Champions Hockey League

[kiwi_canadian]

I thought that the IIHF had a great idea in the Champions Hockey League and there have been attempts to bring it back. Unfortunately due to the world financial crisis, it hasn't happened yet...However that doesn't mean that it can't be done on here. in this series, I've gone with the same entry rules as the IIHF had before with a couple new additions. So here are the entry rules:

- Sweden, Finland Czech Republic and Russia are all granted 2 teams each (regular season champion, playoff champion)

- Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany are granted 1 team (playoff champion)

That is the format used by the IIHF...here are my additions:

- NHL is granted 4 teams, 2 American, 2 Canadian determined by the Stanley Cup champion and the President's Trophy champion, then top ranked teams

- using the IIHF world rankings, the country who holds down the 10th spot gets entry and are represented by the playoff champions.

SO with that, here is how the teams look for my CHL:

Salavat Yulaev Ufa and Avangard Omsk from the KHL, HV71 and Farjestards BK from Sweden, HC Ocelari Trinec and HC BiliTygri Liberec from the Czech, HIFK and JYP from Finland, HC Kosice from Slovakia, Eisbaren Berlin from Germany, Boston Bruins and Washinton Capitals from the USA, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens from Canada and Sparta Warriors from Norway. (Norway is ranked 9th and Slovakia 10th, as Sl0vakia is already an auto entry, Norway gets the next spot).

So that's 16 teams which is 4 pools of 4. Reebok was given the original contract for the jerseys so I've stuck with those. In addition, each team will have the Champions league logo on the upper right chest area with the representing country flag and their representing league on the tail of the jersey. So now that all that reading is done (and apologies for the long read, but I like to add a background story or explanation to things before I post) here is Pool A:

Boston Bruins:

I used their 3rd jersey template and went with the 1981-1995 style of jersey as well as the vintage shoulder logo of the crazy bear.

JYP Jyväskylä Oy:

Went off the basic design of their league jerseys and "EDGEed" them. They are simple to begin with and that carries over with the Edge jersey.

Sparta Warriors:

The Norwegian champions get a modified template (a combo of St. Louis 3rd, LA's new 3rd and NJ) from Reebok but again it is a 2 tone simplistic jersey.

Finally Salavat Yulaev Ufa:

Carried over from the KHL jersey, the edge style did transfer over nicely to the actual Edge jersey which was much better than the previous CHL jersey for these guys.

Now there will most likely be a bit of a gap between this one and Pool B as I'm getting married and will be moving all in the span of 3 weeks, so please be patient as I do not intend to abandon this series.

[Fregus]

Cool idea! Looking forward to se the swedish teams.

[sparkychewbarky]

kiwi...

A nice start to what should be an interesting project.

Hope Champions League gets back on track.

Did you know that the C.L. champs play an NHL team (the Stanley Cup winners?) in the Victoria Cup?

[kiwi_canadian]

kiwi...

A nice start to what should be an interesting project.

Hope Champions League gets back on track.

Did you know that the C.L. champs play an NHL team (the Stanley Cup winners?) in the Victoria Cup?

Well that was the original plan for the league but the NHL being the NHL did not want to do something like that. I know that when it started in 2009, Metallurg Magnitogorsk who won the first CHL played the New York Rangers for the Victoria Cup and lost 3-2. Then in 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks play the Zurich Lions and lost something like 5-4. So as it stands right now, each league has won a Victoria Cup each...I do however wish the NHL would stop being so arrogant and let the Stanley Cup winners play the CHL winners. Then we really would see who is the club world champion for hockey is...and THEN they could hang banners that say "World Champions".

[kiwi_canadian]

Sorry about the long wait here. As said before, a lot going on here with getting married and preparing to move. Anyways, somehow I found the time to complete Pool B. This pool has clubs from Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Sweden. So without any more waiting, here they are:

HV71: The Elitserien regular season champion will be wearing a more traditional look from their 2008 NHL All-Star jersey template and a little more traditional than their old CHL jersey.

HC Bílí Tygři Liberec: The Czech Extraliga runner up in the regular season gets to take part as the regular season and playoff champion are the same team. Used the Worchester Sharks 3rd jersey template as I like the simple 2 tone colours for the Tigers.

HC Davos: The National League A playoff and regular season champion takes Switzerland's only entrance into the CHL and went with what the club is more used to using instead of their previous Edge jersey from when they played the Blackhawks and their Spenglar Cup jerseys.

Vancouver Canucks: The NHL President's Trophy Champions, get 1 of the 2 Canadian entries into the CHL and I went with the 1968-69 WHL champion style of jerseys. Wanted to go with something a bit different with what we have seen the Canucks in...and we all know there have been a lot.

Pool C and Pool D might be a bit longer as I am in the process of a big move BUT I WILL FINISH THIS PROJECT. SO that's 8 teams down, 8 more to go and I look forward to finishing the set and to seeing what everyone thinks. Cheers.