The 11th season of the Champions Hockey League – Europe’s official club hockey championship – begins on Thursday 28 August. When last season finished it was the ZSC Lions winning the title on home ice in Zurich, 2-1 over visiting Farjestad BK from Karlstad, Sweden.
 
“We set a goal that we wanted to have success in every tournament or championship we played in,” said Zurich captain Patrick Geering. “It was a long road, hard games, but to lift the trophy is always special, especially when it’s in your own arena.”
 
After six opening-night games, the Lions will begin their title defence on Friday night against German club Pinguins Bremerhaven back on their home ice at Swiss Life Arena – the primary venue for the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Teams and players

This season, once again, 24 teams from 10 different European leagues will compete for the title. This will be the third season of the CHL’s “groupless” format, meaning each team will play six games against six different opponents, which were determined at the regular season draw during the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Stockholm.
 

• Switzerland: ZSC Lions Zurich (CHL & national champions), Lausanne HC (regular season winner), SC Bern (regular season 3rd place), EV Zug (regular season 4th place).
• Austria/ICE Hockey League: Red Bull Salzburg (national champion), KAC Klagenfurt (regular season winner), HC Bolzano (Italy, regular season 3rd place).
• Czechia: Kometa Brno (national champions), Sparta Prague (regular season winner), Mountfield Hradec Kralove (regular season 2nd place).
• Finland: KalPa Kuopio (national champion), Lukko Rauma (regular season winner), Ilves Tampere (regular season 2nd place).
• Germany: Eisbaren Berlin (national champion), ERC Ingolstadt (regular season winner), Pinguins Bremerhaven (regular season 3rd place).
• Sweden: Lulea Hockey (national champion), Brynas Gavle (regular season winner), Frolunda Gothenburg (regular season 3rd place).
• Challenger leagues (national champions only): Odense Bulldogs (Denmark), Grenoble (France), Storhamar Hamar (Norway), GKS Tychy (Poland), Belfast Giants (EIHL).

 
Among the more interesting match-ups of the regular season, Sparta Prague will host Frolunda Gothenburg in a rematch of the 2016-17 CHL final on 6 September. That 4-3 overtime win is one of four titles for Frolunda, which was by far the most successful team of the CHL’s first decade.

“The one I remember most is the final we won at home against Red Bull Munich (in 2019),” recalled Frolunda captain Max Friberg, who is about to play in his sixth CHL season. “On the road, too, our second CHL title, we had some great comebacks, but the final at home was for sure the best one.”

Frolunda, Zurich and EV Zug will all be participating in their ninth CHL seasons, one behind Red Bull Salzburg, which is representing Austria a record 10^th time. At the other end of the spectrum, the Danish champion Odense Bulldogs are set to make their CHL debut.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for our fans and the club in general to experience some of the best hockey in Europe,” said Bulldogs head coach Jason O’Leary. “I think it’s very exciting for everyone and we’re looking forward to it.”

As is always the case, the CHL will feature some of the biggest names in European hockey that should be familiar to fans around the world.

Zurich’s roster includes two former CHL MVPs in Sven Andrighetto from last season and Czech goaltender Simon Hrubec from 2017/18. The team’s roster also includes Denis Malgin, Yanick Weber and Austrian prospect Vinzenz Rohrer. Elsewhere in Switzerland, EV Zug boasts some veteran talent in goaltender Leonardo Genoni, defenceman Raphael Diaz and forwards Tomas Tatar and Dominik Kubalik. And Lausanne HC has Erik Brannstrom, Austin Czarnik and Dominik Kahun.

In Sweden, Brynas’ roster features some pretty big star power in veteran forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Jacob Silfverberg, defenceman Robert Hagg and the goaltending duo of American Collin Delia and  Italian Damian Clara.

In Finland, Ilves Tampere’s roster includes veteran Swede Carl Klingberg and young Czech prospect Ondrej Kos. While Lukko Rauma features newly acquired local boy Antti Raanta in goal.

Other notable names on other CHL teams include brothers Thomas and Raffl with Red Bull Salzburg and veteran Slovenes Ziga Jeglic, Jan Urbas and Miha Verlic in Bremerhaven.

Interesting rule change

The 2025/26 CHL season features an interesting twist to games that go to overtime. Under the new rule, a team in possession of the puck in the attacking zone will not be able to retreat back to the neutral zone, either by passing or carrying the puck back across the blueline. For a violation of the rule, play will be stopped, the offending team will be denied a line change and the following face-off will be in the offending team’s zone.
 
“When 3-on-3 overtime was introduced, it quickly became a fan favourite due to its quick transitions and odd-man rushes, ultimately leading to frequent scoring chances,” CHL sports director Fadri Holinger explained. “However, we’ve seen a steady rise in puck possession-based strategies, with teams constantly leaving the offensive zone, leading to fewer decisive moments. With the ‘no return’ rule, we want to restore the pace, unpredictability and excitement that 3-on-3 play was meant to deliver. We are confident that it will further increase the excitement for the good of the game.”
 
This is not the first time the CHL has experimented with the rules. Two years ago, the European club competition adopted a rule where penalties aren’t cancelled by a goal on the power play or a delayed penalty, but do expire on a shorthanded goal. The same rules have since been adopted by the PWHL.
 
This season, the CHL begins streaming games on IIHF.TV, with availability depending on location.


 
The CHL regular season begins Thursday and ends on Wednesday, 15 October. After that, the round of 16 will be played in November, the quarter-finals in December and the semi-finals in January, all in the form of two-game, home-and-away series, with the winners on aggregate scores advancing. The one-game final will be played after the Olympic break on Tuesday, 3 March. Check the CHL schedule for more details.