We spoke to representatives of our three Extraliga participants from Czechia following the CHL Draw in Prague, Czechia, to find out what their goals were for the upcoming season, what they thought about their teams' six Regular Season opponents and who they were most looking forward to playing.
"We want to share how Czech hockey is played"Ivan Čonka, Dynamo Pardubice
First to speak was Dynamo Pardubice's Ivan Čonka: "We want to become a proper European club and make it to the Semi-Finals but also to promote the CHL more than in the past season."
Jaroslav Kameš of Oceláři Třinec was direct with his answer and said that the reigning Czech Extraliga champions want to "play good hockey against the best teams in Europe!"
Petr Vosmík of Sparta Prague revealed that their goal is the same as for their domestic league: "Go for the cup!"
What did the Czech representatives think of their draw? Čonka thinks that the Regular Season is "playable" for Pardubice. Kameš from Třinec highlighted that all their opponents were "really good teams" while Sparta's Vosmík was keen to focus on a "great mix" of teams.
"It will be really interesting to see Hungarian ice hockey and we're looking forward to going to Sheffield to see the rising quality of EIHL hockey," he added.
And finally, which clubs stood out to the representatives following the CHL Draw?
Pardubice are excited to face the SHL and the Liiga teams. "I think these leagues are some of the most advanced," revealed Čonka.
Kameš picked Färjestad out as the club Třinec will most look forward to playing while Vosmík stuck to one of his earlier picks and chose the EIHL's Sheffield Steelers.