2014–15 Champions Hockey League

A total of 44 teams from eleven different European first-tier leagues participated in the 2014–15 Champions Hockey League. The teams were decided with regards to different licenses for the founding teams, leagues and wildcards. Team license The participating teams were decided with regards to different licenses for founding teams, league teams (from founding leagues) and other wildcard teams. • A license: The 26 founding teams all got an A license, since they play in the first-tier league of their respective domestic league system in the 2014–15 season. • B license: Two teams – the regular-season winner and the play-off champion in the 2013–14 season – from each of the founding leagues (the Austrian EBEL, the Czech Extraliga, the Finnish Liiga, the German DEL, the Swedish SHL and the Swiss NLA) received a B licence to the tournament. If those teams had already received an A license, other teams from the league took the B license spots. The order the B licenses were handed out is: • National champion • Regular season winner • Runner-up, regular season • Play-off finalist • Best placed semifinal loser • Worst placed semifinal loser • C license: There were six wild cards, five for the champions of the Slovak Extraliga (Slovakia), GET-ligaen (Norway), Elite Ice Hockey League (United Kingdom), Ligue Magnus (France) and Metal Ligaen (Denmark), as well as one for the regular season winner of GET-ligaen. The Elite Ice Hockey League champion Belfast Giants were forced to turn down the chance due to lack of arena availability, giving place for the Challenge Cup winner Nottingham Panthers. Teams A full list of the teams participating in the inaugural season and how they qualified was presented on 10 May 2014. ==Round and draw dates==

The schedule of the competition is as follows. == Group stage ==

The group stage draw took place on 21 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus, and the teams were assigned to eleven groups from A to K. The 44 teams were allocated into four pots based on their positions in their national leagues 2014, with the top seeded teams being placed in Pot 1 and the lower ranked teams in Pot 2, Pot 3 and the lowest ranked teams in Pot 4. They were drawn into eleven groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. The 11 group winners and the five best ranked runners-up qualified for the playoffs. See the detailed group stage page for tiebreakers if two or more teams are equal on points. Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I Group J Group K Ranking of second-placed teams For tiebreakers if two or more teams are equal on points, see the detailed group stage page. == Playoffs ==

In the playoffs, the teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis with the team with the better standing after the group stage having the second game at home, except for the one-match final played at the venue of the team with the best competition track record leading up to the final. ;Notes Quarter-finals The first legs were played on 2 December, and the second legs were played on 9 December 2014. Semi-finals The first legs were played on 13 January, and the second legs were played on 20 January 2015. Final The final was played on 3 February 2015 at the venue of the team with the best competition track record leading up to the final. ==Statistics==

Leading scorers Rankings based upon points, and sorted by goals. Leading goaltenders ''Goalkeepers with 40% or more of their team's total minutes, ranked by save percentage.'' == Prize money ==

The 44 teams competed for a grand total of 1.5 million euros. However, the money distribution was not announced. == References ==