It is the quiet before the storm in Paris and Cologne as the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Championship are coming up tomorrow. But at this time, there is no day going by without hockey in the two cities. As the players have their day off, the officials of the Champions Hockey League took advantage of the situation and have held their Group Stage Draw. At Lanxess Arena in Cologne, they have set the stage for the 2017-18 CHL season.
With Swiss champion SC Bern, the ZSC Lions, EV Zug, and HC Davos, Switzerland will participate with four teams in the 32-team tournament. In the CHL's 2017-18 edition, there will be eight groups consisting of four teams. In every group, the top two teams will move on to the knock-out stage. The following groups have been drawn:
Group A: Banska Bystrica (SVK), Grizzlies Wolfsburg (GER), Red Bull Salzburg (AUT), Tappara Tampere (FIN)
Group B: Stavanger Oilers (NOR), Malmö Redhawks (SWE), Kalpa Kuopio (FIN), Kometa Brno (CZE)
Group C: Neman Grodno (BLR), JYP Jyväskylä (FIN), EV Zug (SUI), Vienna Capitals (AUT)
Group D: Esbjerg Energy (DEN), Ocelari Trinec (CZE), Adler Mannheim (GER), HV71 Jönköping (SWE)
Group E: Cardiff Devils (GBR), HC Davos (SUI), Bili Tygri Liberec (CZE), Växjö Lakers (SWE)
Group F: Nottingham Panthers (GBR), Mountfield HK (CZE), TPS Turku (FIN), SC Bern (SUI)
Group G: Comarch Cracovia (POL), IFK Helsinki (FIN), Brynäs IF (SWE), Red Bull München (GER)
Group H: Gap Rapaces (FRA), KAC Klagenfurt (AUT), ZSC Lions (SUI), Frölunda Göteborg (SWE)
Last Update: 17 May 2017, 04:30 PM | tme
