During the 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina the majority of the top players and teams in the world will be competing in Italy. But the rest of the world is not stopping to watch. 

In fact, six nations will send teams to Klagenfurt, Austria to compete in a tournament beginning February 4. Among those nations will be Denmark, Norway, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and a second roster from Switzerland, who will send their top team to the Olympics.

For Switzerland, it's an opportunity to evaluate players who could step into their national program in the future.

“We keep a close eye on the talents and want to specifically promote their development. All players are given the chance to put themselves in the spotlight with good performances,” said Melanie Häfliger, who will serve as coach for Switzerland's development team in a translated release.

The Swiss roster will feature 11 players born in 2006 and 2007, but there will also be some veteran leadership in Alena Lynn Rossel, Alizée Aymon (21), Nina Harju, and Elena Gaberell who have all spent time with Switzerland's national team, but were omitted from their Olympic roster.

Austria will be the lone nation at the six nation tournament to also have a PWHL presence. Both Theresa Schafzahl, who plays for the first place Boston Fleet, and Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Anna Meixner will suit up for their nation during the tournament.

Meixner was recently part of a six-player trade that sent her from the Ottawa Charge to Vancouver.

Austria will field a strong roster with their top European players, PWHLers, and a handful of their NCAA players involved. At the NCAA level, Austria now fields the fifth most players of any nation following USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland. Defenders Anna Billa (Holy Cross) and Laura Nagy (Long Island) will both compete.

While the top division of the IIHF women's World Championships were moved to November this year, the remainder of the tournament's will remain in their typical March and April time slots.

Norway is using this as a final opportunity for players to showcase themselves ahead of the World Championships.

"There are especially many younger players knocking on the door, and it is incredibly exciting to follow their development," Norway's head coach André Lysenstøen said in a translated news release about the opportunity for players to earn a spot from this event.

"The February meeting is always a little extra exciting because it comes so close to the World Championship," he continued. "The goal of this meeting is therefore to get our game set properly, with a focus on the playing system and basic principles. At the same time, I hope that we will get answers to which players have what it takes to perform in the World Championship."

Norway will be without top goaltender Ena Nystrøm who is recovering from injury. In her place the nation will bring a pair of 17-year-old netminders in Tuva Are-Ekstrøm and Shiva Nobari who recently represented Norway at the U-18 World Championships. 

Notable names on Norway's roster include Emma Bergesen, who signed this offseason with the PWHL's Ottawa Charge before being released in training camp, along with long time national team veterans up front in Andrea Dalen and Mathea Fischer. Nine members of Norway's roster are currently competing in the SDHL.

Slovakia's senior national team continues to move in the right direction with a larger than ever number of players heading to North American for prep and NCAA programs. At this tournament however, Slovakia will rely on their European based players as their top players who are overseas will remain with their programs.

"We have all the players from Europe that we wanted, so we are satisfied with the squad. We are just missing the girls from overseas, namely Tatiana Blichová, Lilien Beňáková, Michaela Paulínyová, Nela Lopušanová and Lívia Debnárová. We also wanted to see goalkeeper Mariana Sumegová in action," said head coach Miroslav Mosnár in a translated release. "On the other hand, other players will get a chance and the nomination also includes three hockey players who played at the recent U-18 World Championships."

Among those newcomers is 17-year-old Alica Juríková who will make her senior national team debut after being named a top three player on Slovakia's roster at the 2026 U-18 World Championships in Canada. Slovakia does have one forward, Ema Tothova, who is heading to North American next season to play NCAA hockey for Ohio State.

Hungary was mere seconds from a chance to advance to the Olympics in a deciding game against Germany. Instead, the Germans are in Italy, and Hungary must settle for competing in the six nations tournament in Austria. 

Their national team roster for this event looks a lot like the one the one that fought for Olympic qualification mixing veterans like Lotti Odnoga, Réka Dabasi, and Alexandra Huszák with young talent like Réka Hiezl and Lili Hajdu who recently represented Hungary at the U-18 World Championships.

Slovakia, Hungary, and Norway are all set to face each other in the Division 1A tournament. Austria and Denmark will be in the top division along with Switzerland's first team.