Women's hockey continues to grow and develop internationally. In Europe, leagues continue to shuffle to compete for players, and to improve the level of play. This season, it includes Germany's DFEL adding their first club from Slovakia to become a three-nation-league.
Germany's DFEL is adding a new team, from a new nation to become a three-nation circuit.
Last season the DFEL played with five teams, but the addition of Veolia Petržalka Bratislava, who transfers from the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) has Germany's top women's league set to open 2026-27 as a three-nation loop, and six-team league overall.
Established German teams including ECDC Memmingen, Eisbären Berlin, ERC Ingolstadt, and Mad Dogs Mannheim are all back. Last season the DFEL grabbed another club from the EWHL with the addition of HK Budapest. HK Budapest strengthened the league finishing second overall in the regular season as one of only two teams, following ECDC Memmingen to hit double digits in wins.
HK Budapest is a team built largely on Hungarian national team players, and Bratislava's entry does the same for Slovakia. The move was to keep Slovakia's best players together in the strongest league possible.
“Our central question was how to ensure that the country’s most talented players continue to be developed together at the highest level, instead of being spread across various foreign clubs," said Branislav Medzihorský, managing director of Veolia Petržalka Bratislava in a translated statement.
"Our goal is to create a professional, stable, and performance-oriented environment that sustainably supports the athletic development of our athletes. After a comprehensive analysis of various options, we identified the Blossom-ic DFEL as the ideal league to achieve this. It offers a high level of competition, professional conditions, and the opportunity to regularly compete against top teams from Germany and Hungary. We are proud to be part of the Blossom-ic DFEL in the future and look forward to the upcoming season and the new sporting challenges that lie ahead.”
For Germany's top league, it was an opportunity to provide more competition, and improve the calibre of play both for German national team members in the DFEL, and for the league itself.
"Our goal is to strengthen the competitiveness and level of play within the Blossom-ic DFEL to offer our players the best possible level. This year, we were able to secure the Veolia Petržalka Bratislava team," said Ronja Jenike, DEB Women's Performance Sports Officer in a translated statement. "Bratislava not only has a very professional environment, but also a clear vision of sporting competition that fully aligns with that of the DEB. We are delighted to have Bratislava on board."
Last season 13 members of Slovakia's senior national team that narrowly missed promotion to the top group of the IIHF World Championships played for Bratislava in the EWHL including soon-to-be Ohio State forward Ema Tothova, national team captain Janka Hlinka and national team alternate captains Laura Sulikova and Romana Kosecka. Slovak national team veteran Júlia Matejková finished 12th in DFEL scoring last season as a member of ECDC Memmingen.
Last season Boston Fleet forward Laura Kluge spent 12 games in the DFEL prior to the PWHL season, and Montreal Victoire netminder Sandra Abstreiter, who hails from Germany, has made stints in the league before as well.
