Preparations have begun for the Olympic Qualification Tournaments, the first round of which will take place in December 2024. Three separate tournaments will be held in Slovakia, Great Britain, and Poland. The winners of these tournaments will move on to the final round of qualifications in February 2025, with three tournaments in locations yet to be named. The three winners of the February tournaments will join Italy (automatically qualified as the Olympic Host nation) and the top 6-ranked teams in the world at the 2026 Olympic Games in Cortina, Italy. As Summer comes to a close, many of Europe’s national teams are in action, preparing for the rigours of the upcoming International season.
Women’s Euro Hockey Tour — August, 29-31 — Kloten, Switzerland
Czechia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland
The new WEHT promises to bring top-level international competition, with multiple tournaments scheduled between 2024 and 2028. Canada and the US have pledged to join one tournament each in non-Olympic years, and Germany will also make occasional appearances.
4-Nations Tournament — August, 29-31 — Fussen, Germany
France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
Teams will take advantage of the final week before September, when most of their players are still available before leaving to their respective club or school teams.
International Exhibition Games:
Sweden “Olympic Offensive 2026” Teams vs Ohio State (NCAA D1) July, 25-27 — Uppsala, Sweden
This camp, part of Sweden’s Olympic Offensive 2026 program, included 34 players divided into two groups of 15 skaters and 2 goalies each. The teams played recent NCAA champions Ohio State in a 3 game exhibition series. Ohio won all three games, but Sweden got exactly what they wanted: the opportunity to play challenging, intense games, with players forced to execute at high speed.
Italy vs Austria & Italy vs Bethel University Royals (NCAA D3) — August, 21 — Fondo, Italy
Team Italy handed both Austria and Bethel 5-0 defeats. Defender Nadia Mattivi, who recently graduated after 5 NCAA seasons at Boston University, will play this season for Swedish powerhouse Luleå. Young forward Matilde Fantin will take her first strides for Penn State University in the Fall. Italy will hope to turn heads and win games at the 2026 Olympics. The team has automatically qualified for the Games as the host country.
Norway vs HV71 (SDHL) — August, 30-31 — Jønkøping, Sweden
In April, Norway earned its return to the top World Championships for the first time since 1997. The team’s preparations for the top tournament and for their upcoming Olympic Qualification quest will begin this week in Sweden. The SDHL’s HV71 will host the Norwegians for two games on Friday and Saturday in Jønkøping. Norway will not have its NCAA players on the roster, but will feature SDHL veterans including Mathea Fischer, Andrea Dalen and Marthe Pabsdorff Brunvold.
