Champions Hockey League

The Champions Hockey League is a top ice hockey tournament in Europe. It began in the 2014–15 season when 26 clubs, 6 leagues, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) worked together to start it. The tournament brings together the best teams from many European leagues to compete against each other.

Each year, the Champions Hockey League gets more exciting. Since the 2023–24 season, it has included a stage with 24 clubs, followed by playoffs with 16 teams trying to become the champion. This makes it one of the most thrilling hockey competitions to watch, with lots of skilled players and exciting matches.

Background

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) started a tournament called the Champions Hockey League in 2008 to celebrate their 100th anniversary. It was played from October 2008 to January 2009, and the ZSC Lions won. They got to play in the 2009 Victoria Cup because of this victory.

The IIHF wanted to keep the tournament going, but they had trouble finding sponsors. They also couldn’t decide how the tournament should work. In December 2013, the IIHF and 26 clubs from six countries started a new version of the tournament. This new version began in the 2014–15 season, growing from another competition called the European Trophy.

Seasons

Overview

Note:

• ^a Some matches had fewer fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2014–15 season

Main article: 2014–15 Champions Hockey League

The 2014–15 season was played from August 2014 to February 2015. 44 clubs from 12 European countries took part, split into 11 groups of four teams. Each team played six games in their group. The 11 group winners and the top five runners-up moved to the playoffs. The playoffs were a single-elimination tournament, with all rounds played as two-game series. The final was one game. In total, 161 games were played. The season was won by Luleå HF which defeated Frölunda HC in the final.

2015–16 season

Main article: 2015–16 Champions Hockey League

For the 2015–16 season, the tournament grew to 48 teams, split into 16 groups of three teams. The top two teams in each group advanced to the playoff round of 32. The 48 teams included 26 founding clubs, 12 clubs from the founding leagues, and 10 "Wild card" teams from other leagues. In total, 157 games were played. Frölunda HC won their first Champions League title by beating Oulun Kärpät in the final.

2016–17 season

Main article: 2016–17 Champions Hockey League

The 2016–17 season had 48 teams again, using the same format as the previous season. The season started on 16 August 2016 and ended with the final game on 7 February 2017 with Frölunda defeating Sparta Prague, 4–3 in overtime.

2017–18 season

Main article: 2017–18 Champions Hockey League

Starting with the fourth CHL season, the championship was reduced to 32 teams, and teams qualified based on their performance. The six founding leagues had between three and five teams each, while eight teams from "challenge leagues" had one team each. No founding team qualified automatically.

Finnish side JYP Jyväskylä won the title defeating Swedish team Växjö Lakers 2–0.

2018–19 season

Main article: 2018–19 Champions Hockey League

The fifth CHL season had 32 teams, and teams qualified based on their performance. The six founding leagues had between three and five teams each, while seven "challenge leagues" had one team each. One place went to the Continental Cup champion. Unlike the first three editions, founding teams did not qualify automatically. The group stages began on 30 August 2018, and ended on 17 October 2018. The season had an average of 3,401 fans per game.

Swedish team Frölunda HC won their third Champions Hockey League title, defeating Red Bull München, the first German team to reach the final, 3–1 at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.

2019–20 season

Main article: 2019–20 Champions Hockey League

The sixth CHL season had 32 teams competing, and teams qualified based on their performance. The six founding leagues had between three and five teams each, while seven "challenge leagues" had one team each. One place went to the champion of the 2018–19 Champions Hockey League and a wild card spot selected by the board.

Swedish team Frölunda HC won the Champions Hockey League title again, defeating Czech team Mountfield HK 3–1 in the final to win the European Trophy for a fourth time. For the first time, the final was held in the Czech Republic as Mountfield HK hosted the game at ČPP Arena.

2020–21 season

Main article: 2020–21 Champions Hockey League

The season was cancelled because of COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

2021–22 season

Main article: 2021–22 Champions Hockey League

The seventh CHL season had 32 teams competing with teams qualifying based on their performance. The six founding leagues had between three and five teams each while seven "challenge leagues" had their national champions. One place went to the champion of the 2019–20 Champions Hockey League and two wild card spots selected by the board. The season included the first Ukrainian team, HC Donbass.

Swedish team Rögle BK in their debut season beat Finnish team Tappara 2–1 in the final at their home Catena Arena in Ängelholm to win the European Trophy for the first time.

2022–23 season

Main article: 2022–23 Champions Hockey League

The eighth CHL season had 32 teams competing with teams qualifying based on their performance. The six founding leagues had between three and five teams each while seven "challenge leagues" had their national champions. One place each went to the champions of the 2021–22 Champions Hockey League and 2021–22 Continental Cup, as well as one wild card spot selected by the board. This season included the first Hungarian and Slovenian teams, with Fehérvár AV19 and Olimpija Ljubljana joining the competition.

Finnish team Tappara defeated Swedish team Luleå HF 3–2 in the final at Coop Norrbotten Arena in Luleå to win the European Trophy for the first time.

2023–24 season

Main article: 2023–24 Champions Hockey League

For the ninth CHL season the format changed. The tournament was reduced to 24 teams, with teams qualifying based on their performance. Apart from the reigning champion, the six founding leagues had three teams each, while five "challenger leagues" had one team each. The group stage was replaced with a regular season in which teams played six games each, with the top 16 teams advancing to the playoffs. For the first time since the 2015–16 season, the IIHF Continental Cup winners did not get a wild card spot.

Swiss team Genève-Servette HC won their first Champions Hockey League title, defeating Swedish team Skellefteå AIK 3–2 in the final. This made Genève-Servette HC the first Swiss and also the first non-Nordic club to win the title. This season had the highest attendance of any CHL season to date.

2024–25 season

Main article: 2024–25 Champions Hockey League

The 2024–25 season was the tenth anniversary season of the CHL. The format was the same as the 2023–24 season, with 24 teams including the reigning champion, three teams from each of the six founding leagues and one team from each of five "challenger leagues." Teams qualified based on their performance. Each team played six games in the league stage, with the top 16 qualifying for the playoffs. Färjestad BK finished the league stage at the top of the table.

ZSC Lions won their first Champions Hockey League title, beating Färjestad in the final 2–1. This marked the second consecutive season where a Swiss team won the title, after Genève-Servette won the competition the year before. ZSC's Sven Angrighetto was the season's top scorer, with 22 points, and won the competition's Most Valuable Player award.

2025–26 season

Main article: 2025–26 Champions Hockey League

For the 11th season, the format was the same as the last two. The competition had 24 teams, qualifying based on their performance. The reigning champion qualified automatically, and the six founding leagues had three teams each, alongside five teams from "challenger leagues" with one team each.

Frölunda HC won the 2025–26 title, their fifth ever, defeating fellow Swedish side Luleå HF 3–2 in overtime in the final. EV Zug forward Grégory Hofmann was the competition's top scorer, with 13 points in 11 games. Frölunda forward Max Friberg won the MVP award.

2026–27 season

Main article: 2026–27 Champions Hockey League

The 2026–27 season will be the 12th season of the CHL, again featuring 24 teams qualifying based on their performance. As of 23 March 2026, the full list of teams is still yet to be entirely confirmed

Teams and format

The Champions Hockey League is a top ice hockey competition in Europe. It started in the 2014–15 season with 26 teams from different countries. These teams came from six major hockey leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation.

In the 2023–24 season, the format changed. Now, there are 24 teams. They play a regular season with six games each. The 16 best teams then compete in playoffs. These playoffs have two-game matches, and the final is one big game to decide the champion.

The teams come from leagues like the Swedish Hockey League, Finnish Liiga, Swiss National League, Czech Extraliga, Deutsche Eishockey Liga, and Austrian ICE Hockey League. There are also five extra teams chosen as wild cards from other European leagues.

Records and statistics

All records are correct as of the end of the 2025–26 Champions Hockey League season.

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Each year, the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) goes to the player who helps their team the most. Fans vote online all season to choose the top three players. Then, fans vote again to pick one of these three as the winner.

The award has had different names because of sponsors. From 2014–15 to 2016–17, it was called the NordicBet MVP Trophy. From 2017–18 to 2018–19, it was the Betsson MVP Trophy. Since 2019–20, it has been known as the LGT MVP.

Top Scorer Award

The player who scores the most points each season wins the Top Scorer Award. This award also has a sponsor name. From the first three seasons, 2014–15 to 2016–17, it was called the Cramo Top Scorer. Since 2017–18, it has been called the LGT Top Scorer.

Top Scorer jersey

In Champions Hockey League games, the top scorer of each team wears a special jersey. The front looks like a regular jersey, but the back has the sponsor’s logo and the words “Top Scorer” where the player’s number would normally be.

Prize money

In the 2014–15 season, 40 teams played for a total prize of 1.5 million euros. Over time, this grew to 2.34 million euros by the 2018–19 season. Plans for more money in 2022–23 changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the prize money stayed below 3 million euros. In the 2024–25 season, 24 teams shared 2.45 million euros based on how far they went in the tournament.

Teams earned money for each stage they reached: 65,000 euros just for joining, and more for making the Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, and even more for reaching the Final or winning. Clubs also make money from selling tickets and partnerships.

Trophy

The winner of the Champions Hockey League gets the European Trophy. This trophy is named after an older tournament called the European Trophy.