Royal Léopold return to the EHL after a two-year break having won the Belgian Honor Division last season with a sensational regular campaign.

And while they missed out in the playoff semi-finals on the overall national crown, they have started this term in flying form with four wins from five outings and have a four-point lead over Gantoise already. It includes a 4-3 away success against Gantoise and, notably, a 2-1 victory over KHC Dragons. 

They have a reasonably settled squad, augmented during the summer by the return of Red Lion Nicolas Poncelet from AH&BC Amsterdam while Adam Burnotte (White Star) adds to their goalkeeping options.

Maxime Bertrand – an EHL winner with Waterloo Ducks – is on board as T2 following a spell with Pingouin, replacing Thomas Van Den Balck.

It is a side packed with international talent with EHL winners Gauthier Boccard (Waterloo Ducks) and Elliot van Strydonck (Oranje Zwart, Waterloo Ducks) in situ. Goal machine Tom Boon already has nine to his name this season.

French duo Jean-Baptiste Forgues and Gaspard Baumgarten are well embedded in the club which features a number of long-time club men like Dimitri Cuvelier, Romain Henet, Tanguy Zimmer, Arthur and John Verdussen, Dylan Englebert, Lewis Eaton, Tom Degroote and Max Muschs. All have been part of the side for the last five years.

Their opening EHL KO16 fixture sees them face Havrestehuder THC in a potentially epic tussle.