Two special guests will help conduct the 2022/23 Champions Hockey League Group Stage Draw on 25 May at the IIHF World Championship in Tampere as Finnish ice hockey legends Sami Kapanen and Olli Jokinen will do the honours.
On Wednesday, 25 May, the 32 qualified teams will find out their opponents for the first stage of the 2022/23 Champions Hockey League season when they’re drawn into groups of four at the CHL Group Stage Draw.
The Draw will be conducted by CHL President Peter Zahner and CHL CEO Martin Baumann with the help of two well-known guests, as Sami Kapanen and Olli Jokinen will both be responsible of drawing the teams out of the pots.
Olli Jokinen has played 1237 NHL games in 17 seasons and has been active in coaching for a couple of years now and will compete in the Champions Hockey League for the very first time this upcoming season with his team Jukurit Mikkeli (FIN).
Sami Kapanen's career stats boast over 800 NHL games over the course of 12 seasons. Since his retirement as a player he has transitioned into management and franchise owner roles, but also featured as head coach for Liiga side Kalpa and NL side HC Lugano.
The CHL Group Stage Draw will take place at the IIHF World Championship in Tampere (FIN) and will be broadcasted live on both the CHL website and the league’s official social media channels, starting on 25 May at 16:00 CEST (17:00 local time).