As the regular seasons of the European leagues approach their finish, a few clubs have already sewn up B-Licenses for next season's Champions Hockey League, with others virtually locked up. For many teams, however, a trip to Europe's premier club hockey competition will have to be earned in their domestic playoffs.
by Derek O'Brien
Austria
The regular season is over – it was won by permanent CHL member Red Bull Salzburg, meaning that second-place EHC Linz qualify for next season's Champions Hockey League. The teams are now in the midst of the “Pick Round”, which will determine the playoff bracket. After four of 10 games played, it continues to be Salzburg and Linz above the pack with 12 and 11 points, followed distantly by Orli Znojmo, the Vienna Capitals and Villach SV with four points each and Fehervar AV with two.
With Salzburg, Vienna and Linz already qualified for next year's CHL, it looks like Znojmo, Villach and Fehervar have the best chance at getting the second spot – winning one playoff round and getting to the semi-finals would go a long way to helping those teams. As for who will get the two remaining quarter-final spots, HC Bolzano lead the “Qualification Round” with 12 points, and the Graz 99ers and Klagenfurt AC are in a tight race for the eighth and final spot with 8 and 7 points, respectively.
Czech Republic
With just five rounds to go in the Czech Extraliga, it looks as if Ocelari Trinec are well on their way to a return trip to the CHL. The Silesian-based club have a comfortable 11 point lead on HC Litvinov, and could clinch first place as early as Friday. In the race for second, Litvinov have a four-point lead on Kometa Brno after beating Slavia Prague 4–1 on Sunday, while Kometa fell 3–0 in Plzen. Interestingly, none of the top three teams are A-License holders, and finishing second might also mean a CHL berth, but only if the title is won by an A-License club or Trinec (who are expected to finish first).
Denmark
As the Metal Ligaen regular season approaches its finish, Blue Fox Herning have a three-point lead on SonderskjyskE Vojens with a game in hand. SonderjyskE remains in the race for first after a 6–1 home-ice win over the Rodovre Mighty Bulls on Tuesday, but they'll probably have to win their last two games to overtake Herning.
Finland
There are still three more weeks to go in the Liiga schedule, and Karpat Oulu continue to lead with 88 points – nine head of KalPa Kuopio. Five of Finland's six A-License holders are in the top six in the league, while TPS Turku is well back in 13th place in the 14-team circuit. The highest challenger for a CHL spot is Lukko Rauma, quarter-finalists in this year's European competition and currently fourth place in Liiga with 84 points. They look to be a strong bet for a return trip to the CHL, with the Espoo Blues, SaiPa Lappeenranta, Ilves Tampere and Assat Pori hoping that a strong playoff run can qualify them.
France
The Ligue Magnus regular season is finished, with the top four teams – Grenoble, Rouen, Gap and Angers – all qualifying directly to the quarter-finals. The next eight teams are now in the midst of a best-of-five play-in round to determine the other four quarter-finalists. Defending champions Briancon, plus Dijon, Amiens and Epinal all won the first games of their series and need two more wins to advance.
Germany
With four rounds left in the DEL, Adler Mannheim have reached 100 points and, with an 11-point lead and a game in hand over Red Bull Munich, have first place virtually locked up. As an A-License holder, they are already in next year's CHL, which makes the race for second more important and Munich have a three-point lead on ERC Ingolstadt. If Munich finish second, they qualify for a CHL B-License, while Ingolstadt already have an A. A little further back, the Hamburg Freezers with 84 points and the Iserlohn Roosters with 80 also still have mathematical shots at second, albeit diminishing. If Ingolstadt manage to finish second, it will probably mean that both free German CHL slots will be determined in the playoffs.
Great Britain
As Britain's national champions are determined by the EIHL's regular season, that's also what's important as far as CHL qualification. It's a tight race at the top, as the Braehead Clan have a slim one-point lead over the Sheffield Steelers with 59 and 58 points, respectively. Close behind are the Cardiff Devils with 56, the Nottingham Panthers with 54 and the Belfast Giants with 52. Belfast are at a slight disadvantage having played 43 games, while Braehead and Cardiff have played a game less and Sheffield and Nottingham have two games in hand. However, with the league's 54-game schedule, there's still a lot of hockey to be played and this race is still very much wide open.
Norway
Three are still a couple of weeks to go but the eight quarter-finalists for the GET Ligaen playoffs are already known. Leading the way are the Stavanger Oilers with 91 points, eight above their nearest challengers, the Storhamar Dragons with five games to play. Stavanger are looking strong for a return trip to the CHL, while other Norwegian clubs are hoping to unseat them in the playoffs and get in.
Slovakia
With three rounds to go in the Slovak Extraliga, HC Kosice have already secured first place, with an 11-point lead on HK Nitra. Nitra, in turn, lead HC '05 Banska Bystrica by three points in the race for second. Like the Norwegian league, the eight quarter-finalists in Slovakia are already known, and for most of those teams, their only hope at a CHL berth is to win the playoff title.
Sweden
They qualified as the SHL champions last year, and Skelleftea AIK appear headed back to next year's CHL as regular season winners with an 11-point lead with six games to go. Frolunda Gothenburg are second place with 85 points, one head of the Vaxjo Lakers, who also want to return to the CHL. If Vaxjo manage to overtake Frolunda for second, the only way they could be bumped out of a CHL spot would be if a team other than themselves, Skelleftea or one of the six A-License clubs win the playoff title – a scenario that doesn't seem likely at this point, as all such teams would have to qualify via the play-in round, as things stand now.
Switzerland
With three games to go in the NLA regular season, ZSC Lions Zurich and SC Bern are in a dead heat for first place with 93 points each. However, the fact that both teams are A-License holders means the winner of this race would get home-ice advantage if they meet each other in the finals and, of course, bragging rights, but little else. Third-placed EV Zug are also an A-License holder, which means Switzerland's B-Licenses will probably have to be earned in the playoffs.