Czech Extraliga side Dynamo Pardubice return to the Champions Hockey League after five seasons out of the pan-European competition with a high-stakes game against 16-time Finnish champions Ilves Tampere.

Pardubice enter the 2023/24 season after a successful year domestically that saw the Czechs win the Extraliga regular season with a whopping 37 wins out of a total of 52 games. They then went on to make the playoff semi-finals where they bowed out in an all-or-nothing game 7 against champions-to-be and fellow CHL participants Oceláři Třinec.

Lukáš Sedlák and Tomáš Zohorna, who both joined ahead of 2022/23, were among the most productive on the team last season, with Zohorna racking up 38 points while Sedlák scored 15 goals and 12 assists in just 27 games - Ilves will have to watch this duo if they are to hold off Pardubice.

Ilves finished second in the Liiga standings last season, just two points shy of local rivals and 2022/23 CHL Champions Tappara Tampere. Just like Pardubice, the traditional Finnish team battled their way to the semi-finals in the playoffs before bowing out in game 6 against fellow CHL team the Lahti Pelicans.

Ilves were a very high-scoring team in Liiga, scoring an average of 3+ goals per game but were also strong defensively, mainly thanks to Marek Langhamer in net. But the Czech goaltender has left for this season and Ilves will have to pick a new #1 - will he be up to the task?

Two high-scoring, yet defensively strong teams will face each other in this game which could give either side a huge boost ahead early in the season!