CHL Preview EHC Red Bull Munich as guests of Vitkovice Ridera

Thursday, 31. August 2023 | CHL Preview EHC Red Bull Munich as guests of Vitkovice Ridera

CHL opener in Czech Republic: First stop at Vítkovice RideraFirst Champions League match 2023/24 preview// CHL - PREVIEWFriday is the day: The Red Bulls start the new CHL season. For the opener, a Czech Republic double-header is on the schedule. Against Vítkovice Ridera, we want to get off to a good start and continue to improve after the successful Red Bulls Salute.

"The tournament will give us a push for the CHL opener on Friday," said our forward Ben Smith after the narrow 2:4 defeat against IFK Helsinki on Sunday. After two appealing performances in Zell am See-Kaprun against the ZSC Lions (3:1) and the tournament winner from Finland, the German champions also want to convince in the Champions League.

A first foundation for this has already been laid: The team of coach Toni Söderholm as one of the few in Europe already the new CHL rules in competitive mode against top clubs could play. "I think the new rules are exciting. From this, there will be opportunities to score more goals. My first impressions after the Red Bulls Salute are that they definitely bring a new element to the game," concluded Söderholm, who is looking forward to "exciting games."

Die große CHL-Pressekonferenz zum Nachschauen

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Vítkovice coach Holaň full of anticipation

The first of these games is coming up for the Red Bulls on Friday at 18:30 at Vítkovice Ridera. The boss on the board of the CHL comebacker since the end of 2020 is the Czech Miloš Holaň. As a defenseman, the now 52-year-old even made it as far as the NHL (Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks).

The anticipation for the Champions League is huge. "We have the opportunity to play great games against the best European teams. We are looking forward to every opponent," the coach is quoted as saying in the club media.

Experience in defense, power in offense

Aleš Stezka will no longer be a part of the team. The number one of the last two years left for the Seattle Kraken in the best league in the world. In his place came goalie Matěj Machovský from playoff semifinal opponents Mountfield. The backbone of the defense is made up of Czech players who have a lot of experience. These include, for example, 34-year-old Juraj Mikúš, who collected 28 points.

US American Willie Raskob (six goals, 25 assists) and Canadian newcomer with NHL experience Stuart Percy (most recently HC České Budějovice, 22 scorer points) are also offensively oriented. In attack, almost everything runs through the Czech-Latvian duo Dominik Lakatoš and Roberts Bukarts. The two wingers have a combined 45 goals and 59 assists.

The best-known name is probably Peter Mueller. The offensively strong veteran from the USA played almost 300 NHL games in his career, a large part of which the newcomer played for the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche.

Die Champions League geht endlich wieder los!

Almquist ready for the CHL

Our new number 5 Adam Almquist wants to collect points right away in his first CHL games in a Munich kit. "The team has started successfully in the past years. We will try to continue that. We have a lot planned for this season," announces the Swede.

In Ostrava, where Vítkovice Ridera is based, coach Söderholm's team is getting ready for a physically strong opponent above all. The Czechs are known for physical play. Top ice hockey and intense play - the fans can look forward to a thrilling CHL opener.

Win a streaming subscription to the Red Bulls' CHL games

The Red Bulls games in the Champions League will all be streamed by Sportdeutschland.TV this year. If you don't have a subscription yet, you can enter the competition in our app or on our social media channels. Answer three questions correctly and you have the chance to win one of three team subscriptions, which will allow you to watch the games of the German champions on the international stage live in the stream.

Vítkovice Ridera

Year of foundation: 1928 Club colors: blue, white League: Tipsport Extraliga Venue: Ostravar Aréna Capacity: 10,004 Head coach: Miloš Holaň Achievements: 2x Czech champion (1952, 1981), 1x CHL quarterfinal (2016).