- First-ever meeting between these two teams
- Třinec advanced to the CHL Semi-Finals last season
- Djurgården won European Cups in 1991 & 1992
Oceláři Třinec and Djurgården Stockholm are two teams that are no strangers to the international club hockey scene. While they’ve both played in the CHL in three of its first four seasons, this is the first time they’ll face off against each other, however.
Třinec exited the CHL in heartbreaking fashion last season, overcoming a two-goal deficit on aggregate in the Semi-Finals only to lose in a shootout to eventual champions JYP Jyväskylä. Their specialty, however, was Swedish teams. Throughout the competition they played six games against three different clubs, winning five of them in regulation time and losing the other in a shootout. If they can do that again and get a repeat performance from MVP goalie Šimon Hrubec, starting this game against Djurgården, they stand a good chance of advancing.
“They’re a good team with skilled players. They are good at controlling the pace of the game and very fast when they attack.”Robert Ohlssons (Head Coach, Djurgården Stockholm)
There was a time when Djurgården was one of the most feared teams in European hockey. Back in the early 1990s they won back-to-back European Cups, and after some lean years they’ve been climbing back to the top - re-qualifying for the CHL by finishing second in the SHL regular-season standings. With the addition of Jacob Josefsson, back after eight seasons in the NHL, they look to do even better this season, starting in Třinec.
“They are one of the most famous Swedish clubs, 16-time champions of the Swedish league. They have a very young team. Personally, I expect typical Swedish hockey with great skating and perfect defence. I guess they will be very good games.”Václav Varaďa (Head Coach, Oceláři Třinec)