The third season of the re-born Champions Hockey League is ready to go. The league has announced the full list of teams that have been granted a berth into the league — referred to as a license — and the full schedule for the group stage.
48 teams from 13 European leagues will compete to be CHL champions. Of those teams, 40 will be making an effort to be the first non-SHL team to win the tournament following Frolunda’s win this year and Lulea’s the year before.
The 2016-17 Champions League will kick off with four games on August 16, with the group stage lasting until September 11. August 17 will mark the first time that a CHL game is played in Poland, followed by Frolunda’s first game of their title defense on the 18th.
It’s the second straight year that the CHL will contain 48 teams. They’ll be divided into 16 groups for the group stage. Like last year, two of each three-team grouping will advance to the knock-out stage. Below is the full list of teams that have qualified for the coming year.
Finnish Liiga
IFK Helsinki
JYP Jyväskylä
KalPa Kuopio
Kärpät Oulu
Tappara Tampere
TPS Turku
Luuko Rauma
SaiPa Lappeenranta
SHL
Djugarden Stockholm
Färjestad Karlstad
Frölunda Gothenburg
HV71 Jönköping
Linköping HC
Lulea Hockey
Skelleftea AIK
Växjö Lakers
DEL
Alder Mannheim
Eisbären Berlin
ERC Ingolstadt
Krefeld Pinguine
Red Bull Munich
Grizzlys Wolfsburg
Czech ExtraLiga
Bili Tygri Liberec
Dynamo Pardubice
Sparta Prague
Vitkovice Ostrava
HC Pilsen
BK Mlada Boleslav
EBEL
Vienna Capitals
Black Wings Linz
Red Bull Salzburg
Orli Znojmo
NLA
EV Zug
Fribourg-Gottéron
SC Bern
ZSC Lions Zurich
HC Davos
HC Lugano
GET Ligaen
Stavanger Oilers
Lørenskog IK
SVK Extraliga
HC Kosice
HK Nitra
Ligue Magnus
Gap Rapace
Rouen Dragons
Metal Ligaen
Esbjerg Energy
Ekstraliga
Comarch Cracovia
Belarus Extraleague
Yunost Minsk
EIHL
Sheffield Steelers
