The IIHF and the Nottingham Panthers introduced some information about the 2025-26 IIHF Continental Cup tournament, which features some significant changes from past editions.
To begin with, the final round has been expanded to six teams with four teams automatically qualifying. That includes the Panthers, who will host the final round, which will apparently be divided into two groups of three and include a one-game final.
“This is a very prestigious moment for the Panthers, the Motorpoint Arena and the city of Nottingham,” said Panthers CEO Omar Pacha. “To host any stage of this famous old competition is special, but we’re so thrilled to be hosting the final especially with its exciting revamped format.”
With Nottingham hosting the final round, it marks the second straight year that the host will be in the United Kingdom, with Cardiff, Wales hosting last year and the hometown Cardiff Devils winning.
Under the previous format, teams automatically qualified for various rounds based on the rankings of their leagues but all four spots in the final were available to the top two teams from each semifinal group. As such, the host of the final round wasn’t announced until it was known which teams would participate.
This year, as four of the teams originally slated for Round 2 have automatically qualified for the final round, there is only one group feeding into the final round. Presumably, this will change next year.
Former Red Wing Signs In England
Canadian
forward
Chase Pearson, 27, has signed a one-year contract with the Nottingham
Panthers, <a href="https://www.panthers.co.uk/home/panthers-sign-forward-chase-pearson">the
EIHL club announced on Tuesday</a>.
The IIHF had previously announced the 14 teams that would participate in this year’s tournament back in June.
Here is the schedule, as much is known so far:
Round 1 (Oct. 17-19)
Group A (Vilnius, Lithuania): HK Mogo (LAT), Hockey Punks Vilnius (LTU)*, Narva PSK (EST), Skautafelag Akureyar (ISL).
Group B: (Gheorgeni, Romania): Budapest JAHC (HUN), ACS Gyergyoi HK (ROU)*, HC Kremenchuk (UKR), Crvena Zvezda (SRB).
Round 2 (November)
Group C (Angers, France): Ducs d’Angers (FRA)*, SG Cortina (ITA), Qualifier Group A, Qualifier Group B.
Final Round (January)
Groups and exact dates TBD (Nottingham, England): Nottingham Panthers (GBR)* HC Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk (KAZ), GKS Katowice (POL), Herning Blue Fox (DEN), Qualifier 1 Group C, Qualifier 2, Group C.
Zurich Lions Win Champions Hockey League Final – Back-To-Back Titles For Switzerland
For the second year in a row, a Swiss team has defeated a Swedish team in the Champions Hockey League final. On their home ice, the ZSC Lions defeated visiting Färjestad 2-1 before a sell-out crowd of 12,000 at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.