champions hockey league · pdf fileiihf president rené fasel had this to say about the...

CHAMPIONSHOCKEY LEAGUENEWSLETTER

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July 2008

MTV3, Finland’s leading private broadcaster, has agreed to a 3-year deal to be the Champi-ons Hockey League’s exclusive

broadcast partner in Finland. MTV3 will cover the progress of Finnish clubs Espoo Blues and Karpat Oulu as they vie for a place in the playoffs and a chance at European glory. View-ers will be able to watch the action every week throughout the course of the season across the MTV3 platform: MTV3 and MTV3 Max television channels, MTV3 website (www.mtv3.fi) and MTV3 Handy mobile service.

IIHF President René Fasel had this to say about the new co-operation: “The key to the development of any sports event today is television which is why we are so excited to have such a strong and reputable Finnish partner as MTV3 to help us develop the next great European sports property: The Cham-pions Hockey League and the Victoria Cup.

As the Finnish Broadcaster for the four years of the European Champions Cup, MTV3 has shown its great enthusiasm for European Club Hockey. Thus, it‘s a natural step forward to continue our cooperation with them as we launch the biggest club project in our history.”

In addition to broadcast rights, MTV3 will also have internet and mobile rights in the Finnish language and as well, will air weekly highlights programs and monthly magazine programs covering the Champions Hockey League.

Ovation Sports is proud to welcome such a professional or-ganization as MTV3 into the Champions Hockey League broadcast family and is looking forward to a long successful relationship together.

Many more CHL Broadcasters will be announced before the start of the season.

(L to R) Heikki Hietanen, CEO, Finnish Hockey Federation, Pekka Karhuvaara, CEO, MTV3 and Tom Huston, COO, Ovation Sports.

>> VICTORIA CUP TICKETING ANNOUNCEMENT >> CHL BENEFITS FOR CLUB BRANDS >> CLUB TRANSFER NEWS

Also in this issue ...

CHL Signs First Major Broadcaster MTV3 Finland Sign Exclusive Broadcast Agreement

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July 2008

CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE

CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE >> PAGE 2 <<

We are pleased to an-nounce www.ticketpor-tal.com, the premiere Swiss ticketing agency,

as the official and exclusive ticketing partner for the 2008 Vic-toria Cup. Official ticketing to the public will start July 3rd.

Fans will be able to book their tickets via the Internet, the Tick-etportal Call Centre (at 0900 101 102 in Switzerland – CHF 0.99/min) and the usual ticket outlet stores in Switzerland (such as SBB Railway Stations, Hotelplan travel agencies).

Pre-ticket sales were made available June 30th, 2008 to SC Bern season ticket holders and their Business Club, Swiss National League A Clubs and those who have already re-quested tickets by email at Ovation over the past weeks.

TICKETPORTAL IS EXCLUSIVE VICTORIA CUP TICKETING PARTNER

Victoria Cup Event 2008Bern, Switzerland – PostFinance Arena

Tuesday, September 30th Exhibition Game

SC Bern (SUI) vs. NY Rangers (NHL)

Wednesday, October 1st Victoria Cup Game

Metallurg Magnitogorsk (RUS) vs. NY Rangers (NHL)

Special promotions will also include the Ticketportal maga-zines distributed in Switzerland as well as activities with Swiss supermarket chain Migros. The company, Switzerland’s larg-est employer, will feature Victoria Cup 2008 prominently in their 2 million issue consumer magazine.

Official schedules and procedures will be made available soon.

Wednesday, October 1st Legends Exhibition Game

Switzerland vs. Russia

Face-off times still to be confirmed

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July 2008



PLAYER TRANSFER NEWS

HV71 JONKOPING

Leaving HV71 Roster = -7

Lance Ward (Frankurt Lions – German DEL) Jari Kaupila (Lathi Pelicans – Finnish SM-Liiga) Per Ledin (to NHL) Johan Akerman (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl – Russian KHL)Andreas Jamtin ( to NHL) Eric Johansson (Leksand – Swedish 2nd-Tier) David Frederiksson (St. Louis Blues – NHL Training Camp)

Joining HV71 Roster = +3*

Nicholas Angell (Brynas IF – Swedish Elitserien) #18 Position: (D) DOB: 31-10-1979, MN USA Yared Hagos (Mora IK – Swedish Elitserien) #19 Position: D DOB: 27-03-1983, Stockholm, SWE Kim Staal (Linkopings HC – Swedish Elitserien) Position: F DOB: 10-03-1978, Merlev, DEN

Moving up from Junior Team

Mattias TedenbyHenrik Eriksson Simon Önerud Christoffer Bengtsberg (On Loan to Vaxjo Lakers – Swedish 2nd-Tier) David Ullström (On Loan to Borås – Swedish 2nd-Tier) * HV71 will recruit one more player before the start of the season

CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE CLUB TRANSFER NEWS

Distributed throughout this newsletter are club boxes contain-ing the latest transfer news as of June 27th, 2008 when it went to print. More detailed information including player histories and interesting facts will be available on: http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/club events/champions-hockey-league.html

New transfer news as well as those clubs not listed here, will be in our next issue to be released at the end of August 2008.

METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK

Leaving Metallurg Roster = -6

Evgeny Gladskikh (Avangard Omsk – Russian KHL) Igor Korolev (Atlant Mytishchi – Russian KHL) Denis Matoshin (Sary Arka Karaganda – Kazakhstan)Ivan Savin (Spartak Moscow – Russian KHL) Martin Strbak (HC Pardubice – Czech Extraliga) Nikolai Kulemin (Toronto Maple Leafs – NHL) – Kulemin has the option to return to Metallurg and will be practicing with the team in Germany this summer.

Joining Metallurg Roster = +6

Denis Khlystov (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk – Russian Superliga)#29 Position: F DOB: 04-07-1979, RUSKarel Pilar (Chicago Wolves – AHL)#92 Position: D DOB: 23-12-1977, CZEKarel Rolinek ( HC Pardubice – Czech Extraliga)#60 Position: F DOB: 17-02-1980, CZENikolai Zavarukhin (Salavat Yulayev – Russian Superliga)#11 Position: F DOB: 18-03-1975, RUS

Moving up from Farm Team

Alexander Pechursky #20 Position: G DOB: 04-06-1990, RUSYaroslav Khabarov#70 Position: D DOB: 05-03-1989, RUS

Coaching/Staff Changes

Valeri Belousov (Russian Superliga) as the new head coach. Almost 60, he has a wealth of playing (Traktor Chelyabinsk, the USSR national team as well as Metallurg) and coaching ( Traktor and Metallurg from 1996–2002 during which period they won the Russian Champion-ships and the European Hockey League twice) experience.

EISBAREN FAN POLL

Eisbaren Berlin asked 1041 of their fans in an online poll what CHL opponent interests them the most:

Don’t Care as long as Eisbaren is playing 38%

Karpat Oulu 23%

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 37%

Only interested in German DEL 3%

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CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE >> PAGE 4 <<>> PAGE 4 <<

MOUNTFIELD CESKE BUDEJOVICE

Leaving Mountfield Ceske Budejovice Roster = -5

Jan Chabera (BK Mlada Boleslav – Czech Extraliga)Lukas Bolf (Sparta Prague – Czech Extraliga) Filip Novak (Dynamo Riga – Russian KHL)Kamil Brabenec (Kometa Brno – Czech Extraliga – 2nd-tier)Viktor Hubl (HC Litvinov – Czech Extraliga)

Joining Mountfield Ceske Budejovice Roster = +4

Jakub Kovar (Oshawa Generals – OHL)#32 Position: G DOB: 19-07-1988, Pisek, CZELukas Pozivil (HC Litvinov – Czech Extraliga) #15 Position: D DOB: 12-09-1982, Most, CZERadek Duda (EHC Basel – Swiss National League A)#69 Position: F DOB: 28-01-1979, Sokolov, CZEIvan Huml (Mora IK – Swedish Elitserien) #36 Position: F DOB: 06-09-1981

Coming up from Junior Team

Martin Havran Roman Horak Vladimir Stejskal Stanislav Polodna

Coaching Changes Ernest Bokros, from the Czech Extra-liga team Vitkovice Ostrava, has been named head coach. Jan Tlacil, who has been coaching Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss National League A, has been named as Assistant Coach.

KARPAT OULU

Leaving Karpat Roster = -10

Andy Chiodo (new club not known)Jukka-Pekka Laamanen (HPK – Finnish SM-Liiga) Kari Haakana (Lahti Pelicans – Finnish SM-Liiga) Topi Jaakola (Sodertalje – Swedish Elitserien)Hannes Hyvonen (Sodertalje – Swedish Elitserien) Michal Bros (Sparta Prague – Czech Extraliga) Ondrej Kratena (Sparta Prague – Czech Extraliga) Kalle Sahlstedt (KalPa Kuopio – Finnish SM-Liiga) Tomi Mustonen (Lukko Rauma – Finnish SM-Liiga) Mikko Lehtonen (Timra – Swedish Elitserien)

Decision Unknown Janne Pesonen

Joining Karpat Roster = +4*

Toni Koivisto (Ilves Tampere – Finnish SM-Liiga)#22 Position: F DOB: 11-05-1982, FIN Vesa Viitakoski (Ilves Tampere – Finnish SM-Liiga)#39 Position: F DOB: 13-02-1971, FINOssi-Petteri Gronholm (Frolunda Gothenburg – Swedish Elitserien)#28 Position: D DOB: 17-09-1981, Kotka, FINPetri Koivisto (TuTo Turku – Finnish 2nd-Tier) #31 Position: G DOB: 15-11-1986, Kiiminki, FIN * Karpat is still looking to recruit 2–3 more players before the start of the season

Coaching Changes Matti Alatalo, coach of the Finnish SM-Liiga club HPK, is the new head coach. He has 20-years international coaching expe-rience in his native Finland, Switzerland (ZSC Lions), Austria and the US. Jukka Latva-Rasku is the new physical coach and Petri Karjalainen, is the new head of video analysis. Former team leader and goalie coach Ari Hilli his the new Sport Manager of the club. Jouni Loponen, who started is playing career at Karpat is the new Team Manager.

Head coach Matti Alatalo (left), Sport manager Ari Hilli and coach Mikko Haapakoski

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July 2008



Q: Why did you decide to come to Berlin?

I decided to come to Berlin because I have heard nothing but good things from a number of players from the past and pres-ent. They told me Berlin treats their players very well.

Q: Are you excited about the new arena?

I’m also looking forward to playing in the new O2 World arena and getting a chance to become a better player. Both Manag-er Peter John Lee and my agent have told me that the new O2 World is going to be very nice and a huge attraction in Berlin. I am excited to see it, and maybe some concerts in it also.

Q: Where are you right now and what are you doing there?

Right now I am in Regina, Saskatchewan visiting my two very cute nephews. I haven’t seen one of them in a long time and the other was just born in March, so I was very excited to come see them.

Q: Do you know any of the players on Berlin’s team al-ready?

I don’t know anyone personally, just hockey names through the hockey world.

Q: What’s your personal goal for next season going to be?

My goal is to help Berlin be the best team we can be. I know people are going to expect a lot coming off a championship season and with the team playing in a number of different games besides the DEL. Berlin has a very good team already and I’ll try and contribute whichever way I can.

Q: The Eisbaren will participate in the Champions Hockey League next season, what do you think about this?

I have heard that we will be participating in the new Champions Hockey League. I think it will be great for the players and fans. We will get to see how we compare to the best teams in other countries and I think we will only become a better team from this. Also, I think it will only open up doors for a lot of players because I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of people interested and watching the Champions Hockey League games.

Interview by Eisbaren’s Daniel Goldstein, June 2008

INTERVIEW WITH RICHIE REGEHRCanadian Defenceman joins Eisbaren Berlin from DEL rival Frankfurt Lions

INTERESTING FACTS- Holds the DEL record for the defenceman with the most

goals scored in one game: Scored 5 goals for the Frank-furt Lions against Duisburg October 30th, 2007

- 7th best defenceman of the DEL 2007/08 in scoring- Brother of Calgary Flames defenceman Robyn Regehr- Manager Peter John Lee on what strengths Regehr

brings to Berlin: “Richie Regehr will help us to get more depth on defence, which we need not only to compete in the DEL but also in the CHL. He could become one of the best defencemen in the whole Europe, especially offensively.”

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July 2008



CHL CLUBS IN THE SUMMER

Vacation: May 2008

New Arena: Though the club takes a well-deserved vacation, everyone will work hard to make O2 World, the new first-class home arena in the heart of Berlin, a success story.

Summer Individual Training: June through the end of July

Training camp and On-Ice Practice: Both start August 4th, 2008 Pre-Season Competition: Dorint Cup, Dresden. Aug 15th– 17th. Participating Clubs: Mountfield Ceske Budejovice (CZE), SIT Ice Tigers, Nurnberg (GER). Coupe des Bains, Yverdon (SUI). Participating Clubs: HC Davos (SUI), Liberec (CZE), Pori (FIN), Ambri-Piotta (ITA) or Lausanne (SUI).

EISBAREN BERLIN

Spring 2008: After winning the Finnish championship, the team was on holiday from April to May.

Spring Training: May 12th–June 23rd

Summer Vacation: June 24th–July 20th

Training camp and On-Ice Practice: July 21st

Pre-Season Competition: Karpat will take part in the 10-team Nordic Trophy, which they won last year, from August 7th–10th, 2008. Also playing in the competition are the two CHL clubs from Sweden: Linkoping HC and HV71. Other Partici-pating Clubs: SWE: Frolunda Indians, Farjestads BK. FIN: Tappara, TPS, Jokerit, HIFK.

KARPAT OULU

Eisbaren‘s Advertising Campaign for Berlin‘s new O2 World arena (capacity 14,000) located in the heart of Berlin. O2 World becomes the club‘s home arena in September 2008.

Summer Vacation: June -July 20th 2008

Summer Training and On-Ice Practice: July 21st

Pre-Season Competition: Bifrost Cup 2008 – Bratislava, Aug 14th–17th. Participating Clubs: Graz99ers (AUT), Moeller Pardubice (CZE), Sodertajle SK (SWE), Hamburg Freezers (GER). Red Bulls Salute Tournament – Salzburg, AUT – 21st–24th August. Participating Clubs: KEC Kolner Haie (GER), ZSC Lions (SUI), HC Sparta Prague (CZE), EC Red Bulls Salzburg (AUT), HC Kosice (SVK).

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA

Summer Training: May 12th

On-Ice Practice: June 21st:

Summer Vacation Holiday: July 3rd–July 28th

Pre-Season Competition: In contrast to last summer when Slavia participated in a high-quality tournament in Nurnberg, this year the club will not play internationally. Instead the club will participate in the Tipsport Cup where they will play friendly games with local Czech teams.

SLAVIA PRAGUE

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Spring 2008: May 12–June 30thSummer Vacation: July 1st–July 27thTraining Camp: July 28th*On-Ice Practice: July 30th – the first practice is always open to the fans. 3000 will attend.* Newly-signed players who have not already moved to Linkop-ing are expected 2–3 weeks into the training camp.

Pre-Season Competition: Linkoping will take part in the 10-team Nordic Trophy: Aug 7th–10th. Also playing in the com-petition are two CHL clubs: HV71 Jonkoping and Karpat Oulu. Other Participating Clubs: SWE: Frolunda Gothenburg, Farjestads BK. FIN: Tappara, TPS, Jokerit, HIFK.

Spring Training: May 12th–July 4rd – Joint team off-ice train-ing

Summer Vacation: July 5th–July 23rd

Summer Training Camp & On Ice Practice: July 24th

Pre-Season competition:

Bifrost Cup 2008 – Bratislava, Aug 14th–17th. Participating Clubs: Graz99ers (AUT), Moeller Pardubice (CZE), Soder-tajle SK (SWE), Hamburg Freezers (GER). Red Bulls Salute Tournament – Salzburg, AUT – 21st–24th August. Partici-pating Clubs: KEC Kolner Haie (GER), ZSC Lions (SUI), HC Sparta Prague (CZE), EC Red Bulls Salzburg (AUT), HC Slo-van Bratislava (SVK). The 61st Annual Tatra Cup – Kosice – Aug 27th–30th, 2008. Participating Clubs: SKP Poprad (SVK) Vitkovice Ostrava (CZE) Dragons de Rouen (FRA).

Spring Training: May 28th – end of June: 4 weeks individual and team training.

Summer Vacation: July 1st–July 27th

Training camp: July 28th for training. On-Ice practice: Aug 4th

Pre-Season Competition: HV71 will take part in the 10-team Nordic Trophy: August 7th–10th. Also playing in the com-petition are two CHL clubs: Linkopings HC and Karpat Oulu. Other Participating Clubs: SWE: Frolunda Gothenburg, Farjestads BK. FIN: Tappara TPS, Jokerit, HIFK.

HV71 JONKOPING

LINKOPINGS HC

HC KOSICE

Linkoping Pre-Season Training 2008/2009

Linkoping Pre-Season Training 2008/2009

Spring Training: June 2008

Summer Vacation: July–August 3rd. Foreign players return home and all have individual training programs. Those spend-ing the summer in Canada may also train on the ice individu-ally.

Summer Training Camp & On Ice Practice: Aug 6th. All Sum-mer practice is overseen by Juhani Hirvonen, a well known physical coach, who is present for all team practices and comes up with the individual plans for all the players.

SC BERN

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*The Czech Extraliga has a special summer schedule which runs in phases.

Spring Vacation: For 3 weeks from last game of the season which was April 1st

Summer Camp Phase 1: May 6th – June 30th – All players report for camp (except those playing on their national teams – Vladimír Sicak and Slovakian Rene Vydareny ) where they participate in gymnasium work outs, cycling, running, squash, football and tennis. As part of Phase 1, the players spend one week in Turkey where they relax as well keep in shape.

Summer Camp Phase 2: July 21st with on-ice practicing

Pre-Season Competition:

National: seven games against clubs like Karlovy Vary and Slavia Prague.

International: Pre-season games against Eisbaren Berlin, SIT Ice Tigers, Nurnberg.

Czech Extraliga Season beginns: September 9th against Sla-via Prague.

Summer Vacation: May 15th–July 14th

July Medical Survey & Off-ice trainings: July 15th–19th

Summer Training Camp& On Ice Practice: 21st July – August 2nd in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Pre- Season Competition:

International: Tampere Cup: 12th–16th Aug, FIN.

For Metallurg, this is perfect CHL preparation as they will ex-perience Finnish team playing and European refereeing.

Participating Clubs: Finnish Extraliga clubs: Ilves, Espoo Blues and HPK

National: President‘s Cup, Ufa – 5th–10th Aug. 5 games against Russian Clubs including Slavat Yulayev Ufa.

Romazan Memorial Tournament – 25th–29th Aug, Magni-togorsk, RUS: Salavat Yulayev Ufa, Ak Bars Kazan, Traktor Chelyabinsk

Russian KHL Season begins: September 2nd.



Mountfield Ceske Budejovice´s defender Petr Gregorek (in red-blue dress) fouls his opponent in football exhibition game.

Metallurg Summer Training 2007

Summer Training: Off-ice training started at the beginning of May, individually and in groups

Summer on-ice Training: August 4th

Swiss National League A season begins: Sep 5th

Pre-Season Competition:

International: Red Bulls Salute Tournament – Salzburg, AUT – 21st–24th Aug. Participating Clubs: KEC Kolner Haie (GER), Slovan Bratislava (SVK), HC Sparta Prague (CZE), EC Red Bulls Salzburg (AUT).

National: Aug 13th ZSC Lions Krefeld Pinguine DEL in Fus-sen, Aug 15th ZSC Lions – Augsburger Panther DEL in Fus-sen

ZSC LIONS, ZURICH

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July 2008



SC BERN

Leaving SC Bern Roster = -6

Marc Kern (SCL Tigers – Swiss National League A)Martin Steinegger (EHC Biel/Bienne – Swiss National League A)Christian Berglund (Rapperswil-Jona Lakers – Swiss National League A) Raeto Raffainer (Rapperswil-Jona Lakers – Swiss National League A)Mark Mowers (HC Fribourg-Gottéron – Swiss National League A)Nathan Dempsey (Club Not Known)

Joining SC BernRoster = +3

Martin Pluss (Frolunda Gothenburg – Swedish Elitserien)#28 Postion: F DOB: 05-04-1977, Bulach, SUITrevor Meier (EV Zug – Swiss National League A) #25 Postion: F DOB: 07-08-1985, SUI/CANTravis Roche (San Antonio Rampage – AHL)#77 Postion: D DOB: 17-08-1978, CAN

Coming up from Junior Team = +1

Alain Berger#21 Position: F DOB: 27-12-1990, SUI

Ownership Change The Swiss retail holding company Valora sold its 70 per cent share in SC Bern to a group of local investors, which includes the regional businessmen Hans Dietrich and Rudolf Schnorf, who have already have ties to the club. The club’s management team will remain as it is.

SLAVIA PRAGUE

Leaving Slavia Prague Roster = -3

Igor Rataj (HC Kosice – Slovakian Extraliga) Jakub Klepis (Avangard Omsk – Russian KHL) Michal Sup (Duisburg – German DEL)

Joining Slavia PragueRoster = +1

Milan Kraft (HC Karlovy Vary – Czech Extraliga)Position: F DOB: 17-01-1989, Plzen, CZE

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA

Leaving Solvan Bratislava Roster = -5

Jan Srdinko (Kladno – Czech Extraliga)Richard Kapus (Metallurg Novokuznetsk – Russian KHL) Lubomir Pistek (Club not Known)Jan Chovan (Club Not Known)Michal Kovalec (MsHK Zilnia – Slovakian Extraliga)

Joining Solvan Bratislava Roster = +5

Branislav Konrad (NITRA MHC – Slovakian Extraliga)Postion: G DOB: 10-10-1987, SVKHenrik Petre (Assat Pori – Finnish SM-Liiga) Postion: D DOB: 09-04-1979, Kista, SWERoman Kukumberg (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk – Russian Superliga) Postion: F DOB: 08-04-1980, Bratislava, SVKLubomir Vaic (Sparta Prague – Czech Extraliga)Postion: F DOB: 06-03-1977, Spisska Nova Ves, SVKRobert Liscak (Slovan Usti nad Labem – Czech Ex-traliga) Position: F DOB: 04-04-1978, Skalica, SVK

ZSC LIONS, ZURICH

Leaving ZSC Roster = -3

Larry Leeger (Lausanne HC – Swiss 2nd-tier) Mirko Murovic (HC Ambri-Piotta, Swiss NLA)Vitali Lahkmatov (Sokil Kyiv – Russian 2nd-tier / Ukraine) – On loan

Joining ZSC Roster = +4

Cyril Buhler (Kloten – Swiss National League A)#10 Position: F DOB: 04-11-1983, SUI Oliver Kamber (Rapperswil-Jona Lakers – Swiss National League A)#79 Postion: F DOB: 07-05-1979, SUI

Moving up from Farm Team

Lukas Flueler#30 Position: G DOB: 22-10-1988, SUIPatrick Geering#4 Postion: D DOB: 12-02-1990, SUI


Sean Simpson, the Canadian former coach of EV Zug, is the new ZSC Lions Head coach. He has a wealth of interna-tional experience as both a player (AHL, Dutch, Italian and Austrian leagues) and a coach (SC Lyss,Munich Barons, Hamburg Freezers). Colin Muller, Swiss and Cana-dian, is the new assistant coach, a position he has held at Zug since 2003.

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EISBAREN BERLIN

>> 2008/2009 Season Scheduling: Already working on the travel plans to Magnitogorsk and Oulu as they must fit perfectly into the weekly schedules and allow players to perform their best in the CHL games.

HV71 JONKOPING

>> The club will have more players on contract this year, in case of injury and CHL participation

KARPAT OULU

>> Have changed their league schedule to best accommo-date all CHL games.

>> Have strengthened the team’s organizational staff due to CHL participation

>> Team Manager Jouni Loponen has been assigned as the CHL point-person to liaise with the IIHF and Ovation

>> Fan travel plans to Berlin are underway.

LINKOPINGS HC

>> Will recruit 1–2 more players to enlarge the squad due to the extra CHL games

HC KOSICE

>> All new players have been signed to reinforce the club

>> Those players who will be especially important in the CHL are: Daniel Babka, Peter Huzevka, Stanislav Gron, Michel Miklik, who rank among the forward leaders as well as former national team and Slavia Prague player Igor Rataj.

>> Their goal is to win the CHL qualifier in September.


>> On Metallurg’s request, the League will schedule games in accordance to CHL travel schedules.

>> Leading up to the CHL games in Oulu and Berlin, Metal-lurg will play a Russian League game in or near Moscow so that the next day they can continue to Finland and Germany.

>> They have also asked the league for a 2-day rest after games abroad.


>> All newly signed players have international experience and the club is convinced this will help them in difficult CHL Games.

>> Scheduling conflicts were not an issue as the Extraliga game days are never on Wednesday. The only change made was to start the Karlovy Vary game on October 5th earlier to allow an easier transition to Ufa for the first CHL game.

SLAVIA PRAGUE

>> In terms of players, all the best remain on the team with the exception of Jakub Klepis (Avangard Omsk), who will be a real loss. To make up for the loss of Klepis, the team has signed Milan Kraft, who will bring a lot of NHL and international experience with him. He is also the perfect player for Slavia’s narrow ice rink.

>> For Slavia, the increase in club budget due to qualification in the CHL is a major advantage. This hugely motivated their desire to qualify, and they now hope to succeed.

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA

>> Have signed Swedish defenceman Henrik Petre and for-wards Roman Kukumberg and Lubomir Vaic for the ex-perience they will bring to the CHL.

>> So as to avoid schedule conflict, the club will play some of their Extraliga games in advance.

CHL PLANS

Linkoping players takes a breather during summer practice.

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July 2008



During the month of June, Ovation and IIHF representatives conducted site visits at participating Champions Hockey League clubs. There are two primary motivations for these visits. The first is to ensure that each club understands the conditions which need to be met so that the best possible event is delivered. The second is to guarantee that the CHL‘s commercial partners – both sponsors and broadcasters – re-ceive the benefits they expect in return for the substantial prize money they offer. The commercial revenue generated by sponsor and broadcaster contracts, among other income, directly benefits the clubs in the form of prize money. A full presentation was given to each club, outlining the responsi-bilities of all involved on everything from sporting quality to exclusivity, sponsor and media needs, uniforms and equip-ment, rights delivery and brand identity.

All facilities at each arena were reviewed and every aspect of CHL logistics and operations were discussed with club staff in detail.

CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE CLUB SITE VISITSWe would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank each club for the kind and generous hospitality they displayed. Their positive spirit and full commitment to making the CHL a success is a sure indication of what is to come.

Karpat‘s Team Manager Jouni Loponen is the club‘s CHL liason.

Slavia Prague‘s‚ Home Arena: O2 Arena. Photo: Jiri Kolis

Linkoping Arena: Cloetta Center

Hannes Ederer (IIHF), Peter John Lee (Eisbaren Berlin) and Patrick Jost (Ovation) during the site visit in Berlin. Photo: Matthias Eckart

from right standing: Patrick Jost & Daiana Robasto (Ovation Sports), Otto Sykora (Sports Director, Ice Tigers), Joost van Hoojidonk (Ovation Sports), Wolfgang Gastner (Ice Tigers, Press officer) from left sitting: Ursula Winzer (Ice Tigers – CHL contact) and assistant Sandra Troppmann.

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July 2008



The development of ice hockey and individual club brands and revenues is in the mutual interest of all of us. With our first season just a few months away, we think it is important to highlight some of the fundamental benefits of the Champions League concept to individual sports clubs.

PRIZE MONEY

With 10 million Euros in prize money divided among partici-pating national associations, leagues and clubs, the Cham-pions Hockey League offers the largest prize package in the history of European club hockey. In addition to this substantial reward, there are numerous other ways qualifying clubs can financially benefit from the Champions Hockey League .

CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE: EXPAND THE BRAND

Another great advantage of participating in the Champions Hockey League is the ability to grow and expand their exist-ing brand. Embodied by the club logo, the brand stretches far beyond it, representing the overall public image of the club. This is directly linked to the club’s win-loss record. The more a club wins over time, the more numerous and loyal are its fans, and the stronger is its brand. A club’s brand, however, is about more than the number of its victories.

CHAMPIONS HOCKEY LEAGUE: CLUB BRAND BENEFITS

Prize Money(CHL Season 2008/2009)

Total

Q1 Tournament € 100,000 € 100,000Participation Fee per club (12)

€ 300,000 € 3,600,000

Fee per win in Group Stage

€ 50,000 € 1,200,000

Semi Final appearance per club (4)

€ 200,000 € 800,000

Runner up Final € 500,000 € 500,000Winner Final € 1,000,000 € 1,000,000Support fund per league(7 leagues)

€ 300,000 € 2,100,000

Support fund per na-tional association (7 NA)

€ 100,000 € 700,000

Total Prize Money 2008/09

€ 10,000,000

August 2008Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

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CLUB WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT:

On August 20th and 21st, Ovation will hold a Club Workshop at the IIHF headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The work-shop is a follow-up to the site visits that were held at each club earlier in the summer. Focus will be on finalizing all logistics and operations requirements as we head into our first season. The 2-day workshop will be attended by representatives of all 14 participating clubs, giving them an opportunity to discuss the coming CHL season among each other.

>> ISSUE 04 <<

July 2008



A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE …

The business behind the club’s brand can be seen as a vir-tuous circle. The elements which make it spin are: sales of tickets, merchandise and concessions as well as hospitality, sponsorship and media rights. In this case, the circle’s speed represents the revenue generated by each element. The total revenue enables the club’s player purchasing power.

STRONG CLUB = BETTER PERFORMANCE = MO

RE

FAN

S = S

TR

ON

GE

R B

RA

ND

= MO

RE N

ATIONAL& INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE + INCR

EA

SE

D E

XP

OS

UR

E =

IN

CR

EA

SE

D R

EV

ENUE +

INTERNATIONAL BRAND

THE MORE EARNING POWER, THE STRONGER THE CLUB

Clubs are dependent on annual revenue to be able to afford develop talent and recruit top players, hire the best manage-ment and coaching staff and invest in the excellent equipment and facilities needed to keep their club winning.

>> ISSUE 04 <<

July 2008



BUILDING THE CLUB BRAND WITH THE CHL

NEW PRESTIGE

>> By Qualifying for the CHL, the club automatically be-comes a member of the sporting elite, an honor it’s earned through its own merits. This builds the club brand image.

MORE AND NEW FANS

>> The club’s existing fans have a new and greater image of their club. Now, they’re not only the greatest club region-ally or nationally, but one of the best in all of Europe.

>> Now that the club is competing on a higher international level, their games will attract a larger national audience. Many hockey fans of other clubs within the country will patriotically rally behind them in their Champions Hockey League games

>> New fans and greater attention build the club brand.

MORE NATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE

>> Due to its CHL participation and depending on its per-formance, the club will now receive a minimum of 4 ad-ditional broadcasts within their country, and a maximum of ten.

> Q1: 2 broadcasts

> Group Stage: 4 broadcasts

> Semi Finals: 2 broadcasts

> Finals: 2 broadcasts

> Existing Local, Regional and National Press cover-age (Print, Web and Radio) will increase as the me-dia now follow the club throughout the Champions Hockey League season.

> Increased media coverage exposes the brand to new fans.

NEW INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE

>> Very few clubs presently have any international media coverage unless they participate in competitions like the Spengler Cup. The CHL offers them the chance to be seen on TV, as well as in the print and online media, not only throughout Europe, but also in North America.

NEW BROADCASTERS = NEW AND IMPROVED LOOK

>> The goal of the Champions Hockey League is to work very closely with broadcasters to raise the standard of television hockey production in Europe. The quality of the television production is directly linked to the appre-ciation and enjoyment of the game by the fans.

>> The CHL broadcasters will offer more close-ups, more interviews, more great slow-motion replays. All of these elements will bring the club and the action to life in a new way.

>> Better production value will give more prominence to the brand.

MORE EXPOSURE MEANS BUILDING THE BRAND

>> The Champions Hockey League will provide clubs with a new, sleek look. Special CHL uniforms will feature one VERY LARGE logo: the club logo.

>> Getting rid of the sponsorship clutter on the uniforms, will expose each club’s brand in a way that doesn’t exist in European Club hockey today.

>> TV graphics will also prominently feature the club logos more than done presently at league games.

SOURCES

>> Ticket Sales from CHL games

>> Increased Season Ticket Sales

>> Increased Sponsorship from the local market

>> New Sponsorship from larger companies outside of the local area due to increased media exposure

>> Increased Merchandise Sales

>> Increased Concession (Food and drink) Sales

>> Increased Hospitality Services

>> Increased Club Home Page Website Traffic will increase online sponsorship sales.

>> ISSUE 04 <<

July 2008



Salavat Yulayev Ufa

Mountfield Ceske Budejovice

SC Bern

HV71 Jonkoping

SIT Ice Tigers, Nurnberg

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Karpat Oulu

HC Kosice

ZSC Lions, Zurich

Slavia Prague

Linkopings HC

Slovan Bratislava

Eisbaren Berlin

Espoo Blues

BRAND NEW OPPORTUNITY

The Champions Hockey League offers a brand new opportu-nity to help club’s raise their brand image on a national level as well as expand it internationally in scope. The club logos will be seen in live games outside their home country and in high-lights programs showing all the clubs broadcast immediately following. The value here translates to increased revenue for the clubs.

We have seen this happen already in other European club competitions, particularly Champions League football. Now the same thing is going to happen in European Club Hockey. It will not happen overnight, but the process is now under way.

How the club benefits from the Champions Hockey League brand building opportunity, however, is an indi-vidual club choice. Those that fully appreciate the CHL’s marketing potential will take on the responsibility of us-ing the CHL to build their own brand image and increase their own commercial revenues.

As we head into our first season, we ask our readers to look at the quiz below. How many fans can match the logos (besides those in their home countries) of the CHL Participating Clubs to their appropriate name and country?

>> ISSUE 04 <<

July 2008



EISBAREN BERLIN

Leaving Eisbaren Roster = -3

Richard Mueller (Hamburg Freezers – German DEL) Christoph Gawlik (Frankfurt Lions – German DEL)Tobias Draxinger (ERC Ingolstadt – German DEL)

Joining Eisbaren Roster = +1

Richie Regehr (Frankfurt Lions – German DEL) #49 Position: D DOB: 17-01-1983, CAN

LINKOPINGS HC

Leaving Linkoping Roster = -9

Jonas Junland (St. Louis Blues – NHL)Tim Eriksson (Djurgarden – Swedish Elitserien) Niklas Olausson (VIK Vasteras – Swedish 2nd-Tier)Rastislav Stana(Severstal Cherepovets – Russian KHL) Ville Vahalahti (TPS Turku – Finnish SM-Liiga) Kim Staal (HV 71 – Swedish Elitserien)Tony Martensson (On Loan to Ak Bars Kazan – Russian KHL) Mattias Weinhandl (On Loan to Dynamo Moscow –Russian KHL)Patric Blomdahl (Frolunda Gothenburg)

Joining Linkoping Roster = +8

Teemu Aalto (Tappara Tampere – Finnish SM-Liiga)#38 Position: D DOB: 30-03-1978, FINDaniel Henriksson (EC Salzburg – Austrian Hockey League & Sibir Novosibirsk – Russian Superliga) #40 Position: G DOB: 04-09-1978, Overtornea, SWEJaroslav Hlinka (Colorado Avalanche – NHL)#27 Position: F DOB: 11-10-1976, CZEPontus Petterstrom (Skelleftea IK – Swedish Elitserien )#1 Position: F DOB: 04 -21-1982, Nybro, SWEPekka Saravo (Lulea HF – Swedish Elitserien) #14 Position: D DOB: 13-11-1979, FINEric Beaudoin (Mora IK – Swedish Elitserien)#28 Position; F DOB: 03-05-1980, Ottawa, CAN

Coming up from Junior Team

Dennis Bozic #4 Position: D DOB: 08-02-1990, Sodertalje, SWEMats Froshaug Josten #20 Position: F DOB: 31-07-1988, Manglerud, NOR

HC KOSICE

Leaving HC Kosice Roster = +9

Imrich Petrik (HC 05 Banska Bystrica – Slovkian Extraliga) Lukas Skrecko (HKM Zvolen – Slovakian Extraliga) Ivan Doppa (MsHK Zilina – Slovakian Extraliga) Miroslav Javin (MsHK Zilina – Slovakian Extraliga)Rudolf Jendek (HK36 Skalica – Slovakian Extraliga) Domink Kramar (Sk Kadan – Slovakian Extraliga) Alexander Valentin (Club Not Known)Erik Weissman (Club Not Known)Gabriel Spilar (Club Not Known)

Joining HC KosiceRoster = +5

Julius Hudacek (HK SPNV Slovakian U20 – 2nd-Tier) #33 Position: G DOB: 09-08-1988, Levoca, SVKDaniel Babka (HKm Zvolen – Slovakian Extraliga)#20 Position: D DOB: 30-03-1972, Martin, SVKPeter Huzevka (Dukla Trencin – Slovakian Extraliga) #27 Position: F DOB: 09-09-1976Jan Kopecky (HKm Zvolen – Slovakian Extraliga)#29 Position: F DOB: 21-03-1979, Kolin, CZEIgor Rataj (Slavia Prague – Czech Extraliga)#55 Position: F DOB: 11-03-1973, Poprad, SVK


A. Tomko will replace Radislav Cada as head coach. Jan Sterbak is leaving for MsHK Zilina in the Slovakian Extraliga.

champions hockey league · pdf fileiihf president rené fasel had this to say about the...

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