Copenhagen, Denmark – The stage is now set for the 2018/19 Champions Hockey League season after the official draw took place in Copenhagen today (Wednesday) with the backdrop of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Canada's 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist Tessa Bonhomme presented the draw, with fans able to tune in via the CHL Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The 125-game CHL season will begin 30 August 2018, with 32 teams from 13 leagues. Last season's winner JYP Jyväskylä will be battling to defend their crown against HC Pilsen (CZE), HC Lugano (SUI) and HC05 Banská Bystrica (SVK) in Group H.
Here's the field for 2018/19! #CHLDraw pic.twitter.com/ATwhb0SPzm
— Champions Hockey League (@championshockey) May 16, 2018
For full details on the draw visit the CHL website.
As the exclusive media and marketing partner of the CHL, Infront will once again be onsite at every game, ensuring the highest quality delivery across all aspects of the tournament.
The league is fully owned and operated by Champions Hockey League AG/Ltd which includes, as its shareholders, the 26 Founding Clubs, six national Founding Leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Founding National Leagues are: Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The best teams from the Challenger Leagues (Belarus, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Norway, Poland and Slovakia) are extended Wild Cards. The 2018/19 season includes 32 teams from 13 leagues, comprising a total of 220 national championships between them. The CHL season culminates in a one-game Final showdown to be played on 5 February 2019 at the home venue of the team with the best accumulated Group Stage and Playoff record. A season total of 125 games will have been played by the time the European Trophy is lifted by the champions.
Infront is a leading sports marketing company managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events, including the distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 1,000 staff working from over 40 offices across more than 13 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Group, part of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group.