Canada and the USA currently dominate the hockey world. The North American countries are reigning champions in all IIHF categories; Olympics, Worlds, World Juniors and Under-18s. Europe’s opportunity to increase their competitive level is the Champions Hockey League. The tournament is on a very important mission.
by Szymon Szemberg
When the Champions Hockey League was founded in 2013, the league set up a mission which could be summarized in three points:
- To grow the game in Europe, involving more countries.
- To increase the level of club hockey in Europe.
- To determine annually the club champion of Europe.
To play parallel in your national league and for the best to play internationally is a well-proven European success formula going back to the mid-50s. That is when football introduced the European Cup for national champions, the event which today is known as the UEFA Champions League. Arguably, it is the most successful club competition in the world.
All other major Olympic team sports have their European cups; basketball, handball, volleyball – and now also ice hockey. Apart from the obvious – that these events provide great entertainment and generate money for the participants – we know today how much they mean when it comes to increased quality through constant sportive interaction and the transfer of knowledge through the European networks.
Nowhere is this process better described than in the international bestseller Soccernomics (Simon Kuper, Stefan Szymanski; Nation Books).
The authors explain in a chapter with the subtitle “The Rise of Spain and the Triumph of European Knowledge Networks” how football has greatly benefited from the opening of the borders and some earlier closed nations (they take Spain as an example after the country became a democracy) and how the end of isolation has led to the European knowledge networks being fully exploited for the benefit for the game.
The main annual facilitator of this European knowledge network is the UEFA Champions League. The European games elevate the quality from the national league games. Apart from just playing against each other, clubs, teams and players learn from each other.
Coaches inspire each other and they share their knowledge, or take their knowledge from one club to another. The best example given in the book is the Dutch superstar Johann Cruyff, who took his knowledge and methods from Ajax Amsterdam and spread the gospel of passing from Holland to FC Barcelona.
But the sharing does not only happen on top level. Clubs from countries like Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Turkey and Russia benefit from playing against superior clubs like Barcelona, Read Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich or Chelsea.
The underlying objective is “win-win”, not that “someone’s win is someone else’s loss.” Not only has this made European football incredibly strong, but also very rich.
We also know that players develop on the club level. This is where they train and play on a daily basis. Once they are selected to the national team for a game or two, there is no time for development. A national team camp is simply preparation with the task of putting together the best players into one unit. The quality of a national team is a reflection of the work done by the clubs.
When going back to our game, we see a clear trend in international hockey, going back to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Canada and the USA outclassed their opponents five years ago. Canada won again in Sochi Olympics 2014 and again in the recently concluded World Championships, where the Canadians ran amok, including a 6-1 thrashing of Russia in the final, the biggest margin of victory ever for a Canadian team against Soviet Union or Russia.
We see that when Canada and the USA select Olympic-quality teams, the Europeans struggle to keep pace with them.
Canada is also the reigning World Junior champion while USA and Canada have won every under-18 title in the last eight years (USA six golds, Canada two). The skill level of the Canadian and American hockey players has increased substantially in the last 10 to 15 years.
It is clear that Europe must raise its level. A good job is already done by the clubs and in their youth programs. The skill they acquire is tested on the national league level and, for the best, the testing continues in the various national teams.
But just like the UEFA CL in football, the Champions Hockey League now gives the clubs the opportunity to take their skill to another level. And just like in football’s Champions League, international competition shows really how good you are. Some clubs, who earlier felt that they had accomplished it all by winning their domestic title, will eventually benefit from the CHL when realizing how much more it takes to win in Europe.
For some leagues and their clubs, international games can be a rude awakening. The quality which it took to win the national championship may be not nearly enough when facing Europe’s best. But most major steps forward start with rude awakenings. Canada has had its share of those.
As listed in the beginning of this column, the primary goal of the Champions Hockey League is to grow the club game in Europe. This is why the league’s motto is “Where Europe Comes to Play”. The Champions Hockey League is not only about determining which club is the best in Europe. It is an elite tournament, but not elitist.
This is the main reason why the CHL is reaching out to leagues and clubs in Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, Belarus, France and Great Britain. Most of the established hockey nations and their clubs have assumed a responsibility to share their qualities via the European hockey knowledge network.
Only by playing against each other – and by generously sharing knowledge – can European club hockey and its players improve. That’s the mission of the Champions Hockey League.