The draw for the new 2025/26 Champions Hockey League season was held yesterday as part of the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The Czech participants have all been drawn against attractive but strong opponents.
Sparta Prague will face last year’s CHL winners ZSC Lions Zurich and Swedish representatives Frölunda Hockey Club, among others, in the group stage. Czech champions Kometa Brno will play against Sweden’s Brynäs IF, and Mountfield HK will face Lausanne HC from Switzerland.
Czech group opponents CHL 2025/26
HC Sparta Prague
Home games: Luleå Hockey (SWE), Frölunda Hockey Club (SWE), Grenoble (FRA)
Away games: ZSC Lions Zurich (SUI), Klagenfurter AC (AUT), Storhamar (NOR)
Kometa Brno
Home games: Brynäs IF (SWE), Tampereen Ilves (FIN), Odense Bulldogs (DEN)
Away games: SC Bern (SUI), EV Zug (SUI), HC Bolzano (ITA)
Mountfield Hradec Králové
Home games: Kalevan Pallo Kuopio (FIN), Brynäs IF (SWE), Odense Bulldogs (DEN)
Away games: Lausanne HC (SUI), SC Bern (SUI), HC Bolzano (ITA)
The finalised schedule with dates and kick-off times for all matches will be published on the official CHL website as soon as it has been confirmed.
Match format 2025/26
The regular season of the Champions Hockey League 2025/26 starts on 28 August 2025. Each of the 24 teams will play against six different opponents. The teams will be ranked from 1 to 24, with every point counting until the last matchday — either for a place in the play-offs or for a better starting position in the knockout round.
The 16 best teams qualify for the play-offs, with their position in the combined preliminary round table determining the matchups (1st vs 16th, 2nd vs 15th, etc.).
With 16 teams in the play-offs, four rounds are required to determine the new European club champion. In each of the first three rounds, two matches are played over two legs (first and second), with an aggregate score deciding the winner. The play-offs will begin on 11 November 2025 and conclude with the CHL final on 3 March 2026, which will be decided by a single game.
Champions Hockey League
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