The 2026-27 Champions Hockey League season began in early September with 24 teams. Following the regular season, eight teams have been eliminated as the playoffs get set to start. Over the next two weeks, a further eight teams will be eliminated in the round of 16.
 
Over the CHL’s first 11 seasons, every final has been contested exclusively by clubs from Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Czechia and Germany. That trend will continue this year, as the 16 remaining teams all come from those five countries.
 
The first legs of the round of 16 will be played this Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 and 11 November, at the homes of the lower-ranked teams, with all four return games going the following week, 17 and 18 November, at the homes of the higher-ranked teams. Find the schedule at the CHL website.
 
 

Here are the eight matchups in the round of 16: 

(1) HC Plzen [CZE] vs (16) HC Davos [SUI]
 
Plzen was the CHL’s only perfect team during the regular season with six regulation victories – Davos won its first three games but then lost its last three to back into the last playoff spot.
 
Key players: Plzen – Matyas Filip, Carter Robinson, Igor Merezkho, Nick Malik; Davos – Filip Zadina, Brendan Lemieux, Rasmus Asplund, Sandro Aeschlimann.
 
(2) Skelleftea AIK [SWE] vs (15) Rogle Angelholm [SWE]
 
Skelleftea has won the only head-to-head SHL meeting between these teams so far. After the two round-of-16 games, they’ll meet again on 26 November in Skelleftea.
 
Key players: Skelleftea – Oscar Lindberg, Andreas Johnsson, Jonathan Pudas, Strauss Mann; Rogle – Fredrik Olofsson, Lubos Horky, Calvin de Haan, Arvid Holm.
 
(3) Kolner Haie [GER] vs (14) Bili Tygri Liberec [CZE]
 
Cologne won five of six regular-season games, drawing the CHL’s largest crowds. Liberec secured a playoff spot by shutting out Davos in its last regular-season game.
 
Key players: Haie – Marcel Noebels, Patrick Russell, Gregor MacLeod, Janne Juvonen; Liberec – Filip Sandberg, Radim Simek, Tomas Galvas, Petr Kvaca.
 
(4) Dynamo Pardubice [CZE] vs (13) SaiPa Lappeenranta [FIN]
 
The defending Czech champion, Pardubice has one of Europe’s most star-studded rosters but has injuries. SaiPa beat Pardubice during the regular season, 3-2 at home on 10 September.
 
Key players: Pardubice – David Tomasek, Roman Cervenka, Jiri Smejkal, Roman Will ; SaiPa – Aarne Intonen, Petr Fridrich, Santeri Airola, Kari Piiroinen.
 
(5) Eisbaren Berlin [GER] vs (12) KooKoo Kouvola [FIN]
 
The three-time reigning DEL champion, Berlin was outscored in the CHL regular season and had only two more points than KooKoo, despite the difference in seeding.
 
Key players: Eisbaren – Liam Kirk, Ty Ronning, Brandon Davidson, Jonas Neffin; KooKoo – Veeti Miettinen, Miska Siikonen, Robert Rooba, Eetu Randelin.
 
(6) Frolunda Gothenburg [SWE] vs (11) Vaxjo Lakers [SWE]
 
Frolunda has its sights set on an unprecedented sixth CHL title. In these teams’ only SHL meeting so far this season, Frolunda won 5-4 on opening night.
 
Key players: Frolunda – Graeme Clarke, Max Westergaard, Henrik Tommernes, Tobias Normann; Vaxjo – Lucas Elvenes, Peter Cehlarik, Joel Persson, Adam Ahman.
 
(7) Geneve-Servette [SUI] vs (10) Fribourg-Gotteron [SUI]
 
The 2023-24 CHL winner meets Switzerland’s reigning champion in this domestic matchup. Geneve has won two of three National League meetings so far this season.
 
Key players: Geneve – Jimmy Vesey, Jesse Puljujarvi, Simon Le Coultre, Stephane Charlin; Fribourg – Marcus Sorensen, Anthony Richard, Yannick Rathgeb, Ludovic Waeber.
 
(8) Adler Mannheim [GER] vs (9) Tappara Tampere [FIN]
 
This is a meeting between two teams that made their league finals last year – Tappara won in Finland. These two teams both finished the CHL regular season with 11 points.
 
Key players: Mannheim – Kristian Reichel, Tom Kuhnhackl, Nicolas Mattinen, Jake Hildebrand; Tappara – Kasper Simontaival, Oliver Suvanto, Jyrki Jokipakka, Christian Heljanko.
 
No overtime will be played after the first games, even if they are tied. If any series is tied on total goals after 120 minutes of hockey, a 10-minute, 3-on-3, sudden-death overtime period will be played to determine the winner, followed by a shootout, if necessary.
 
The quarter-finals, which will be played between 1 and 15 December, and the semi-finals, which will be played in January, will use the same format as the round of 16. The two semi-final winners advance to the one-game final, which is scheduled for Tuesday, 23 February.
 
For the second straight season, CHL games are streamed on IIHF.tv. You can find more information about the availability of IIHF.tv streams here.
 
For the full schedule and more information about the competition, visit the Champions Hockey League website.