Switzerland is represented by five teams in the Champions Hockey League under the new qualification system for the first time. Earlier today, the teams were part of a CHL Press Conference in Bern to launch the new season to local media.
After CEO Matin Baumann presented some information about the past and upcoming seasons, it was over to the Head Coaches and a player of each team to preview what's to come in just under two weeks time.
Luca Cereda (Head Coach): "We are in a very tough group with Färjestad Karlstad, Red Bull Munich and HC05 Banská Bystrica. We consider ourselves the underdogs and want to make our opponents lives as difficult as possible. The CHL is very important for us us to gain experience, learn from our opponents and get better."
Marco Müller: "The Champions Hockey League was a very nice experience for me playing with Bern. Visiting new countries and playing at such a high level is great. I’m really looking forward to this challenge also with Ambrì-Piotta."
Antti Törmännen (Head Coach, EHC Biel-Bienne): "It’s extremely good for players and coaches to play against opponents they don’t know. Like this, we can measure ourselves and see how good we actually are."
Mathieu Tschantré: "We will get the chance to participate in the CHL for the first time, and the city is ecstatic. To us it is really important, and of course very nice, to play against such good teams and we will benefit a lot from this."
Ville Peltonen (Head Coach): "Not all players get the chance to play internationally so this will be a very nice experience for our team. We feel very honoured to play among the best teams of Europe."
Etienne Froidevaux: "For us, every game will be very special because it will be new both to the players and also our organisation. But the game against Lahti Pelicans will be the most special, because we have a lot of Finns on our team.
Dan Tangnes (Head Coach): "Of course we want to win every tournament we enter but it will be a difficult task again this year. We’re in a group with Rungsted Seier Capital who might be from a small league but we know those teams have caused many upsets in the past so we need to be careful."
Jan Kovář: "Playing against my hometown Pilsen will be very special for me and I’m really excited."
Kari Jalonen (Head Coach): "It will be very exciting to go back to Skellefteå and Oulu. I will meet my family and friends in Oulu, but of course it will be most important to me to play good hockey with my team."
Ramon Untersander: "The roadtrip to Skellefteå and Oulu will be a tough one, but we will definitely play games on the highest level. It’s always a great experience to compare to different styles of hockey and to get to know other hockey philosophies."
The pre-season press conferences continue on 20 August in Munich, and 21 in Prague.
