Finnish challengers KooKoo Kouvola will get their very first taste of Champions Hockey League Playoffs hockey against reigning DEL champions Eisbären Berlin when they clash in this Round of 16 series.
- CHL Playoffs debut for KooKoo
- Berlin enter on four-game winning streak
- Berlin have only made it further than R16 in CHL once
While KooKoo have already faced a German opponent this CHL season, for Berlin, the trip to Finland will be the first time they face a team boasting Liiga's traditional quick-transition style of play in 2026/27.
KooKoo finished 12th in the Regular Season Standings, winning three times across the six-game calendar with some memorable wins over the likes of Adler Mannheim and KAC Klagenfurt.
They've played some great games and their scoring has been punchy (20 goals for), but they've also been a bit unstable on the defence (19 goals against). More worrying, however, is their lack of special-unit production, with a sub-10% PP and 66.67% PK lacking compared to Berlin's - these will be key areas for improvement heading into this series!
Die Eisbären are in the Playoffs for a fourth time in their CHL history, looking to best a Quarter-Finals run in 2024/25. This season, they head into the knockout rounds from fifth place and with a four-game winning streak in the CHL after having bounced back from losing their opening two games of the calendar.
Their PP (21.74%) has been solid, their PK (80%) has also mostly worked, but it's not all great, as their lack of scoring (just 16 goals for) has turned some games into unnecessarily close nerve-wreckers and their opening two games that saw them let a whopping 14 goals into their own net cannot be overlooked.
Leonhard Pföderl (5G, 2A) stands out as one to watch for Berlin, mainly on the extra-man advantage as he's already scored four PP goals this year.
The First Game of this Round of 16 series will very much set the tone of what's sure to be an exciting two-game series between two clubs with very different backgrounds and styles.