Seven teams will battle for promotion from the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I in Puconci, Slovenia in what looks to be an evenly matches competition next weekend.
They will all take part in a single-pool tournament with each team player each other once with the top two spots earning a place at Trophy level for their nation in 2026.
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Men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I – team by team previews
Cardiff & Met (Wales)
Cardiff come into the tournament with a fairly inexperienced side but looking to hit the ground running coming off the back of another Welsh Indoor Championship.
Whilst competitive preparation has been hard to come by, they have been training regularly as a squad to refine our abilities and hope this will stand us in good stead.
“We can’t wait to get our tournament started and come across a familiar foe in the shape of Western Wildcats – a team who we have had numerous encounters with in the past few years,” says coach Rhys Payne.
“All in all, looking forward to an exciting tournament which will no doubt be an excellent standard of indoor hockey!
“I think it’ll be a great tournament for the development of our squad which has had limited experience at this level. We are hoping to surprise some teams with the quality we know we have and finish as high as possible. We have a completely new side from last year’s EuroHockey tournament so our fresh faces will look to drive us on”
Cardiff have played at this level eight times since 2013, a third place in 2020 their best outing while they were fifth last year in Ferrara after a three-year break.
HK Triglav Predanovci (Slovenia) – pictured above
The nine-time Slovenian champions are looking to build on their fourth place finish last year in Challenge I in Ferrara, using their hosting in Puconci to full effect.
They have some key players with three definitely standing out. Davorin Škrilec is one of their veterans and is a very skilled defender, has good grip and is not afraid to shoot.
Tadej Mikola is one of the players who connects defence and offense, he can create a lot of space, and he also likes to be the team’s playmaker. Nejc Potokar, the star player, creates a scoring opportunity every time he passes the ball forward.
This year the preparations are more from a tactical perspective and the team has started to come together, we just had to do some tactical preparations.
Alan Nemec says of the event: “This year we are coming to the event after a tough defeat in the final of our league, where we lost 3-2. We had chances, but the ball simply wouldn’t go into the net. That’s why we are even more hungry and motivated for big things at this event. This year we even have a home team advantage, so we have to take that into account.”
HP Valchisone ASD (Italy)
Hockey Prato Valchisone was founded in 2006 in the heart of Val Chisone, a valley nestled in the Cottian Alps. The club initially focused solely on youth development, but over time, a senior team was introduced. This team quickly rose to prominence at the national level, reaching the top division while relying exclusively on players from the valley that gives the club its name.
Over the years, several players have been selected to represent Italy. Alberto Ughetto, the captain of Hockey Prato Valchisone, has earned 22 caps for the Italian outdoor national team, 11 for the indoor team, and 6 in Hockey5s. Andrea Dell’Anno, our first-choice goalkeeper, has also represented Italy with four caps outdoors, eight in indoor, and five in Hockey5s.
Many of our players have also competed internationally at the youth level. In addition to Ughetto and Dell’Anno, Alex Monardo, our second goalkeeper, played in the U21 Indoor European Championship in Geneva in January 2025.
Giacomo Alifredi also took part in the EuroHockey Indoor U21 Championship, while Edoardo Dell’Anno has competed in multiple European tournaments since his U16 days.
Our standout player is Agustín Ceballos, an Argentine international who has been part of our team for three seasons. He is a key member of Argentina’s indoor national team and has won multiple Pan American titles, both with his team and individually as the tournament’s top scorer.
He has also competed in two Indoor World Cups: South Africa 2023 and the most recent edition in Croatia just a few days ago. The club finished the 2024/2025 Italian indoor championship in second place.
Slagelse HC (Denmark)
One of European indoor’s more frequent competitors, Slagelse Hockeyklub is the 24-time indoor Danish Champions.
In January, they played in the Mason Cup in Lyngby where they lost against Western Wildcats who are also joining this event and will be looking for revenge.
Markus Appeldorff, Oscar Birch-Hald, Nikolaj Moll and Lasse Steinmetz have good experience from several indoor Eurohockey campaigns and, along with captain Rasmus Westrup, will be some of the players to look out for. Despite the young aged squad, most players have European experience from EuroHockey outdoor campaigns and U21 and Mens national teams.
Captain Westrup says of the event: “We are happy to join an EuroHockey indoor campaign again. We have prepared well and are ready and looking forward to an exciting tournament in Puconci. We are excited to be back and aim to compete for the promoting spots.”
They are currently number one in the Danish league and already qualified for the Final4 taking place on March 1st.
SLF Mesaicos (Sweden)
Mesaicos arrive in Slovenia with one of the continent’s more cosmopolitan teams with players hailing from Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium as well as – of course – from Sweden. Indeed, the club website boasts over 20 different nationalities have played for the club since formation in 2014.
It is their debut on the indoor scene with both their men’s and women’s teams having played in the outdoor club competitions in the past two years.
Three Rock Rovers (Ireland)
Three Rock Rovers retained their Irish National Indoor Trophy last week when they edged out Corinthian 4-3 in the final. This was their 13th Irish title since 2007 and their fourth successive win.
Three Rock is predominantly an outdoor hockey club that took up indoor hockey to try a different game format and learn new skill sets while combining a competitive but fun-filled approach.
The result has been a domination of their National Championship since 2008, winning the title eleven times and representing Irish Hockey in European competition ten times.
The team is rebuilding after the disappointing relegation from the Trophy in Plzeň last February. It is composed of some veteran stalwarts: two players, Ross Canning and Jody Hosking have represented the club indoor team consistently since 2011 and 2012 respectively; picking up 26 European Club caps each.
Shane Davey, aged 46 is their veteran goalkeeper who played in the club’s first foray into European Hockey in 2009, in Cambrai, France. Alastair Haughton made his first Challenge 1 appearance in Budapest, in 2013. There are three debutants Matteo Romoli, Evan Jennings and Rex Dunlop.
The side has four current indoor international players who played in the Nkosi Tournament in South Africa before Christmas: Ross Canning, Harry McMahon, James Walker and Ryan Williams.
Last year, Jody Hosking, alongside Ross Canning and James Walker, was part of the team that secured Ireland’s place in the top flight of international European indoor hockey to be played in Heidelburg, 2026.
The team’s preparation has been limited to playing in our provincial league and in four matches leading to winning the National title. Most players are currently juggling their outdoor commitments with their indoor, meaning injury is a constant worry for the management team as four other players were unavailable due to the FIH Pro League taking place in India.
Nevertheless, all the travelling party is looking forward to experiencing indoor tournament hockey, not just as a team but as a group of friends.
Western Wildcats (Scotland)
The Wildcats come into the competition having won the Scottish title in four of the last five seasons although they did relinquish the crown in January to Inverleith in a shoot-out.
Five senior internationals are unable to compete in this tournament due to FIH Nations Cup with Scotland in Oman which will hamper their plans. However, Rob Harwood (captain), goalkeeper Gavin Sommerville and Fraser Moran all have senior international experience. They also did well at the Mason Cup in January where they finished in second place.
“We are very much looking forward to our tournament,” said Harwood. “We felt hard done by last year to be relegated from the tournament in Plzen, having finished fifth out of eight teams.
“Our aim is to secure promotion. It has been a very challenging season for us with an ever changing squad due to our senior internationals players availability. We are without our five internationals but still have a strong team who we believe can compete at this tournament.”
