When Gantoise lined out last week in the EHL Women’s FINAL8 in the Wagener Stadium, they did so with one of the freshest faced sides ever assembled for an EHL fixture.
In total, they had seven teenagers, two of which only reached the eligible age limit of 15 last August.
In so doing, Alexi van Remortel and Fee van den Abeele joined a very small group of players to hit the EHL turf before hitting their 16th birthday.
“It was a really nice experience,” said van Remortel who – at 15 years, seven months and 21 days – is nine days older than van den Abeele. “It is an amazing tournament and we are really happy to be here. It is an amazing chance for us.”
Van den Abeele added: “It is really cool to be here; we have a really nice team – everyone supports us here, no matter what age – even the oldest ones! We feel so comfortable in this team to be able to do what we want which is really cool!”
They are not quite the youngest of all time. In the EHL Women’s competition, that honour falls to their team mate Louise van Hecke who was a month younger when she played in 2022’s FINAL8.
On the boys side, meanwhile, last October’s EHL Men’s KO16 saw Malo Martinache come on in the 37th minute for Lille MHC against AH&BC Amsterdam at 15 years, five months and 21 days.
In total, just 12 players have stepped onto the field in EHL action since the first tournament back in 2007 before their 16th birthday,
Here’s the list in full:
| Name | Club | Age | Event |
| Malo Matinache | Lille MHC | 15 years 5 months 21 days | 2022 Men KO16 |
| Louise van Hecke | Gantoise | 15 years 6 months 26 days | 2022 Women FINAL8 |
| Cyrpien Fermaut | Racing Club de France | 15 years 7 months 10 days | 2018 Men KO16 |
| Alexi van Remortel | Gantoise | 15 years 7 months 21 days | 2023 Women FINAL8 |
| Fee van den Abeele | Gantoise | 15 years 7 months 30 days | 2023 Women FINAL8 |
| Anton Noshin | Dinamo Elektrostal | 15 years 8 months 14 days | 2018 Men ROUND1 |
| Volha Maskalevich | HC Minsk | 15 years 8 months 26 days | 2021 Women Ranking Cup |
| James Croll | Grange | 15 years 8 months 29 days | 2019 Men KO16 |
| Findlay Halliday | Kelburne | 15 years 10 months 2 days | 2017 Men ROUND1 |
| Robbert Rubens | KHC Dragons | 15 years 10 months 4 days | 2012 Men Round 1.2 |
| Hugo Verrier | Saint Germain | 15 years 10 months 7 days | 2019 Men KO16 |
| Anton Borras | Real Club de Polo | 15 years 11 months 25 days | 2019 Men KO16 |