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. The title holders Tappara finished 18th in the regular season and did not qualify for the playoffs.
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.
For the first time since the 2015–16 season, the IIHF Continental Cup winners did not get a wild card spot.
==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.
The qualification criteria for national leagues was based on the following rules:
# 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.
===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
 	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.
Phase 	Round 	Draw date 	First leg 	Second leg
Group stage	Matchday 1 	24 May 2023	31 August–1 September 2023	31 August–1 September 2023
Group stage	Matchday 2 	24 May 2023	2–3 September 2023 	2–3 September 2023
Group stage	Matchday 3 	24 May 2023	7–8 September 2023 	7–8 September 2023
Group stage	Matchday 4 	24 May 2023	9–10 September 2023 	9–10 September 2023
Group stage	Matchday 5 	24 May 2023	10–11 October 2023 	10–11 October 2023
Group stage	Matchday 6 	24 May 2023	17–18 October 2023 	17–18 October 2023
Playoff 	Round of 16 	TBA 	 	
Playoff 	Quarter-finals	TBA 	5–6 December 2023 	12 December 2023
Playoff 	Semi-finals 	TBA 	9–10 January 2024 	16–17 January 2024
Playoff 	Final 	TBA 	20 February 2024 	20 February 2024
==Regular season==
In the regular season the 24 teams were combined into one table. Each team played home and away against six different opponents once. The best sixteen teams qualified to the round of 16.
The draw of the regular season took place on 24 May 2023 in Tampere, Finland.
===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.
Pot A	Pot B	Pot C	Pot D
 	 	 	
===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	 	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===
===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):
#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===
==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.
===Bracket===
===Round of 16===
The first legs were played on 14 and 15 November with return legs played on 21 and 22 November 2023.
|}
====(1) Adler Mannheim vs. (16) SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers====
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====(2) Växjö Lakers vs. (15) ERC Ingolstadt====
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====(3) Lukko vs. (14) HC Innsbruck====
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====(4) Färjestad BK vs. (13) EHC Biel-Bienne====
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====(5) Skellefteå AIK vs. (12) Oceláři Třinec====
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====(6) Ilves vs. (11) Dynamo Pardubice====
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====(7) Genève-Servette HC vs. (10) Red Bull München====
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====(9) Vítkovice Ridera vs. (8) Pelicans====
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===Quarter-finals===
First legs were played on 5 and 6 December with return legs played on 12 December 2023.
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====(2) Växjö Lakers vs. (7) Genève-Servette HC====
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====(3) Lukko vs. (11) Dynamo Pardubice====
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====(4) Färjestad BK vs. (5) Skellefteå AIK====
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====(9) Vítkovice Ridera vs. (16) SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers====
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===Semi-finals===
First legs will be played on 9 January with return legs played on 16 January 2024.
|}
====(3) Lukko vs. (7) SC Genève-Servette HC====
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====(5) Skellefteå AIK vs. (9) Vítkovice Ridera====
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===Final===
==Statistics==
===Scoring leaders===
The following players led the league in points.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	Vítkovice Ridera 	11	7	5 	12	8 	–3 	2	4	0	34	20.59%
 	Genève-Servette HC	13	3	9 	12	4 	+7 	0	0	0	47	6.38%
 	Genève-Servette HC	13	2	10	12	2 	+8 	0	0	0	24	8.33%
 	Oceláři Třinec 	7 	5	6 	11	0 	–1 	1	1	0	22	22.73%
 	Skellefteå AIK 	13	6	5 	11	2 	+10	1	1	1	31	19.35%
 	Genève-Servette HC	13	4	7 	11	12	+3 	0	1	0	30	13.33%
 	Red Bull München 	7 	1	9 	10	0 	+8 	0	0	0	11	9.09%
 	HC Innsbruck 	8 	6	4 	10	6 	+5 	1	2	0	26	23.08%
 	Växjö Lakers 	9 	5	5 	10	2 	-1 	2	1	0	12	41.67%
 	Lukko 	10	6	4 	10	0 	+4 	1	0	0	14	42.86%
===Leading goaltenders===
The following goaltenders led the league in save percentage, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	Vítkovice Ridera	6	4	1	178	6 	96.74%	0.99	1	364
 	Lahti Pelicans 	3	2	0	83 	4 	95.40%	1.36	1	177
 	Belfast Giants 	6	3	3	160	12	93.02%	2.01	2	358
 	Adler Mannheim 	4	3	1	87 	7 	92.55%	1.75	1	240
 	Lukko 	8	6	0	184	15	92.46%	1.88	0	480
==Awards==
===Team of the Regular Season===
The Team of the Regular Season was announced on 2 November 2023.
Position 	Player 	Team
Goaltender	Tyler Beskorowany	Belfast Giants
Defenceman	Sami Vatanen 	Genève-Servette HC
Defenceman	Les Lancaster 	Ilves
Forward 	Libor Hudáček 	Oceláři Třinec
Forward 	Aatu Jämsen 	Pelicans
Forward 	Pär Lindholm 	Skellefteå AIK
===MVP===
The winner of the LGT MVP Award was announced on 20 February 2024.
Player 	Team
Sami Vatanen	Genève-Servette HC
===Team of the Season===
The Team of the Season was announced on 11 March 2024.
Position 	Player 	Team
Goaltender	Jussi Olkinuora	Pelicans / Genève-Servette HC
Defenceman	Sami Vatanen 	Genève-Servette HC
Defenceman	Tarmo Reunanen 	Lukko
Forward 	Dominik Lakatoš	Vítkovice Ridera
Forward 	Linus Lindström	Skellefteå AIK
Forward 	Braeden Shaw 	HC Innsbruck
==References==
2023
Champions