The 2016–17 Champions Hockey League was the third 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 season started on 16 August 2016 with the group stage and ended with the final game on 7 February 2017 with Frölunda defeating HC Sparta Praha, 4–3 in overtime.
Team allocation A total of 48 teams from different European first-tier leagues participated in the 2016–17 Champions Hockey League.
Team license The teams were selected based on different licenses for the founding teams, leagues and wildcards.
A license: The 26 founding teams got an A license, if they played in the first-tier league of their respective domestic league system in the 2016–17 season. B license: 12 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 take 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, Slovakia, Belarus, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom and Poland got wild cards. From Norway and Slovakia a second team, the regular season winner, also got a wild card. One wild card license was assigned to the 2015–16 IIHF Continental Cup winner Dragons de Rouen.
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 Dynamo 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 Orli Znojmo Znojmo Austrian Hockey League regular season runner-up B Black Wings Linz Linz Austrian Hockey League play-off semi-finalist B HC Plzeň Plzeň Czech Extraliga play-off semi-finalist B BK Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav Czech Extraliga play-off semi-finalist B SaiPa Lappeenranta Liiga regular season 5th B Lukko Rauma Liiga regular season 6th B Red Bull München München Deutsche Eishockey Liga play-off champion B Grizzlys Wolfsburg Wolfsburg Deutsche Eishockey Liga play-off finalist B HC Davos Davos National League A regular season runner-up B HC Lugano Lugano National League A play-off finalist B Skellefteå AIK Skellefteå Swedish Hockey League regular season winner B Växjö Lakers Växjö Swedish Hockey League play-off semi-finalist B Dragons de Rouen Rouen Ligue Magnus Continental Cup winner C Stavanger Oilers Stavanger GET-ligaen play-off champion C Lørenskog IK Lørenskog GET-ligaen regular season runner-up C HK Nitra Nitra Tipsport Liga play-off champion C HC Košice Košice Tipsport Liga regular season winner C Esbjerg Energy Esbjerg Metal Ligaen play-off champion C Rapaces de Gap Gap Ligue Magnus regular season winner ‡ C Yunost Minsk Minsk Belarusian Extraleague play-off champion C Sheffield Steelers Sheffield Elite Ice Hockey League regular season champion C ComArch Cracovia Kraków Polska Hokej Liga play-off champion C
Notes: ‡ – Ligue Magnus champion Dragons de Rouen had already qualified via Continental Cup.
Group stage
The format remained the same as in the previous season. The group stage began on 16 August and finished on 11 September 2016. 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 3 May 2016 in Zürich, Switzerland. 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 Frölunda HC Tappara Bílí Tygři Liberec SC Bern Red Bull München Red Bull Salzburg Skellefteå AIK HIFK HC Sparta Praha ZSC Lions Luleå HF Kärpät HC Plzeň HC Davos Växjö Lakers JYP BK Mladá Boleslav HC Lugano Linköpings HC SaiPa Vítkovice Steel EV Zug Färjestad BK Lukko Dynamo Pardubice Fribourg-Gottéron Djurgårdens IF TPS HV71 KalPa HK Nitra HC Košice Eisbären Berlin Orli Znojmo Grizzlys Wolfsburg Vienna Capitals ERC Ingolstadt Black Wings Linz Adler Mannheim Krefeld Pinguine Stavanger Oilers Esbjerg Energy Yunost Minsk Dragons de Rouen Sheffield Steelers ComArch Cracovia Lørenskog IK Rapaces de Gap
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 play 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-match 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 was as follows: The entire playoff was drawn on 12 September 2016 and determined the sixteen pairings for the Round of 32. Also at the draw, all matches up to the final were set in the bracket. In the draw for the Round of 32, the 16 group winners were seeded, and the 16 runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teamswere drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group could be drawn against each other, but teams from the same league or country could be paired in any round.
Playoff teams Group Winners(Seeded in round of 32 draw) Runners-up(Unseeded in round of 32 draw)A Frölunda HC EHC WolfsburgB Djurgårdens IF HC DavosC HC Lugano TapparaD ZSC Lions LukkoE Kärpät Vítkovice SteelF Fribourg-Gottéron Red Bull MünchenG EV Zug HIFKH TPS Bílí Tygři LiberecI SaiPa Eisbären BerlinJ HK Nitra HC PlzeňK Linköpings HC JYPL Växjö Lakers Yunost MinskM SC Bern HC KošiceN Skellefteå AIK KalPaO Färjestad BK HC Sparta PrahaP HV71 EC Red Bull Salzburg
Bracket
Note: The teams listed on top of each tie play first match at home and the bottom team plays second match 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 match 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 12 September 2016. The first legs were played on 4 October, and the second legs on 11 October 2016. The seeded teams (group winners) played the last match at home.
First Leg
Second Leg
Round of 16 The first legs were played on 1 November, and the second legs were played on 8 and 9 November 2016.
First Leg
Second Leg
Quarter-finals The first legs were played on 6 December, and the second legs were played on 13 December 2016.
First Leg
Second Leg
Semi-finals The first legs were played on 10 January, and the second legs were played on 17 January 2017.
First Leg
Second Leg
Final The final was played on 7 February 2017.
References