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With only two weeks until the launch of NHL 18 and fans eagerly curious for details surrounding the game, let us recap some recently announced good news for the fans of European Hockey. EA SPORTS decided to blow up the doors with first introducing that the Champions Hockey League will be in the game. Shortly after that, it was announced that HockeyAllsvenskan and the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga also will be included. In case you’re wondering what the CHL is, we’d describe the Champions Hockey League as a tournament where the top teams of Europe play against each other in a fashion that we are used to in the football scene. Although it’s still not followed even remotely in the same magnitude as on the football side, we can hope the interest towards this league grows on the hockey side as well. The including of HockeyAllsvenskan was a really exciting thing especially for Swedish NHL-gamers as they can once again play the famous Stockholm Derby, Djurgården vs AIK with friends. Or why not give Leksand another chance in the famous Daladerby and face off against their bitter rivals, the team that knocked them down from the SHL: Mora IK. The press releases didn’t specify whether these leagues are actually included in the game as full playable seasons with schedules, or if they are mainly to be used in individual games or replacement teams in the franchise mode, as we’ve seen done before. At this stage we can only speculate, but whatever the approach is, we welcome these new teams to the game with open arms! The features of HockeyAllsvenskan might add something to the mix in the ECL scene as well; It has been rumoured that the ECL Elite team Synergy might reveal a Björklöven jersey What do you think about the inclusion of these leagues? Will you play with this teams, or perhaps just use their jerseys for HUT or EASHL? Let us know in the comments below. -chavelski