The 2015–16 Champions Hockey League was the second season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament launched by 26 founding clubs, six leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The regulation round began on 20 August 2015 and ended on 6 September 2015. The playoffs began on 22 September 2015 and ended with the Champions Hockey League Final on 9 February 2016. Frölunda HC defeated Kärpät 2–1 to win the second edition of Champions Hockey League.
Team allocation A total of 48 teams from twelve different European first-tier leagues participate in the 2015–16 Champions Hockey League.
Team license The teams were decided with regards to different licenses for the founding teams, leagues and wildcards.
A license: The 26 founding teams get an A license, if they play in the first-tier league of their respective domestic league system in the 2015–16 season. B license: Two teams – the regular-season winner and the play-off champion in the 2014–15 season – from each of the founding leagues (the Austrian EBEL, the Czech Extraliga, the Finnish Liiga, the German DEL, the Swedish SHL and the Swiss NLA) received a B licence to the tournament. If those teams had already received an A license, other teams from the league took the B license spots. The order the B licenses were handed out is: National champion Regular season winner Runner-up, regular season Play-off finalist Best placed semifinal loser Worst placed semifinal loser
C license: There were 10 wild cards. The champions from Norway, Denmark, Slovakia, France and the United Kingdom—like the previous season—got wild cards. From Slovakia, France, Norway and the United Kingdom, a second team also got a wild card. One wild card license were assigned to the 2014–15 IIHF Continental Cup winner HK Neman Grodno.
Teams Team City/Area League Qualification License Red Bull Salzburg Salzburg Austrian Hockey League founding club A Vienna Capitals Vienna Austrian Hockey League founding club A Bílí Tygři Liberec Liberec Czech Extraliga founding club A HC Pardubice Pardubice Czech Extraliga founding club A HC Sparta Praha Prague Czech Extraliga founding club A Vítkovice Steel Ostrava Czech Extraliga founding club A HIFK Helsinki Liiga founding club A JYP Jyväskylä Liiga founding club A KalPa Kuopio Liiga founding club A Kärpät Oulu Liiga founding club A Tappara Tampere Liiga founding club A TPS Turku Liiga founding club A Adler Mannheim Mannheim Deutsche Eishockey Liga founding club A Eisbären Berlin Berlin Deutsche Eishockey Liga founding club A ERC Ingolstadt Ingolstadt Deutsche Eishockey Liga founding club A Krefeld Pinguine Krefeld Deutsche Eishockey Liga founding club A SC Bern Bern National League A founding club A Fribourg-Gottéron Fribourg National League A founding club A ZSC Lions Zürich National League A founding club A EV Zug Zug National League A founding club A Djurgårdens IF Stockholm Swedish Hockey League founding club A Frölunda HC Gothenburg Swedish Hockey League founding club A Färjestad BK Karlstad Swedish Hockey League founding club A HV71 Jönköping Swedish Hockey League founding club A Linköpings HC Linköping Swedish Hockey League founding club A Luleå HF Luleå Swedish Hockey League founding club A Black Wings Linz Linz Austrian Hockey League regular season runner-up B KAC Klagenfurt Klagenfurt Austrian Hockey League play-off semi-finalist B Oceláři Třinec Třinec Czech Extraliga regular season winner B HC Litvínov Litvínov Czech Extraliga play-off champion B Lukko Rauma Liiga play-off semi-finalist B Espoo Blues Espoo Liiga regular season fifth B Red Bull Munich Munich Deutsche Eishockey Liga regular season runner-up B Düsseldorfer EG Düsseldorf Deutsche Eishockey Liga play-off semi-finalist B HC Davos Davos National League A play-off champion B Genève-Servette Geneva National League A play-off semi-finalist B Växjö Lakers Växjö Swedish Hockey League play-off champion B Skellefteå AIK Skellefteå Swedish Hockey League regular season winner B Neman Grodno Grodno Belarusian Extraleague Continental Cup winner C Stavanger Oilers Stavanger GET-ligaen play-off champion C Storhamar Ishockey Hamar GET-ligaen regular season runner-up C HC Košice Košice Tipsport Liga play-off champion C HK Nitra Nitra Tipsport Liga regular season runner-up C SønderjyskE Ishockey Vojens Metal Ligaen play-off champion C Sheffield Steelers Sheffield Elite Ice Hockey League regular season champion C Braehead Clan Glasgow Elite Ice Hockey League regular season runner-up C Rapaces de Gap Gap Ligue Magnus play-off champion C Grenoble Grenoble Ligue Magnus regular season winner C
Round and draw dates The schedule of the competition is as follows. PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legGroup stageMatchday 113 May 201520–21 August 2015Matchday 222–23 August 2015Matchday 327–28 August 2015Matchday 429–30 August 2015Matchday 53–4 September 2015Matchday 65–6 September 2015PlayoffRound of 328 September 201522 September 20156 October 2015Round of 163 November 201510 November 2015Quarter-finals1 December 20158 December 2015Semi-finals12 January 201619 January 2016Final9 February 2016
Group stage
For the 2015–16 season, the regular season was expanded to 48 teams, divided into 16 groups with 3 teams in each group. The two first teams in each group advanced to the play-offs (round of 32).
The group stage began on 20 August and ended on 6 September 2015. The 48 teams were divided into 16 groups of three teams each. Each team played a double round-robin in their group, facing each team at home and on the road, giving 4 games per team. The 16 group winners and the 16 runners-up qualified for the playoffs.
Group stage draw The 16 groups were determined by a draw taking place on 13 May 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic. The 48 teams had been ranked and placed into three pots of 16 teams each. Following the draw, each group consisted of one team from each pot. The seedings were as follows;
Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3 Växjö Lakers Kärpät HC Litvínov HC Davos Red Bull Salzburg Adler Mannheim Skellefteå AIK Tappara Oceláři Třinec ZSC Lions Black Wings Linz Red Bull Munich Frölunda HC Lukko HC Sparta Praha SC Bern Vienna Capitals ERC Ingolstadt Linköpings HC JYP HC Pardubice Genève-Servette KAC Klagenfurt Düsseldorfer EG HV71 Espoo Blues Vítkovice Steel EV Zug Eisbären Berlin Luleå HF KalPa Bílí Tygři Liberec Fribourg-Gottéron Krefeld Pinguine Färjestad BK HIFK Djurgårdens IF TPS HC Košice Stavanger Oilers SønderjyskE Ishockey Sheffield Steelers Rapaces de Gap HK Nitra Storhamar Ishockey Braehead Clan Grenoble Neman Grodno
Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win in regular time, 2 points for an overtime win or shootout win, 1 point for an overtime loss or shootout loss, 0 points for a loss in regular time). If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied in the order given to determine the rankings: higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question; superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question; higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question; higher number of wins in regular time in the group matches played among the teams in question; higher number of goals scored in one match in the group matches played among the teams in question; if, after having applied criteria 1 to 5, teams still had an equal ranking in a two-way tie, criteria 1 to 5 were reapplied against the third team in the group. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 7 to 10 applied; higher number of wins in overtime; higher number of goals scored in shootout (if both matches ended in shootout); if two teams still remained tied and they met in their group's final game, they played a shootout to determine which team is ranked higher; higher pre-draw rankings.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Group I
Group J
Group K
Group L
Group M
Group N
Group O
Group P
Playoffs In the playoffs, the teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis with the team with the better standing after the group stage having the second game at home, except for the one-game final played at the venue of the team with the best competition track record leading up to the final.
The mechanism of the draw for playoffs were as follows: The entire playoff was drawn at a single occasion on 8 September 2015 to determine the sixteen pairings for the Round of 32. After the draw, all games up to the final were set in brackets. In the draw for the Round of 32, the 16 group winners were seeded, and the 16 runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group could not be drawn against each other.
Playoff teams GroupWinners(Seeded in round of 32 draw)Runners-up(Unseeded in round of 32 draw)A Linköpings HC HIFKB Tappara Djurgårdens IFC HV71 Red Bull SalzburgD Skellefteå AIK Bílí Tygři LiberecE HC Davos Färjestad BKF HC Litvínov Espoo BluesG TPS Düsseldorfer EGH Red Bull Munich HC KošiceI Adler Mannheim Vítkovice SteelJ Kärpät Vienna CapitalsK Luleå HF LukkoL Stavanger Oilers Oceláři TřinecM Storhamar Ishockey HC Sparta PrahaN Frölunda HC JYPO Växjö Lakers ERC IngolstadtP ZSC Lions Eisbären Berlin
Bracket
Note: The teams listed on top of each tie play first game at home and the bottom team plays second game at home. The order of the legs (what team starts at home) in the future rounds may be changed as the team with best record should have second game at home.
Round of 32 The draw for the entire playoff (round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final) was held on 8 September 2015. The first legs were played on 22 and 29 September, and the second legs were played on 6 October 2015. The seeded teams (group winners) played the last game at home.
First Leg
Second Leg
Round of 16
The first legs were played on 3 November, and the second legs were played on 10 November 2015.
First Leg
Second Leg
Quarter-finals The first legs were played on 1 December, and the second legs were played on 8 December 2015.
First Leg
Second Leg
Semi-finals The first legs were played on 12 January, and the second legs were played on 19 January 2016.
Second Leg
Notes
Final
The final was played on 9 February 2016.
References