Danny Stewart’s Nottingham Panthers, as well as the Panthers Nation, are beginning to visualise what their IIHF Continental Cup campaign could look like this coming season.

The only former victor in the upcoming, 2025/26 competition, and the first UK side to lift the trophy back in 2017, in Ritten, Italy, the IIHF have announced the full line-up with the Panthers, in November, entering at the semi-final stage.

Back in January 2017 the Nottingham Panthers won the Continental Cup, in Ritten, Italy, where they registered victories over Odense Bulldogs (2-0), Beibarys Atyrau (3-2), and Ritten Sport (4-1) to bring home the silverware.

The new-look, streamlined version of the Continental Cup sees eight sides enter in the quarter-finals, in mid-October, followed by another six a month later, in mid-November, the latter of which includes the Panthers.

Of the fourteen clubs involved, the eight to enter in October’s quarter-final stage are HK Mogo (Latvia), Budapest JAHC (Hungary), ACS Gyergyoi (Romania), HC Kremenchuk (Ukraine), Hockey Punks (Lithuania), KHL Sisak (Croatia), Crvena Zvezda (Serbia), and Narva (Estonia) – the Romanian side, ACS Gyergyoi, are making their competition debut.

In the semi-finals a further six clubs enter the fray, for November’s early winter dance, these are GKS Katowice (Poland), Nottingham Panthers (England), Herning Blue Fox (Denmark), Ducs D’Angers (France), Torpedo Ust-Kaminogorsk (Kazakhstan), and SC Cortina (Italy), the latter, having won the Italian championship, means that one of the 2026 Olympic host cities is represented.

Five of the competitors this time around appeared in last season’s competition – Katowice, Sisak, Mogo, Zvezda, and Narva; Herning are two-time silver medallists (2016 and 2024), D’Angers are silver (2015) and bronze medallists, and Katowice bronze last time around (2025).

An added incentive, if any was needed for the Panthers, the addition of former HC, Jonathan Paredes; at the helm throughout the 2023-24 EIHL season, Paredes was succeeded by Danny Stewart after he left for the continent, and Ducs D’Angers, with whom he won the Coup de France and finished runners-up in the league.

Announcements will be made in due course regarding dates, venues, and groups, with the competitions’ Grand Final scheduled for January 2026.

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @PanthersIHC Nottingham Panthers will take to Europe this winter.