Belgian Golden Stick 2026: Van Doren, Willems and Domene Fight for the Men’s Prize
Belgium hands out its Golden Stick on Sunday 29 November, and the shortlists landed this week. The men’s player prize is a proper fight.
Arthur Van Doren, Tommy Willems and Tomi Domene. That’s the list for the Stick d’Or, and here’s the bit that tells you where Belgian hockey’s power sits right now: all three will be playing Euro Hockey League hockey at Easter. Willems and Domene do it for Waterloo Ducks, the Belgian champions. Van Doren does it for Braxgata.
Van Doren’s name on a shortlist like this is almost a habit at this point, he’s been the standard for Belgian defenders for a decade. But Willems and Domene carried the Ducks to the title, and domestic voters tend to remember who lifted the trophy.
Two of the world’s best keepers, one prize
The men’s goalkeeper list is just as loaded. Pirmin Blaak, now at Rot-Weiss Köln, is shortlisted for his season with Braxgata. Vincent Vanasch, playing for Royal Léopold this year, gets the nod for his campaign with Orée. Both of them helped their clubs qualify for the EHL.
The third name is Jaime Carr, listed by the EHL as the 2025 EHL winner, shortlisted for his season with Gantoise.
Blaak v Vanasch is a debate Belgian hockey never gets tired of. A Golden Stick won’t settle it, but it’ll give one of them bragging rights until the play-offs.
The rest of the lists
On the women’s side, Gantoise’s Alix Gerniers, who helped her club to the Belgian title again, is shortlisted for player of the year alongside Antwerp pair Emma Puvrez and Michelle Struijk. The women’s goalkeeper list is KHC Dragons’ Maïté Bussels, rewarded after Dragons qualified for the EHL for the first time, with Braxgata’s Elena Sotgiu and Antwerp’s Maud Dewelde.
The men’s rising star list has Marin Van Heel and his Waterloo Ducks clubmate Charlie Langendries, plus Mathias Francois from Racing Club de Bruxelles. The women’s rising star shortlist is Gantoise’s Alexi Van Remortel against Waterloo pair Agathe Favart and Famke Van Heel.
And the coaches: Sean Dancer (Dragons) and Kevan Demartinis (Gantoise) on the women’s list; Jean Willems (Waterloo Ducks) and Philippe Goldberg (Braxgata) on the men’s.
Our take
For our money the men’s player prize is the story. Van Doren is the biggest name, but Willems and Domene won the league, and they won it together. Splitting that Ducks vote could let Van Doren through the middle, which is usually how these things go. We’ll find out on 29 November.
