taken from chl email:
"I’m Andrew Lord, Head Coach of the Cardiff Devils. Last year we went into the unknown in our first CHL season. Now with our second straight Elite League title behind us, and the experience of last season’s games, I am hugely excited about another European adventure.
Any true competitor, no matter the sport or discipline, wants to compete and push themselves against the very best. For us, the Champions Hockey League gives the whole organisation a chance to test ourselves against some of the best hockey teams in Europe. For the players, it's about how they can step it up on the ice - they might be the best in our league, but now it's a new challenge. For myself as a young coach, it's about learning what I can do to better prepare my team, and what we can possibly do differently to make us better. For the off-ice team, how we can approach every day to make ourselves better.
I think it was before our first game last year in Davos that the CHL 'got real' for a lot of us from the Devils. We walked into that famous rink, the lights were off, and it just looked magical. We've all seen the Spengler Cup on TV growing up, and to actually be there was somewhat surreal.
The whole overall experience was fantastic. A year ago, when we were at our first draw, we just looked around and saw all these CEOs and GMs of massive teams in the same room as us. Then when the draw was finished we went to our 'Group Table' to meet the other teams, and that’s when you start learning. We want to see how these teams approach everything and take the best bits back to make ourselves better.
Believe it or not as a coach, we actually have pros and cons from being in the Champions Hockey League. The pros are obviously much bigger - you play at a much higher pace, against better teams, earlier in the season. However compared to the Elite League, the European game is a different style, referees call it differently, and so we have to make a few adjustments to how we play to be ready. Then when we go back to our own league, we have to adjust again. But that is all part of the fun of taking part in this type of competition, and as a coach I learn so much more about my players through it.
The two wins we got gave us a lot of confidence. It showed us in Cardiff that we have a great team, and it showed the rest of Europe that our league is growing and maybe deserves a bit more credit than it gets. We felt we let ourselves down in the opening couple of games in the Group Stage last season, but hopefully that will motivate us for next season.
Whoever comes out of the draw in our group, we know we're in for a huge challenge. There are so many great and historic teams all over Europe that you can't really go wrong. I love the challenge, and taking us outside of our comfort zone, and I'm sure the fans will be excited wherever we get to go.
Of course this season we'd love to get out of our group. Nottingham did it last year, and while they kind of stole our thunder a bit with their performances, I was so pleased for them. They've shown it can be done, and, while we want to do the best we can for ourselves, we know we're also making noise and gaining respect for our league. We'll prepare hard, and be ready to go in August wherever it may be!"