The 2012 European Trophy was the third European Trophy, a European ice hockey tournament held annually. It is also the seventh tournament since its predecessor, the Nordic Trophy, was launched in 2006. The regulation round started on 31 July 2012 with the South Division game between Piráti Chomutov–Slovan Bratislava, and will end on 28 November 2012. The playoffs will be played between 13–16 December 2012 in Vienna and in Bratislava. The preliminary schedule for the regulation round was released on 12 April 2012.