2023–24 Champions Hockey League

The 2023–24 Champions Hockey League was the ninth season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament. The tournament was competed by 24 teams, with qualification being on sporting merits only. Apart from the reigning champion, the six founding leagues were represented by three teams each, while five "challenge leagues" were represented by one team each.

Swiss team Genève-Servette HC won their first Champions Hockey League title, defeating Swedish team Skellefteå AIK 3–2 in the final. This made Genève-Servette HC the first Swiss side to win the title.^[1] The title holders Tappara finished 18th in the regular season and did not qualify for the playoffs.^[2]

Czech left forward Dominik Lakatoš from Czech team Vítkovice Ridera became the top scorer with 12 points.

Format changes

Starting from the 2023–24 season the format was changed. The number of teams was reduced from 32 to 24 teams. The group stage was replaced with the regular season in which teams played six games each, with the teams being ranked in overall standings and 16 best-ranked teams advancing to the playoffs.

In the regular season draw, teams were allocated into four pots featuring six teams each. The seeding depends on the teams’ achievements in their national leagues and the respective league’s standing in the CHL league ranking. Each team was drawn against two teams from each of the other three pots.

In the playoffs, teams formed pairs based on the overall regular season standings.^[3]

For the first time since the 2015–16 season, the IIHF Continental Cup winners did not get a wild card spot.^[4]

Team allocation

A total of 24 teams from different European first-tier leagues were scheduled to participate in the league. Besides the title holders Tappara, 18 teams from the six founding leagues, as well as the national champions from Denmark, France, Norway, Slovakia and the United Kingdom participated.^[5]

The qualification criteria for national leagues was based on the following rules:^[3]

CHL champions
National league champions (play-off winners)
Regular season winners
Regular season runners-up
Regular season third-placed team

Note: the national league champions of the United Kingdom are distinct from the national champions, who are determined in play-offs following the regular season. In 2023, Belfast Giants won both competitions.^[6]

Teams

Team	City/Area	League	Qualification	Participation	Previous best
Tappara	Tampere	Liiga	2023 CHL winners	9th	Champion
Växjö Lakers	Växjö	Swedish Hockey League	Play-off winners	7th	Final
Skellefteå AIK	Skellefteå	Swedish Hockey League	Regular season runners-up	8th	Semi-finals
Färjestad BK	Karlstad	Swedish Hockey League	Regular season third	6th	Round of 16
Genève-Servette HC	Geneva	National League	Play-off winners	3rd	Round of 16
EHC Biel-Bienne	Biel/Bienne	National League	Regular season runners-up	2nd	Quarter-finals
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	Rapperswil	National League	Regular season third	2nd	Group stage
Red Bull München	Munich	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	Play-off winners	8th	Final
ERC Ingolstadt	Ingolstadt	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	Regular season runners-up	4th	Round of 32
Adler Mannheim	Mannheim	Deutsche Eishockey Liga	Regular season third	7th	Round of 16
Ilves	Tampere	Liiga	Regular season runners-up	2nd	Group stage
Lukko	Rauma	Liiga	Regular season third	5th	Semi-finals
Pelicans	Lahti	Liiga	Regular season fourth	2nd	Group stage
Red Bull Salzburg	Salzburg	ICE Hockey League	Play-off winners	8th	Semi-finals
HC Bolzano	Bolzano	ICE Hockey League	Regular season winners	4th	Round of 16
HC Innsbruck	Innsbruck	ICE Hockey League	Regular season third	1st	First appearance
Oceláři Třinec	Třinec	Czech Extraliga	Play-off winners	8th	Semi-finals
Dynamo Pardubice	Pardubice	Czech Extraliga	Regular season winners	4th	Group stage
Vítkovice Ridera	Ostrava	Czech Extraliga	Regular season runners-up	4th	Quarter-finals
Dragons de Rouen	Rouen	Ligue Magnus	Play-off winners	4th	Quarter-finals
Stavanger Oilers	Stavanger	Fjordkraftligaen	Play-off winners	6th	Round of 32
Aalborg Pirates	Aalborg	Metal Ligaen	Play-off winners	3rd	Group stage
Belfast Giants	Belfast	Elite Ice Hockey League	Regular season winners	3rd	Group stage
HC Košice	Košice	Slovak Extraliga	Play-off winners	4th	Round of 32

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition was as follows.^[7]

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Group stage	Matchday 1	24 May 2023^[7]	31 August–1 September 2023
	Matchday 2		2–3 September 2023
	Matchday 3		7–8 September 2023
	Matchday 4		9–10 September 2023
	Matchday 5		10–11 October 2023
	Matchday 6		17–18 October 2023
Playoff	Round of 16	No draw	14–15 November 2023	21–22 November 2023
	Quarter-finals		5–6 December 2023	12 December 2023
	Semi-finals		9–10 January 2024	16–17 January 2024
	Final		20 February 2024

Regular season

Pots

The participating teams were seeded into Pots A to D according to their achievements in their national leagues and their respective league’s standing in the CHL league ranking. The reigning CHL champions Tappara were the top seeded team and therefore given a place in pot A. The top pot also contained the reigning champions of four of the top five founding leagues according to the league rankings (Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and ICE Hockey League), as well as 2022–23 Liiga regular season runners-up.^[8]

Pot A	Pot B	Pot C	Pot D
Tappara Växjö Lakers Genève-Servette HC Red Bull München Ilves Red Bull Salzburg	Oceláři Třinec Skellefteå AIK EHC Biel-Bienne ERC Ingolstadt Lukko HC Bolzano	Dynamo Pardubice Färjestad BK SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers Adler Mannheim Pelicans HC Innsbruck	Vítkovice Ridera Dragons de Rouen Stavanger Oilers Aalborg Pirates Belfast Giants HC Košice

Grid

Teams were allocated their opponents based on a pattern in connection to the positions in the regular season grid. They played the teams on the left-hand side at home and the ones on the right-hand side away excluding teams from the same row. Teams from the last column played teams from the first column away, and teams from the first column played teams from the last column at home.

A1	Tappara	A2	Red Bull München	A3	Växjö Lakers	A4	Ilves	A5	Red Bull Salzburg	A6	Genève-Servette HC
B1	Lukko	B2	EHC Biel-Bienne	B3	Oceláři Třinec	B4	ERC Ingolstadt	B5	HC Bolzano	B6	Skellefteå AIK
C1	HC Innsbruck	C2	SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	C3	Färjestad BK	C4	Pelicans	C5	Dynamo Pardubice	C6	Adler Mannheim
D1	HC Košice	D2	Aalborg Pirates	D3	Vítkovice Ridera	D4	Stavanger Oilers	D5	Dragons de Rouen	D6	Belfast Giants

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Adler Mannheim	6	5	0	1	0	21	9	12	16	Qualification to playoffs
2	Växjö Lakers	6	4	2	0	0	29	13	16	16
3	Lukko	6	5	0	0	1	21	14	7	15
4	Färjestad BK	6	4	1	0	1	26	11	15	14
5	Skellefteå AIK	6	4	0	0	2	18	11	7	12
6	Ilves	6	3	1	1	1	22	18	4	12
7	Genève-Servette HC	6	3	1	0	2	25	14	11	11
8	Pelicans	6	3	1	0	2	23	15	8	11
9	Vítkovice Ridera	6	2	2	1	1	19	14	5	11
10	Red Bull München	6	3	0	1	2	22	16	6	10
11	Dynamo Pardubice	6	3	0	1	2	20	14	6	10
12	Oceláři Třinec	6	3	0	1	2	21	17	4	10
13	EHC Biel-Bienne	6	3	0	1	2	19	17	2	10
14	HC Innsbruck	6	3	0	0	3	18	26	−8	9
15	ERC Ingolstadt	6	3	0	0	3	13	22	−9	9
16	SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	6	2	1	1	2	21	22	−1	9
17	Belfast Giants	6	2	1	0	3	10	13	−3	8
18	Tappara	6	1	2	0	3	18	17	1	7
19	Dragons de Rouen	6	2	0	0	4	16	26	−10	6
20	Red Bull Salzburg	6	1	0	1	4	9	17	−8	4
21	Stavanger Oilers	6	1	0	1	4	14	25	−11	4
22	HC Bolzano	6	0	0	1	5	7	26	−19	1
23	Aalborg Pirates	6	0	0	1	5	9	31	−22	1
24	HC Košice	6	0	0	0	6	9	22	−13	0

Regular season tie-breaking criteria

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win in regulation time, 2 points for a win in overtime, 1 point for a loss in overtime, 0 points for a loss in regulation time). If two or more teams were tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria was applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (see 8.4.4. Tie breaking formula group stage standings):^[9]

Greater number of wins in regulation time (3 point wins);
Greater number of wins in total (regulation time wins + overtime and shootout wins);
Better goal difference;
More goals scored;
More away goals scored;
The higher position in the CHL Draw pot allocation.

Results

Home \ Away	AAL	MAN	BEL	BIE	BOL	ROU	PAR	FBK	GEN	ILV	ING	INN	KOŠ	LUK	TŘI	PEL	RJL	RBM	RBS	SKE	STA	TAP	VÄX	VÍT
Aalborg Pirates												4–6		2–6								1–2
Adler Mannheim					4–2	3–2													3–2
Belfast Giants					4–0		3–2												1–0
EHC Biel-Bienne												6–1	3–1									6–3
HC Bolzano										1–7						3–4					0–1
Dragons de Rouen										6–1	3–5					3–8
Dynamo Pardubice										1–3	6–1										5–1
Färjestad BK	8–0			4–1														4–2
Genève-Servette HC					6–1	9–1	3–2
Ilves								3–4							5–4									3–2
ERC Ingolstadt								3–2															2–5	0–5
HC Innsbruck			2–1						5–2											2–4
HC Košice		1–4							2–3											1–2
Lukko		0–6	3–1						3–2
Oceláři Třinec	4–0																6–7	0–2
Pelicans															1–3								1–5	4–0
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers													5–2	2–5								4–2
Red Bull München												9–2	5–2	1–4
Red Bull Salzburg											1–2					1–5					5–2
Skellefteå AIK						0–1	3–4												4–0
Stavanger Oilers								2–4							2–4								6–7
Tappara		2–1	6–0																	3–5
Växjö Lakers	5–2			4–0													3–2
Vítkovice Ridera				4–3													4–1	4–3

Playoffs

Format

In the playoffs, pairings were formed based on the positions of the teams in the regular season as follows: the team finished 1st in the regular season face the team finished 16th, the team finished 2nd face the team finished 15th, and so on. There were no play-off draw or any reseedings for the quarter-finals and semi-finals. In each round except the final, the teams play two games and the aggregate score decides which team advances. The first leg was hosted by the team with the lower seed with the second leg being played on the home ice of the other team. If aggregate score was tied, a sudden death overtime follows. If the overtime was scoreless, the team who wins the shoot out competition advances.

The final was played on the home ice of the team with the higher accumulative ranking across the entire campaign, including play-off games.^[10]