Three periods
A game is three 20-minute periods of 5-on-5 hockey, with intermissions in between. The team that scores more goals wins.
Europe · 2026–27
CHL, explained.
The continent's top clubs. One European title. Here’s the quick guide.
The Champions Hockey League is Europe's club championship — not the Canadian Hockey League. National-league champions and other high seeds play a group stage, then knockouts, for the European title.
A short history
The modern CHL launched in 2014–15 as the successor to earlier European club cups. It is run with the IIHF and the participating national leagues.
On this site, CHL always means this European competition. The Canadian major-junior circuit is listed as the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL.
How the league works
A midweek European slate on top of each club's domestic season.
Qualification
Clubs arrive from their national leagues — typically the champion, the regular-season winner, and other high finishers, plus a path for challenger leagues.
Group, then knockouts
A group or league phase seeds the playoff. From there it is two-legged or single-game knockouts into a final.
Power play
A penalty puts the other team a skater up. That extra-man advantage is the power play; the shorthanded side is on the penalty kill.
Offside and icing
A player cannot enter the offensive zone ahead of the puck (offside). Icing is shooting the puck the length of the ice from behind centre; play stops and the faceoff comes back.
Not the Canadian CHL
The Canadian Hockey League is the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. Those desks are under North American Leagues.
The season
Group games start in August or September and the final is usually in February, before most national playoffs peak.
How the playoffs work
Survive the group, then win knockouts for the European club title.
Who gets in
The top clubs from the group or league phase advance. Seeding follows that table.
Knockouts
Ties are usually two legs, aggregate score, then overtime and a shootout if needed. The final is often a single game.
The title
The winner is Europe's club champion for that season.