The Champions Hockey League regular-season draw was held on Wednesday in Stockholm, Sweden on the off-day between the end of the group stage and the quarterfinals.
The draw was hosted by Lindsay Hamilton of TSN, and conducted by CHL president Jörgen Lindgren, CHL COO Monika Reinhard, Swedish former Olympic heptathlete Carolina Klüft and Adam Keefe, head coach of the EIHL Champion Belfast Giants.
For the third year in a row, there are no groups. As a result, each of the 24 teams will face six different opponents, similar to the format used by the UEFA Champions League of soccer. The results of the draw are shown in the graphic below, with each team playing three of the teams in the column to the left at home and three of the teams in the column to the right on the road but neither of the teams in its own row.
“We’re going to get real familiar with Switzerland, it looks like,” Keefe smiled when the draw was complete, noting Belfast’s away games in Lausanne, Bern and Zug. “It’s obviously a beautiful country and we’re going to get to see the best of it.”
Among the more interesting matchups resulting from the draw, Sparta Prague will host Frölunda Gothenburg in a rematch of the 2016-17 CHL final.
Zurich Lions Win Champions Hockey League Final – Back-To-Back Titles For Switzerland
For the second year in a row, a Swiss team has defeated a Swedish team in the Champions Hockey League final. On their home ice, the ZSC Lions defeated visiting Färjestad 2-1 before a sell-out crowd of 12,000 at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.