Latest news with #ChampionsHockeyLeague
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Antti Raanta Signs With Hometown Finnish Team
Antti Raanta is finally going home. On Monday, Liiga club Lukko, located in Raanta's hometown of Rauma, on Finland's west coast, announced that the 36-year-old goaltender had signed a one-year contract. 'There's a little boyish enthusiasm, Raanta smiled in a press conference. 'Of course, I feel a little nervous about returning home, but at the same time I'm really excited and have found some peace – now I know where I'm going and I'll have the opportunity to play in Rauma again.' 'It's a great thing that Antti is coming home,' said Lukko sports director Kalle Sahlsted. ''Ana' has, of course, had a great career so far and now he was quite mature and a return to Lukko was possible. We strongly believe that he will be one of the top players in the league next season.' Sahlstedt continued, 'The best thing about this is that we get a boy from our own village back home.' Raanta had considered signing with Lukko last year summer when he decided to end his NHL career and return to play in Europe. However, he learned that, according to Finnish tax laws, if he signed a professional contract in Finland in 2024, he would be taxed by the Finnish government for all of his income during that calendar year, which included a half-season's NHL salary and proceeds from the sale of his house in North Carolina. Instead, he played in Switzerland for Genève-Servette, where he posted a goals-against average of 2.74, a save percentage of .902 and one shutout in 24 National League games. He also played in five Champions Hockey League games, where he backstopped his team to the semifinals with a goals-against average of 1.80, a save percentage of .944 and two shutouts. Raanta was one of the pan-European competition's five MVP finalists. Antti Raanta Won't Return To Geneva – Finland Next? Antti Raanta's first season back in Europe after ending his NHL career had its ups and downs. Raanta grew up and turned pro with Lukko until 2011. He also played two Liiga seasons for Ässät before going to North America in 2013. Over the next 11 seasons, he played 277 NHL regular-season games and 24 playoff games for the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes and Carolina Hurricanes. Last season, Lukko finished first in the Liiga standings and was eliminated in the semifinals by SaiPa Lappeenranta. 'We've got a chance to win here,' said Raanta. 'The team here has been built in such a way that we are very close to that ultimate goal and a championship. I have also heard a lot of good things about the entire organization and how things are handled here.' Raanta is one of eight players that Lukko has under contract for next season. Among the others is Canadian defenseman Éric Gélinas, who signed a one-year contract extension in March. Ex-NHL D-Man Will Return To Finnish Team Next Year Canadian defenseman Éric Gélinas, 33, has agreed to a one-year contract extension with Lukko Rauma, the Finnish Liiga club announced on Monday.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Radim Zohorna Signs With Swedish Club
Czech forward Radim Zohorna, 29, has signed a two-year contract with Färjestad BK, the SHL club announced on Friday. 'It was already in the works last year when I came back from North America, but for various reasons it didn't happen,' said Zohorna. 'Now it just feels nice and inspiring to come to Färjestad and show what I can do. I have a great desire to get better and to play for the team.' 'We have been following him for a long time and it was close to him coming last year,' Färjestad sports director Rickard Wallin echoed. 'He has had offers to choose from and consider, so we are happy that we finally get to see him in green and white.' Zohorna played last season in Switzerland for HC Lugano. It was heavily rumored that he would join Czech champion Kometa Brno, where both of his older brothers, Tomáš and Hynek, are already signed for next season. Kometa GM Libor Zábranský even stated when Tomáš was signed last week, 'I don't hide the fact that I would like all three brothers on one Brno line someday, but Radim's arrival is not in play at the moment.' Radim apparently had his heart set on Färjestad. 'I've talked to Carl Dahlström, who was my teammate this season,' Zohorna explained. 'I've probably asked all the questions I could: What's the city like? how does the club work? what kind of people are there in the club? and a lot more. I've done my research.' A native of Havličkův Brod, Czechia, Zohorna played over 200 Czech Extraliga games with Kometa Brno and BK Mladá Boleslav before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins in January 2021. Between 2021 and 2024, he recorded 18 points in 68 NHL games for the Penguins, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs, splitting each season between the NHL and AHL. The 6-foot-6, 229-pound Zohorna describes himself as 'a two-way player, so I can play defense and offense – I try to use my skating and my size and play hard.' Last season, Färjestad finished fourth in the SHL regular season and was eliminated in the quarterfinals. The team also reached the final of the Champions Hockey League, losing to the ZSC Lions in Zurich. In addition to Zohorna, Färjestad has under contract for next season ex-NHLers Oskar Steen and Marián Studenič, and NHL prospects Lucas Forsell (Vancouver Canucks), Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers), Noel Fransén (Carolina Hurricanes) and goaltender Melker Thelin (Utah Mammoth). Oskar Steen heading home, signs long-term with Färjestad After an off-season of speculation, Oskar Steen is heading back to the club that developed him, signing a five-year contract, the SHL club announced on Saturday.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Champions Hockey League Announces 2025-26 Game Dates
On Thursday, the Champions Hockey League announced its game dates for the 2025-26 season. The regular season will begin on Aug. 28 and finish on Oct. 15. The playoffs will then begin on Nov. 11 and finish with the final on March 3. As is usually the case, the first four rounds of games will be played on consecutive weekends, Thursday to Sunday, before the domestic national leagues start. Gamedays 5 and 6 then go on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in October. The playoffs, which are played in two-legged series, continue the pattern of Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with the round of 16 scheduled for November, the quarterfinals for December and the semifinals in January. Due to the 2026 Winter Olympics, the final, which is usually scheduled for February, will instead be played in early March. This was also the case in 2022. So far, 17 teams have already qualified to play in the CHL next season, with seven more spots still available. 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.
