Five standouts from the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour

Happy Friday! Melissa Burgess from The Ice Garden here to bring you this week’s news from around the women’s hockey world.

Internationally, this past week featured the first tournament of the annual Women’s Euro Hockey Tour. Sweden, Switzerland, Finland & Czechia kicked off the season at the 4-Nations Tournament in Kloten, Switzerland from Aug. 19-22.

Each team played three games over the tournament. Sweden was the only team to win two games, with a pair of 4-2 wins over Switzerland and Czechia. Each of the other three teams won one game, with Switzerland also earning an overtime win (OTW) over Finland.

Through six games, there were a few players who will be key to watch in the upcoming tournaments, making an immediate impact for their team.

Lara Stalder

2026-27 team: EVZ Women’s Team (SWHL A)

Stalder is Switzerland’s captain for a reason. Her leadership on and off the ice is evident, and she wasted no time making an impact. She finished the games with three goals and two assists for five points.

After assisting on Naemi Herzig’s opening goal for Switzerland, Stalder scored one of her own later in the opening period of the 4-2 win over Sweden. She added two goals, including a penalty shot, in a 4-3 win over Finland.

Stalder missed the last period of her team’s game against Czechia with injury. Reports from the Zuger Zeitung indicate that Stalder will travel to Sweden for her team’s training camp, though the full extent of her injury is unknown.

Alina Müller

2026-27 team: Hamilton (PWHL)

Müller coming in clutch for Switzerland in international play? Stop me if you’ve heard that one before. Müller, who earlier this year scored the bronze-medal winning goal at the Winter Olympics, scored three goals at the tournament. Two of her three goals were game-winning tallies, including one in overtime.

Müller is set to debut with PWHL Hamilton later this year when the franchise makes its official entree on the ice. She spent the last three seasons in Boston, putting up 56 points in 80 games to date.

Hilda Svensson

2026-27 team: Ohio State University (NCAA)

Svensson led Sweden with four points, including three goals, in the tournament. She scored twice in the 4-2 win over Czechia, including the game-winning goal. She also added a goal in the team’s loss to Switzerland.

Svensson is set to return for her sophomore season at Ohio State. Last season, she led the Buckeyes with 52 points, including 34 assists, in just 33 games.

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Hanna Thuvik

2026-27 team: Brynäs IF (SDHL)

Thuvik is a great playmaker, a skill she showcased at the tournament. The Swedish forward recorded three assists. More impressively, all three assists came in the 4-2 win over Czechia.

She registered secondary assists on goals by Maja Nylén-Persson and Hilda Svensson, as well as the lone assist on a power play goal by Lina Ljungblom.

Thuvik, an alternate captain for Brynäs, is heading into her seventh season with the team. Last year, she registered 37 points in 34 games, including 18 assists.

Ebba Svensson Träff

2026-27 team: Linköping HC (SDHL)

Svensson Träff appeared in two games for Sweden. Her tournament opened with a 4-2 loss to Switzerland, with four goals allowed on 26 shots faced. Though it wasn’t an ideal start, she bounced back really nicely. In her second appearance, she recorded a 34-save shutout against Finland.

The 21-year-old is heading into her seventh SDHL season. She appeared in six games at the 2026 Winter Olympics and finished with a 1.39 GAA. In SDHL play, she appeared in 33 games and had a 2.28 GAA.

(As an aside, it’s incredibly frustrating that we’re still dealing with incomplete statistics in women’s hockey. A few of the games do not have any shot totals listed, which makes it impossible to accurately evaluate goaltenders’ play!)

The next tournament in the Tour will be held in Lahti, Finland from Sept. 30 – Oct. 3. Two additional legs of the season will be held in late October and early April. Most of these players will also participate in the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark in November.

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More from the world of women’s hockey:

Malia Schneider embraces a new offseason challenge: Ball hockey by Maya Smith

Is Montréal’s forward group as deadly as it looks? by Dylan Nazareth

Why PWHL fans are watching owner Mark Walter’s financial moves so closely by NBC News

Missing PWHL championship trophy found, returned to Victoire by Associated Press

Hilary Knight talks Detroit PWHL’s new home, Internet searches and pizza by Detroit Free Press (video)

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