Here are the 2025 Kånken Youth Retention Award finalists
In June, the Kånken Youth Retention Award will be handed out for the sixth time, and while we still don’t know who will win the 10,000 euros – the first 5,000 coming from Fjällräven, and matched by the E.H.C Alliance – given to a youth program that emphasizes sustainability through social responsibility and high retention rates among its participants, we know now the five nominees.
This year's jury, which consists of executives from Fjällräven and the E.H.C., noted the rise of applications focusing on the players’ mental health, which is evidently a topic of concern.
Without any further ado … the nominees are:
Jar Idrettslag, Norway
The multi-sport club from the metropolitan Oslo region has a motto that states: “Flest mulig, lengst mulig, best mulig." It means "As many as possible, as long as possible, as good as possible," which is what recruitment and retention is all about. They also have an ambitious five-year plan to offer four coaching courses to interested individuals, free of charge.
Naprzód Janów Katowice, Poland
The club from the famed sports city of Katowice states their mission to be "education through sport" in which, through hockey, the players also learn teamwork, responsibility, decision-making, communication, resolving conflicts, punctuality, and other skills that will be useful to them later in life. The club also plans to hire a sports psychologist to help young people cope with everyday life problems and sports problems.
KooKoo Juniorit , Finland
In the southeastern corner of Finland, you’ll find KooKoo, and their junior organization that works hard to make hockey available to kids in the region. Their girls group has gone from 10 to 45 and the club also works with schools and preschools in the area by organizing skating schools for all five-year-olds (and their teachers) in the town of Kouvola.
Next step is to strengthen the girls’ program and build a mental coaching program, both areas that need support
Bílí Tygři Liberec, Czechia
While Liberec is the fifth largest town in Czechia, as far as hockey is concerned, the northern region is small, with only six clubs. That’s why Bili Tygri feels responsible for the development of the whole region. They regularly loan players to other clubs, and are now planning to have more multisports tournaments in Liberec, as well as seminars for coaches and parents in the region. The club’s hockey program is connected with primary school ZŠU Školy, and after practice coaches take kids to their school classrooms, only a five-minute walk away from the rink.
EV Zug, Switzerland
Things have been going well for the Swiss club … almost too well. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of inquiries from 10-to-15-year-olds who want to pick up hockey. In the U9 category, there are 60 children, and in U11, 55. Unfortunately, that means that it’s difficult for the club to take in all the children who would like to start playing hockey in Zug. A new program, “Young Bulls,” will provide a simple way for late starters to join the hockey world.
The prize money would go straight to “Young Bulls.”
Previous winners of the Kånken Youth Retention Award:
2020: Pilsen Wolves, CZE
2021: KAC Klagenfurt, AUT
2022: Junior Pelicans, FIN
2023: Kárpáti Farkasok, HUN
2024: Barani Banská Bystrica, SVK
The winner will be announced on 11 June at the E.H.C. European Hockey Awards Gala Dinner in Prague.
