Exciting hockey in Zug already in summer

The Prospects Challenge, featuring top international teams, will be held from August 13 to 17 and is looking for a new champion. In the future, the tournament will break new ground.

«If you want to see good hockey, the Prospects Challenge is the place to be,» says Roland Schmid, head of The Hockey Academy at EVZ. From August 13 to 17, six U20 teams from four countries will compete in the OYM hall and the Academy Arena. In addition to the host team from Zug and the ZSC Lions from Switzerland, the other teams are Red Bull Salzburg (Austria), HC Bílí Tygři Liberec (Czech Republic), Rögle BK (Sweden), and Tappara Tampere. The latter is Finland’s record champion at the junior level and replaces IFK Helsinki, the winner of the first two editions of the Prospects Challenge.

The tournament organizers plan to hold it at different locations in different countries in the future. This is in view of the expansion work at the OYM hall over the next two years. «All participating organizations are interested in the sustainable continuation of the tournament and are willing to host it in their home countries. This shows that the Prospects Challenge has already established itself,» says Roland Schmid.

According to the THA director, it is not only the high-level sporting challenge that makes the tournament valuable. The professional exchange between coaches and organizations is also a central component. This year, Linus Karlsson, GM Junior Academy of Rögle BK, will lead a training course for the coaches of the participating teams in Zug. In addition, Thomas Zamboni (Director of Education) and Thomi Derungs (Senior Manager of Coach Development) from Swiss Ice Hockey will provide insight into the Swiss association’s coach training program.

For Thomi Derungs, it is a return: over the past two years, he has coached the EVZ U20 Elite Team and participated in the first two editions of the Prospects Challenge. After finishing fourth in 2023, the team made it onto the podium in 2024 with a third-place finish.