On the very first Game Day of the 2026/27 Champions Hockey League season, two reigning national champions will meet on ice for the very first time, as the ICE HL's Graz99ers and Switzerland’s Fribourg-Gottéron will meet on ice for the very first time.

The Swiss contenders are back in the pan-European competition, bringing a rich history of six previous seasons, out of which they made the Playoffs in all but one. Playing in the CHL’s very first season in 2014/15, they've previously made the 2016/17 Semi-Finals and made CHL history by becoming the very first team to go through the Group Stage undefeated with a perfect score of 18 points. Hungry to deliver off the back of their first-ever national title and guided by legendary CHL coach Roger Rönnberg, who has lifted the European Trophy four times, this team has all the ingredients to go all the way to the Final!

Returning to the CHL for the first time since their CHL debut in 2019/20, Austrian side Graz have only one previous participation to their name, which ended in the Group Stage. Back then, Graz made noise by kicking off the season with an impressive 6-5 win against eventual champions Frölunda. Heading into 2026/27 with a breath of fresh wind in the form of a sparkly ICE HL national title under their belt, the Austrians are ready to show Europe just how far they've come since they last skated out on CHL ice some seven years ago.