In under a week the Frölunda Indians and Red Bull Munich will enter both familiar and new territory respectively.
There is however, somewhat more on the line for a player on either side, born only 14 months apart, who will be battling it out as part of their legacies with their own team. Both need little introduction in their own countries, having made their names at the top of their own leagues, and for their national teams, over more than a decade.
Michael Wolf will hope to bow out of ice hockey with a CHL title to further highlight the success he’s achieved, especially in his recent years with Munich. The Austrian-born German winger began his career in 1998 in the fourth division of Germany with EV Füssen, where he would score 29 points in his first full season only a year later. He gradually worked his way up from there, playing for three sides in the second division before joining the Iserlohn Roosters in 2005, which is where he truly made his name.
The 2007/08 season proved to be the centrepiece of his time with the club, where he was named Deutsche Eishockey Liga player of the year thanks to the 44 goals, the league's highest, that he scored. Despite his efforts, the Roosters finished fifth that year and were eliminated in the Quarter-Finals of the post season, a stage of the tournament that they only reached again in 2013/14 where Wolf captained them in what proved to be his final season for the team.
It’s no coincidence that upon joining Munich that year, the now 38-year-old went on to captain them in his second season where they won their first DEL title. This proved to be a catalyst for the club, who achieved a threepeat of this feat over the next two seasons. During this time Wolf has also represented his country 150 times, which could prove to be invaluable experience against a team from a historically more dominant hockey nation.
A brief spell with the world's best in the NHL proved to be the only temptation capable of luring Joel Lundqvist away from Frölunda, with whom he's now in his twelfth. Lundqvist enjoyed his first season in 1998-99 for the Indians’ under 18 side, where he tallied up 64 points in just 32 games. He went on to score the championship winning goal for the U20 team a year later in what became a swift ascent through to the first team, whom he played nine games for that season.
A third round #68 pick for the Dallas Stars was evidence of the Swedish center’s potential, which became clear in his first full season with the Indians in 2002/03 when they became SHL champions. Three seasons down the line, and with another title to his name, Joel joined his brother Henrik in the NHL, albeit on different teams . He returned to the Swedish giants in the 2009/10 season and was subsequently named as the team’s Captain, an honour he's held ever since.
Following that year, he achieved his second World Championship Gold Medal in 2012/13 and became both an SHL and CHL champion in 2015/16. His role within the team was epitomised when the Indians won the CHL for a second consecutive year, in which Lundqvist was named the's competition's Most Valuable Player.