Another Champions Hockey League Final and another chance for the most successful team in CHL history to lift the European Trophy. We caught up with veteran player and club icon Nicklas Lasu ahead of the big game to get his thoughts on everything CHL Final and more!
"We have been here before, some of our guys have the experience of past Finals."Nicklas Lasu, Frölunda Gothenburg
Frölunda Gothenburg's Nicklas Lasu wasted no time and went straight into discussing the upcoming CHL Final in Sweden: "Being back in the fight for the trophy again is really great," he started, "we always want to be one of the best teams in Europe and win trophies, it's our main motivation."
Frölunda are a team that need no introduction to CHL fans, but the same applies for their opponents in the Final: Luleå Hockey. This year will be a re-do of the very first CHL Final in 2014/15, once again featuring these two familiar foes against each other. How excited is Lasu at meeting an opponent he knows well with a trophy on the line?
"We need to be really sharp to take on a club like Luleå," he started, "we know what we're going to face knowing them so well, but it's also a little harder for us as they also know a lot about us."
"I'm especially looking forward to playing the Final at home, that will be a first for me. It's going to be special."Nicklas Lasu, Frölunda Gothenburg
After the Semi-Finals Return Games, the hosting rights to CHL Final 2026 fell into Frölunda's hands, setting the stage for an unforgettable second Final in Gothenburg's Scandinavium, following up on a successful event in 2019.
"It's going to be a packed house and having our fans screaming behind us in the game is huge. Skating out in front of our crowd is going to be awesome," commented a very excited Lasu, earlier noting that this will be a first Final for the 36-year-old forward in the Scandinavium due to his two-season spell with Kärpät Oulu between 2017 and 2019.
As a veteran of numerous CHL Finals, what past event stands out most to him? We had a feeling it was going to be CHL Final 2017, where Frölunda faced Czech side Sparta Prague and Lasu secured the European Club Champions title with a memorable overtime game-winner. We were right...
"The Final against Sparta, of course," he said without hesitation, "it's super special for me and a really great memory. Scoring the game-winner was just amazing."
Earlier this season, Lasu surpassed former Frölunda teammate Ryan Lasch as the player with the most starts in the Champions Hockey League, now climbing up to 93 ahead of the Final in Gothenburg. Is it something he registered?
"Of course, it's something I'm really proud of. This competition has been big for me personally, I've seen and played against a lot of big teams and good players over the years and also won a couple times," he said.
With the CHL's most experienced player on the line, who else but him to summarise how the competition has evolved over the past 10 seasons?
"I see teams really going for the title," he said straight off the bat, "we played really hungry teams in Germany and France this season and the crowds were amazing there."
"We've played some really tough teams but we're at this stage for a reason."Nicklas Lasu, Frölunda Gothenburg
And how does the veteran CHL player in his eighth season on the European stage feel about the format with six different opponents in the Regular Season and the combined standings?
"I think it's really good, facing more teams and playing more games is great, really making it competitive down to every game. When we had small groups, you could sometimes get into positions where some of the later games didn't matter, so I think that was a good move," he summarised.
Looking back to the start of the season, the four-time CHL Champions breezed through the Regular Season only dropping one game to Sparta Prague on the road to ultimately finish in 3rd place in the Regular Season Standings.
In the Playoffs, some teams really rose to take on these juggernauts of the European club ice hockey scene, namely challenger league side Grenoble and hungry DEL side ERC Ingolstadt: "These teams really challenged us in a different way than we are use to, Grenoble especially played some really tough hockey, they were a good team. When we played in France their fans were so loud, screaming every time they got the puck. Ingolstadt were super skilled and really strong on the rush. These different styles are good to face."
Heading into the Final, Frölunda are in a dog fight to stay top of the SHL standings. Could that be a big boost in their bid for the European Trophy?
"It would be nice, but being in this position already shows the depth in our team," said Lasu, adding a final message ahead of the final game of the 2025/26 CHL season: "I'm just so excited to get the chance to battle for the trophy again! It's going to be mega"
Frölunda Gothenburg and Luleå Hockey will face each other in the ultimate one-game CHL Final in Gothenburg, Sweden on Tuesday, 3 March 2026, at 19:00 CET.