have seen Rögle get progressively better: a third-place finish in 2019/20, second-place finish in 2020/21, and topping the league last year. With their victory in the CHL Final, the Swedes' place in this upcoming season has been solidified.

In a season rife with surprise storylines, it was a Swedish team not named Frölunda Gothenburg which took home top honours at tournament's end. This year, Rögle return with most of their roster from last season intact. Leading scorers Adam Tambellini and Ludvig Larsson lead the forward corps, while Samuel Jonsson and Tony Sund will man the backend along with a host of young talent up and down the line-up.

For the home team, their battle against Rögle will be a good measuring stick and a welcomed challenge. The Polish national champions are coming into the tournament on the heels of their seventh Ekstraliga championship and have been cementing themselves among the top clubs in the league for the past several seasons, earning first-place twice in the last four years.

Both Bartosz Fraszko and Grzegorz Pasiut have been along for the ride during the team's dominance and were among the leading scorers in the league last season. These veterans will be joined by versatile forward Teemu Pulkkinen of Finland as well as veteran SHL defenceman and former Rögle product, Hampus Olsson, who the team expects to play in all situations.