Champions Hockey League
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| Champions Hockey League | |
|---|---|
| Current season or competition: 2008-09 Champions Hockey League |
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 2008 |
| No. of teams | 12 (group stage) |
| Continent | Europe |
The Champions Hockey League is a new ice hockey league slated to launch for the 2008-09 season, which will also be the 100th anniversary of the International Ice Hockey Federation(IIHF), who will run the league.[1] It will include the best teams in European ice hockey. The financial reward for progressing to the CHL Group Stage will be a portion of the 16.9 million Swiss francs that will be distributed evenly between the teams with a 1,000,000 Swiss franc[2] bonus going to the winner, the largest monetary reward ever given in any European ice hockey competition.[1] The Champions Hockey League will replace the IIHF European Champions Cup,[3] the current competition for Europe's top ice hockey teams. The IIHF European Champions Cup's highest trophy, the Silver Stone Trophy, will also most likely be the top trophy for the CHL.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Format
The first qualification round will consist of 18 European national club champions who were ranked 7-24 on the IIHF's European club ranking list. These 18 teams will be split into 6 groups of 3 clubs. The 6 winners will advance to the second qualification round where they will face the runners up (the teams that didn't win the championship of their respective league) of the top-6 rated leagues in a two-legged match, meaning they will be decided on aggregate or the total score of two games. The winners of the second qualification round will advance to the next round (called the CHL group stage) where they will be included with the champions of the top-6 rated European leagues. The teams in round one will then be split-up into four groups of three where they will all compete in a double round-robin-type series. The winners from each of the four groups will advance to the semi-final where they will play again on aggregate in one home and one away game. The winners of the semi-finals will play each other in the finals where they will, once again, play on aggregate. The winner of the final will win the 1,000,000 Swiss franc bonus and the CHL competition.
2008 IIHF League Ranking[4]:
 Russia |
Russian Super League | Two teams guaranteed in the 2008-2009 CHL |
 Finland |
SM-liiga | |
 Czech Republic |
Czech Extraliga | |
 Sweden |
Elitserien | |
 Slovakia |
Slovak Extraliga | One team guaranteed in the 2008-2009 CHL + one possible qualifier |
 Switzerland |
National League A | |
 Germany |
Deutsche Eishockey-Liga | |
 Belarus |
Belarusian Hockey League | Teams from these leagues for Qualification Round 1 for 2009-2010 |
 Latvia |
Latvian Hockey League | |
 Denmark |
Oddset Ligaen | |
 Austria |
Austrian Hockey League | |
 Kazakhstan |
Kazakhstani Championship | |
 Norway |
GET-ligaen | |
 France |
Ligue Magnus | |
 Slovenia |
Slovenian Hockey League | |
 Italy |
Serie A | |
 Hungary |
OB I bajnokság | |
 Poland |
Polska Liga Hokejowa | |
 Netherlands |
Eredivisie | |
 Ukraine |
Ukrainian Supreme League | |
 Great Britain |
Elite Ice Hockey League | |
 Romania |
Liga Naţională de hochei |
[edit] 2008-09 Season
Because of the limited preparation time, the first edition, starting October 8, 2008, will be played with only 12 teams from the top seven leagues in Europe. The four top leagues (Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland) will be represented with two teams each. The leagues ranked 5-7 (Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany) will be represented with one team. The field of twelve will by completed with the winner of a qualifying tournament where one team from each of the 5-7 ranked leagues will participate.[5]
[edit] Victoria Cup
Two teams from the Champions Hockey League and one team from the National Hockey League will play in the IIHF-run Victoria Cup.[3] The criteria by which the NHL/IIHF will select the teams to go to the Victoria Cup has not yet been released.[6] The winner of the Victoria Cup will receive 1,000,000 Swiss francs.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Champions Hockey League launch planned for 08-09. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.
- ^ € 617.087 or $ 904.650 on February 4, 2008.
- ^ a b IIHF announces NHL-European Victoria Cup. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.
- ^ Russian league tops first CHL ranking. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Europe's new Club Competition. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
- ^ Winner of Victoria Cup will receive 1 million Swiss francs. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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