Group C sees HC Bolzano and Skellefteå AIK both return to the competition, while Polish Champions GKS Tychy will go in search of their country's first ever points. IFK Helsinki have been in the CHL since the beginning.
HC Bolzano
- Qualified as: EBEL Playoff champions
- Second appearance; Group Stage in 2014/15
- Club information
Bolzano’s incredible EBEL championship win sees the back in the CHL, as they were indeed after another unexpected win back in 2015. Back then they managed three wins including home and away over Pardubice, and were unlucky to just miss out on the top two places in their group. Head Coach Kai Suikkanen spent seven years coaching in the Liiga with TPS, Pelicans, and Kärpät so should know at least HIFK quite well. The Foxes will have a slightly different look from last year’s team however – while most of the domestic players continue, no less than seven imports left over the summer. The return of Marco Insam from Ässät is a boost though, while four of the five new imports will look to make names for themselves in their first ever European seasons. Netminder Leland Irving had also had spells in Finland and the KHL as well as the NHL.
Skellefteå AIK
- Qualified as: SHL finalists
- Fourth appearance; Semi-Finals in 2014/15
- Club information
A return to the CHL for Skellefteå after not qualifying last year, and they’ll meet familiar foes in IFK Helsinki who they played in the first season on the way to reaching the Semi-Finals. Skellefteå have faced Finnish opposition in two of their previous three seasons, with a 5-3 win/loss record. They head into this season with impressive additions in goalie Mantas Armalis (KHL, also formerly Djurgarden), and forwards Juhamatti Aaltonen (SHL/NLA) & Mathis Olimb (SHL) among others – going some way to replace the 47 points Pär Lindholm put up before heading off to Toronto.
IFK Helsinki
- Qualified as: Liiga Playoff semi-finalists
- Fifth appearance; Quarter-Finals in 2014/15
- Club information
By their own admission HIFK have struggled to really make an impression in the CHL since the first season, and missed out on the playoffs completely last year. Having lost Patrik Carlsson among others, the Helsinki side have added with players from around the Liiga. Defenseman Ville Varakas is one of a handful of players to have now played in all five CHL seasons but not for the same team, having dressed for Växjö & Djurgarden in previous years, while Lennart Petrell won this tournament with Lulea in 2015.
GKS Tychy
- Qualified as: Polish champions
- Debut appearance
- Club information
After heartbreak of losing previous Polish finals, Tychy finally overcame their curse to lift the championship trophy last summer at home ice. Belarussian Head Coach Andrei Gusov delivered that title in his first season, and now leads the team in search of Poland’s first ever CHL points. While the team may not be full of household names, they have added players with CHL experience: Peter Novajovsky and Tomas Sykora who both played for Cracovia in the CHL, Andrei Mikhonov at Yunost Minsk, and Gleb Klimenko came in last season after playing for Grodno. The latter have almost 500 KHL games between them. Top points scorer from last season Michael Cichy was drafted by the Montréal Canadiens in 2009.