Every practice, game and tournament for the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team this season will serve as preparation for the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milano and Cortina, Italy.

In the first major test of the season, Team USA is set to travel to Ostrava, Czech Republic, for the 2025 International Para Hockey Cup, this coming Oct. 20-26.

Every game from the 2025 IPH Cup will stream live on the Czechia Para Hockey YouTube.

Seeking their fourth straight IPH Cup title, the Americans will compete against host Czechia, Canada, China and Italy. Those nations are all considered medal contenders at the upcoming Paralympics, which will kick off March 6.

The U.S. is undefeated in IPH Cup play since the event’s 2022 debut. A year ago, the Americans defeated Canada 5-3 in the championship game at Ostravar Arena.

While the Americans will look to keep that perfect record intact this year, David Hoff, head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, and his staff will be evaluating their players to fine-tune the roster for the upcoming season.

“We haven’t really finished the tryout process,” Hoff said. “We’re still down to about 22 guys, looking to get to 17, and so this is a great event for us to go over and play five games and try to get our roster where it [needs to be]. It’ll be a good competitive environment for our guys to play in.”

Captain Josh Pauls said he and his U.S. teammates hope to make a statement in Ostrava while learning where their competitors stand.

“In the end, it’s a way that we can send a message that we’re ready to go,” said Pauls, a 32-year-old defenseman and the only sled hockey player ever to win four Paralympic gold medals. “Just because we won [the World Championship] last year doesn’t really mean a whole lot. We have another goal in mind at the end of this season. That’s kind of where our heads are at.”

The Americans won’t have to wait long to be challenged. They will play against Canada, which the U.S. has beat in the IPH Cup championship game the last three years, in their opening preliminary-round game on Monday.

Pauls said that while the U.S. wants to win the tournament, the early part of this season will be more about gradual improvement than piling up victories. He added that the goal is to peak at the Paralympic Games.

“I’m really excited just to see, from the top to the bottom of the roster, what improvements the guys made,” he said. “We can’t necessarily control the results. We can only control our actions.

“We need contributions up and down the lineup, and I think we’ve done a great job of getting that. We can play three lines against pretty much anybody in the world.”

His coach loves that depth.

“If we make our depth better, the cream of the crop just continues to get pushed higher and higher,” Hoff said. “It’s just how do we continue to improve our depth?”

In addition to Pauls, the U.S. will rely on such veteran players as Travis Dodson, Declan Farmer, Noah Groves, Brody Roybal and Jack Wallace, among others. Pauls also pointed to the infusion of talented younger players in recent years.

“We’ve been fortunate to turn young players that were good into players that are great,” said Pauls, who credited the dedication of those players and USA Hockey’s grassroots program with producing them.

The IPH Cup takes on even more importance during a Paralympic year, Pauls said. He noted that because the season will end after the Games, it’s much more compressed than usual.

“We’re done in March,” Pauls said. “This [IPH Cup] isn’t just going to be any tournament. This is five medal contenders in the Paralympics, potentially. That’s really exciting, and it’s a great opportunity that we need to take advantage of.”

The compressed 2025-26 schedule creates challenges for Hoff and his entire staff.

He wants his players to be at their best in Italy, so he and the team’s medical staff will have to come up with a plan to not overwork players during the compressed schedule.

The goal is to return to the Paralympic gold-medal game with a chance to win it all for the fifth straight time.

“We have to do that by focusing on being our best day in and day out,” Pauls said. “We’re pretty excited to just kind of get going. I’m ready to play hockey again.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.