Off-season changes & summary

After missing the 2020/21 Champions Hockey League season due to the ongoing global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the CHL returned stronger than ever in 2021/22.

The playing format for the 2021/22 season remained unchanged with 32 teams qualifying and participating.

Wildcards were awarded to the national champions of Norway, France, Great Britain, Denmark and Poland. In addition to Metal Ligaen champions Rungsted Seier Capital, Denmark was also represented by 2019/20 Continental Cup winners SønderjyskE Vojens.

The remaining places in the line-up were filled with Ukrainian champions HC Donbass Donetsk and Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava.

Out of the 32 qualified teams, six made their debut in the CHL in 2021/22 – Rögle Ängelholm, Leksands IF, Pinguins Bremerhaven, HC Donbass Donetsk, Slovan Bratislava and JKH GKS Jastrzębie, seven returned from 2019/20 and the remaining 19 teams of the line-up had played in the CHL in the past.

Playing format

Prior to the Group Stage games, the Group Stage Draw was slightly altered to accommodate the needs of nations participating in the Final Olympic Qualification tournament.

These teams were drawn into Pot 5, which included the seven effected teams + Ukraine’s lowest ranked team (HC Donbass Donetsk) and were drawn into two groups with no league protection.

The remaining teams were drawn into groups according to the usual Group Stage Draw rules and procedures.

Teams played the other three in their group at home and away, with the top two from each group going directly to the Round of 16. At this stage, the Playoffs Draw was held to determine the next matchups, with group winners being seeded and drawn against runners-up.

The Playoffs (Round of 16, Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals) were played in a two-game, home-and-away knock-out series, where the winner on goals aggregate advanced. The Final was one game, played at the venue of the team with the best-accumulated Group Stage and Playoffs record.

Group Stage review | click here for Group Stage Standings 2021/22

Swedish teams once again proved dominant in the Group Stage, with two of them, Frölunda Gothenburg and Rögle Ängelholm, finishing in top spot and all five advancing to the next round.

The same applied for the three ICE teams, who battled it out in Groups G and H. KAC Klagenfurt topped Group G and Red Bull Salzburg topped Group H with HC Bolzano finishing in second just one point off. All three of their participants moved on to the Playoffs, in the case of Klagenfurt for the very first time.

The action in Group G was some of the closest and most intense of the 2021/22 Group Stage.

Klagenfurt were the only Group G team qualified for the Playoffs heading into Game Day 6, with the Rouen Dragons and Rungsted both still in contention for the second qualifying place and a head-to-head game scheduled for the last Group Stage round.

Rouen needed a victory in any capacity to ensure their place in the Round of 16 and that’s what they got, beating Rungsted 4-2 thanks to two third-period goals and some late drama.

Swiss side Fribourg-Gottéron made CHL history and cemented their name in the CHL record books forever.

Since its introduction in the 2017/18 season, no club in the current four-team group format has managed to secure all 18 points to close out the Group Stage, but Fribourg managed just that!

Not only did they win all six of their Group Stage games, they did so in convincing fashion, ending the Group Stage with an incredible Goal Difference of +16 – a league high in 2021/22!

Czech Extraliga teams struggled in 2021/22 – the league that has provided the CHL with three Semi-Finalists and two Finalists over the course of the last five seasons saw only one of its teams make this season’s Playoffs for the very first time since 2014/15!

BK Mladá Boleslav finished bottom of Group B whilst six-time participants Oceláři Třinec were left in the dust behind Fribourg and Leksand, leaving Sparta Prague as the only team representing Czechia in the Playoffs.

Two DEL teams, two Liiga teams and the ZSC Lions Zurich completed the line-up for the Playoffs, as reigning Swiss champions and CHL veterans EV Zug missed out on the Playoffs for the first time since 2015/16.

Playoff Review | click here for 2021/22 Road to the Final

Clubs from eight countries entered the Playoffs but that was reduced to five countries in the Quarter-Finals and even further to just three in the Semi-Finals.

After an amazing Group Stage for ICE teams, they were all out of the race for the European Trophy by the Quarter-Finals.

Switzerland’s two representatives, Zurich and Fribourg, were also both eliminated in the Round of 16, both losing by three goals on aggregate.

Finland’s Tappara Tampere eliminated the Växjö Lakers in an intense Return Leg in Finland. After an indecisive 2-2 First Game in Sweden, the ball was in Tappara’s park to put on a performance of the season in front of their home fans.

But after forty minutes of game time, it was 2021 SHL champions Växjö who were a step closer to the Quarter-Finals, leading the series 4-3 with just the final period in the soon-to-be-retired Hakametsä Stadium remaining.

But Tappara turned the game around and after six seasons of Round of 16 failure, the Finns moved into new found territory – the Quarter-Finals!

The SHL dropped two teams in the Quarter-Finals, as the final eight of 2021/22 was filled in by Munich, Sparta and Rouen, who overcame a very strong Red Bull Salzburg to secure their first ever trip into the Quarter-Finals.

Quarter-Finals

The Quarter-Finals were closer than ever in 2021/22 – two of the four First Games ended on level terms, notably with Rouen pulling off an amazing 3-3 draw against Tappara, and the other two games were decided by three-goal margins, as Rögle and Frölunda took the upper hands in their matchups.

Munich’s Return Game against Lukko Rauma went to OT, as the score was still level in regulation. Munich’s Justin Schütz decided who would advance with a spectacular goal a few minutes in, ending Lukko’s well played season.

Tappara ended Rouen’s amazing Playoffs run, but Rouen’s home fans were delighted with their team’s results this season despite being eliminated.

Sparta turned their three-goal disadvantage around and were only one goal away from equalising, as Rögle had to endure a few final heart attack minutes of the Return Game, but ultimately ended up making it through.

Frölunda settled for a draw with fellow SHL side Leksands IF, who ended their strong debut CHL on a somewhat positive note, but also made it through to the Semi-Finals thanks to their big win in the First Game.

Semi-Finals

Rögle were drawn against four-time CHL Champions and fellow SHL side Frölunda for the Semi-Finals, but two decisive wins for Rögle sealed them their place in the Final, as Frölunda missed out on the final round for only the second time ever.

The other Semi-Final matchup pitted Munich and Tappara against each other.

After much COVID-related delay on both sides, it was decided that Munich would face Tappara in a single-game Semi-Final showdown to decide who will move on to the Final.

The all-or-nothing game ended 3-0 to Tappara as the Finns moved on to their first ever Final.

The Final

The Catena Arena was abuzz as a sold-out crowd packed the venue to watch Rögle and Tappara battle it out for the European Trophy.

Daniel Zaar scored in the first period and again in the second to lift his club towards their first piece of major silverware.

Tappara’s Waltteri Merelä launched a third-period comeback for the Finns, but it remained fruitless.

With their amazing home fans pushing them on, Rögle held on to their one goal lead right down to the final buzzer and went on to lift the European Trophy for the very first time.

Frölunda’s Ryan Lasch – the CHL’s all-time scoring leader with 109 points – earned his fourth LGT Top Scorer Award, whilst Munich’s Frederik Tiffels was awarded the LGT MVP Award.