I think this tournament has huge potential and I'd like to see 64 teams in 16 different groups with the winner advancing to Last 32.
16 teams from the KHL
8 teams from Sweden
8 teams from Finland
8 teams from Germany
8 teams from Switzerland
4 teams from Czech Republic
4 teams from Austria (EBEL)
2 teams from Norway
2 teams from Slovakia
1 team from Denmark
1 team from Great Britain
1 team from Italy
1 team from France
Automatically qualify for the CHL group stage:
6 teams from KHL
4 teams from Sweden
4 teams from Finland
4 teams from Germany
4 teams from Switzerland
1 team from Czech Republic
1 team from Austria
That leaves 8 more spots for 40 teams.
Seeded teams in CHL Qualifying (enter in the final [4th] round):
2 teams from KHL
2 teams from Sweden
2 teams from Finland
1 teams from Germany
1 teams from Switzerland
That leaves us with 32 teams fighting for 8 spots in the final qualifying round.
Following teams receive a bye in the 1st Qualifying round:
8 teams from KHL
2 teams from Sweden
2 teams from Finland
2 teams from Germany
2 teams from Switzerland
That leaves us with 16 teams in the 1st Qualifying round.
Following teams receive a bye in the 2nd qualifying round:
4 teams from KHL
1 team from Sweden
1 team from Finland
1 team from Germany
1 team from Switzerland
That leaves us with 16 teams in the 2nd qualifying round where 8 teams will be seeded (those who had a bye in the previous round).
3rd qualifying round:
16 teams play in an open draw to finally get to the 4th and final qualifying round.
Huge.