Since the inaugural 2014/15 season, the Champions Hockey League has seen many competitors come and go, all vying for the glory of being crowned Europe's best.
With the 2024 Final now only days away, join us for a recap of all the past challenges, contenders, and the historic nights on Europe's biggest club ice hockey stage.
"Nordic" best sums up the opening CHL season. Three Swedish and one Finnish team graced the Semi-Finals, and it soon became an all-Swedish battle in the Final, with last season's Finalists Luleå Hockey taking the ultimate prize, beating Frölunda Gothenburg 4-2.
Their season wasn't without its difficulties though, as Luleå had to overcome a sizeable five-goal aggregate deficit to Red Bull Salzburg just to make it out of the Round of 16!
The following season was one of vengeance for Frölunda who repeated their strong performance in the Group Stage. Following a 6-1 tally on aggregate against Swiss rivals HC Davos during the Semi-Finals, the Swedes looked primed for success and were. Frölunda netted two goals late in the first period against Finnish side Kärpät Oulu in the Final and defended their lead to take the 2-1 win, and hoist the European Trophy for the very first time.
The 2016/17 CHL Final featured Frölunda for the third time running, but this time a new aspirant emerged. It was Czech side Sparta Prague, who after two seasons in the pan-European competition found themselves in the Final. The Czechs went all the way, taking the match to overtime, but Frölunda's Nicklas Lasu notched the OT winner, giving the Swedes back-to-back titles of Champions of Europe.
To this day this is the only CHL Final that wasn't decided in regulation.
Two entirely new teams featured in the 2017/18 Final, but still with a Scandinavian twist. After three fruitless seasons for both JYP Jyväskylä and the Växjö Lakers, it was a breakthrough year for the duo. Despite a scoreless first period, Finnish side JYP were able to find the net once during the second and for a second time in the third period, while Växjö were kept scoreless. The 2-0 victory for JYP made them the first Finnish team to raise the coveted European Trophy.
The overwhelming success of nordic teams over the last four seasons set the bar high, but Red Bull Munich decided it was their time to shine. They too came tantalisingly close to making the 2018/19 CHL Season theirs.
They made it all the way to the Final where they faced-off against Frölunda. Sadly, for the Germans, Frölunda had netted three before the end of the second period, and despite finding the back of the net during the third, they couldn't claw their way back from the 3-1 deficit.
Frölunda continued their impeccable record for Finals appearances in 2019/20, and navigated tightly contested battles through their Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals campaigns. On the other side, Czech challengers Mountfield HK had made light work of their rivals, running the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals gauntlet with relative ease.
The Final, however, was a battle that started and ended in the first period. Despite Mountfield opening the scoring, the team from Gothenburg had three goals scored in succession, and in less than three minutes. With two scoreless periods following, the game ended 3-1 in favour of Frölunda.
The pause of the 2021/22 season meant teams (and fans) had to wait patiently and excruciatingly for the nod to proceed, and with that green light came the green and white jerseys of new Swedish contenders Rögle Ängelholm. The never-before-seen participants shook up the league from the get-go, and most notably, or notoriously, ended Frölunda's hopes of another Finals appearance in the Semi-Finals.
On the other end of the ice were the blue and orange jerseys of Tappara Tampere, one of the biggest clubs in European ice hockey. The Finns were in the Final for the very first time following a breakthrough season in the CHL which saw them make it all the way to the Final after continuous exits in the very first Playoffs round between 2014 and 2020.
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 in the 2021/22 Champions Hockey League Final. Daniel Zaar scored in the first and again in the second to lift his club to their first CHL Championship as the Finns' dream was shattered.
Tappara would get a do-over the following season when the buzz of a Champions Hockey League Final returned to the snow-covered seaside town of Luleå in northern Sweden, the very place the 2014/15 Final was played, where an unbeaten home team faced a sleeping giant patiently waiting for his chance to shine.
Kristian Tanus and Niko Ojamäki scored within the first eight minutes to put the Finns ahead and despite a late surge by the Swedes, Tappara kept their cool and finally got their hands on the European Trophy and title of European Club Champions!
2023/24 will see CHL veterans Skellefteå AIK finally get a chance at winning gold while reigning Swiss champions Genève-Servette, who became the first Swiss team to make it to a CHL Final since the inaugural 2014/15 season, will be looking to clinch the European Trophy on home ice!
This is set to be another Final for the history books!
Skellefteå AIK and Genève-Servette will face each other in the ultimate one-game CHL Final in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday, 20 February 2024, at 19:30 CET.