Champions Hockey League's Field Of 24 Teams For 2025-26 Complete
Action from the Champions Hockey League final in February between champions ZSC Lions Zurich from Switzerland and Färjestad Karlstad from Sweden. Photo: Melanie Duchene / Champions Hockey League
With KalPa Kuopio winning the championship of Finland's Liiga this past weekend, the field of 24 teams that will compete in the 2025-26 Champions Hockey League season is now complete.
Of the 24 spots, 19 go to members of the six founding leagues from Austria, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The champions of these six leagues, plus the top two or three teams in their regular seasons qualify. The defending European champion – in this case, the ZSC Lions from Zurich – automatically qualify, giving a fourth qualification spot from that league.
The remaining five spots are given to the champions of designated 'challenger' leagues. Here are the 24 teams that have qualified:
Switzerland (National League): ZSC Lions Zurich (CHL champion & league champion), Lausanne HC (regular season 1st place), SC Bern (regular season 3rd place), EV Zug (regular season 4th place).
Austria (ICE Hockey League): Red Bull Salzburg (league champion), KAC Klagenfurt (regular season 1st place), Bolzano Foxes (Italy; regular season 3rd place).
Czechia (Extraliga): Kometa Brno (league champion), Sparta Prague (regular season 1st place), Mountfield Hradec Králové (regular season 2nd place).
Finland (Liiga): KalPa Kuopio (league champion), Lukko Rauma (regular season 1st place), Ilves Tampere (regular season 2nd place).
Germany (DEL): Eisbären Berlin (league champion), ERC Ingolstadt (regular season 1st place) Pinguins Bremerhaven (regular season 3rd place).
Sweden (SHL): Luleå Hockey (league champion), Brynäs Gävle (regular season 1st place), Frölunda Gothenburg (regular season 3rd place)
Challenger leagues: Odense Bulldogs (Denmark), Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble (France), Storhamar Dragons (Norway), GKS Tychy (Poland), Belfast Giants (EIHL)
The 2025-26 CHL season begins on Aug. 28 and will conclude with the one-game final on March 3. The game dates for the season have already been released but the exact schedule will be announced after the draw, which will be held May 21 in Stockholm, on the off-day between the group stage and playoffs of the IIHF World Championship.
Zurich Lions Win Champions Hockey League Final – Back-To-Back Titles For Switzerland
Zurich Lions Win Champions Hockey League Final – Back-To-Back Titles For Switzerland For the second year in a row, a Swiss team has defeated a Swedish team in the Champions Hockey League final. On their home ice, the ZSC Lions defeated visiting Färjestad 2-1 before a sell-out crowd of 12,000 at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.
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