CHL Season Review 2018/19

YOUNG STARS LEAD THE WAY 23 CHALLENGER LEAGUE TEAMS IMPRESS ONCE AGAIN In the Champions Hockey League, anything can happen. In 2018/19, the Challenger League teams showed yet again that there are no easy games with a string of impressive upsets recorded in this year’s competition. Norway’s Storhamar Hamar repeated their 2015/16 success by reaching the Round of 16, picking up a historic victory against Fin- nish powerhouse Tappara Tampere along the way. France’s Rouen Dragons also reached the knockout stages, defeating the THOMAS SABO Ice Tigers and Mountfield HK. Although not finishing in the top two in their groups, Yunost Minsk and Neman Grodno proved that Belarus is one of the CHL’s toughest away trips. The Belarussian clubs won three of their six games at home, defea- ting teams from the Founding Leagues. Ne- man fans will long remember their 3-2 over- time victory over perennial Swiss contenders EV Zug, and Yunost were roared on by their home support to a 6-1 victory against Malmö Redhawks. Slovakia’s HC05 Banská Bystrica struggled to find consistency in this year’s CHL campaign, but mustered a 5-2 victory against HC Lugano, whilst Poland’s GKS Ty- chy and Denmark’s Aalborg Pirates both re- corded their first wins in CHL play. Alongside Frölunda forward Samuel Fagemo, a number of young players impressed in this year’s CHL Group Stage. 20-year-old Czech forward Petr Kodýtek made a name for him- self, by scoring seven points (4+3) in HC Pils- en’s successful Group Stage campaign, whilst future Finnish superstar Kaapo Kakko scored twice for TPS Turku. HC Kometa Brno are one of Europe’s hockey hotbeds, and gave ample playing time to 18-year-old Karel Plášek and 16-year-old Erik Meluzín. The lat- ter scored his first professional goal in the Quarter-Finals.