All 32 teams taking part in the 2020/21 Champions Hockey League now know their Round of 32 opponents, and potential pathways to the final itself.
We take a look at some of the direct and indirect consequences from Wednesday’s draw!
Closest fixture
At just 400 kilometres apart, Liberec and Tychy have the closest matchup of any in the Round of 32. While the ‘White Tigers’ have never been to Poland in CHL action and GKS have never visited the Czech Republic before, it’s not the first time teams from these nations have faced each other – Sparta Prague beat Cracovia in both games in 2016/17 but both sets of fans made use of the short distance and travelled in numbers!
Red Bull vs. Tampere
Both teams from the Red Bull family face a trip to Tampere in the Round of 32. Munich face debut side Ilves while Salzburg meet Tappara. The bracket is such that it’s possible for the two Red Bull or Tampere-based sides to meet each other in the Semi-Finals – which could be a repeat of 2018/19 when Munich and Salzburg faced off for a place in the Final. This would, of course, mean that Tappara would need to finally get past the Round of 16 to have a chance of facing their city neighbours.
Teams from the same city have never faced each other in the CHL before.
Old scores to settle?
There’s a potential grudge match in the Round of 16 if Frölunda and Biel-Bienne can both get past their opponents in the opening round. The Indians came back from two behind on aggregate to knock out their Swiss opposition in last season’s Quarter-Finals en route to another CHL title. There’s no doubt that result will be in the back of minds in Biel-Bienne if the two teams face each other again.
No let-up for Devils
Cardiff had faced Swedish opposition in each of their previous three CHL seasons and 2019/20 will be no different with Färjestad their opponents in 2020/21. After two seasons with Växjö in their group, last time out the Devils came up against the might of Frölunda. On their visits north, the Devils have lost 3-2, 3-1, and 9-2. That said, only one of their three home games against SHL teams was lost in regulation with a win and overtime loss against the Lakers.
In fact, the only time a team from the UK didn’t face Swedish opposition was when Nottingham advanced to the Round of 16.
Domestic route to the final?
A quirk of the lower right side of the draw is that it includes three Swiss teams, meaning that if HC Davos, EV Zug and ZSC Lions all win their first round games then it’s possible for one of them to get as far as the Semi-Finals without leaving Switzerland. Adding in that Biel-Bienne are in the top half of that side of the bracket, there’s one possibility that neither of these three teams would have to travel abroad all the way to the final!
On the other hand however, Skellefteå AIK, Vienna or SønderjyksE could easily be the villains and knock out a Swiss team in each round. Skellefteå have never lost in Switzerland with a tie in Davos and win in Bern on their two previous visits.
Happier returns?
Oceláři Třinec and Yunost Minsk met in the group stage in 2019/20 and both won their home games. While Trinec certainly did better on aggregate with a 7-2 win on their own ice, they’ll be wary of visiting the Belarussian capital again after being blanked 2-0 there last season.
The same is true of Frölunda who play Neman Grodno this time around but have to be careful heading to Belarus. On their way to the 2016/17 title, the Indians were beaten 3-2 in Minsk so have yet to win in the country in the CHL.
Four-year wait for revenge?
Eisbären Berlin and Luleå Hockey have met before in the CHL but perhaps not with the outcome you might expect. 2019/20 Semi-Finalists, and 2014/15 Champions, Luleå were beaten in both Group Stage games by the German side by a combined score 7-3. This will be a matchup worth watching as one organisation tries to prove it wasn’t a fluke, while the other intends to avenge defeat from four years before.