We spoke to representatives of our three Swedish participants following the CHL Draw in Tampere, Finland, to find out what their goals were for the upcoming season, what they thought about their teams' six Regular Season opponents, and what excites them about the new competition changes in 2023/24.
"It's going to be exciting right down to Game Days 5 and 6"Tomas Mitell, Head Coach of Färjestad Karlstad
Färjestad Karlstad's Head Coach Tomas Mitell was first to speak, saying: "We want to win as many games as possible, but our first goal is to make the Playoffs."
All three representatives of the SHL clubs have high expectations for their teams heading into the 10th season of Europe's elite club ice hockey competition.
Frederik Hellgren, Assistant Coach of the Växjö Lakers, pointed out that the reigning SHL champions "always play to win" and that their aim was no lower than to "win the competition".
Erik Forssell, General Manager of Skellefteå AIK, has the same view: "Our goal is to win the CHL."
Färjestad's Mitell is looking forward to facing teams from outside the SHL: "It's always good to see European hockey in different countries and play against different opponents."
His club will visit Finland, Norway and Germany in the 2023/24 Regular Season.
"We've played in the CHL before so we're looking forward to meeting all the great teams in Europe," added Hellgren of Växjö, while Skellefteå's Forssell highlighted that "facing Tappara in their amazing arena will be a great experience."
All three are really looking forward to the new competition format that starts this season.
"It's going to be exciting right down to Game Days 5 and 6, I like that," was Mitell's main takeaway, while Hellgren thinks that the new format will bring "more excitement to fans".
Forssell added: "It's good to face six different opponents and the overall standings with 24 teams competing against each other is also a huge plus!"