It isn’t often that the relatively unknown domain of British ice hockey catches the eye across the continent.

But that is very much the case over the last few days thanks to Cardiff Devils and Nottingham Panthers who, thanks to landmark moments in the Champions Hockey League, are putting the Elite League on the map.

The team from the Welsh capital recorded their second group win in a row on Tuesday night against Swedes the Vaxjo Lakers, thumping them 5-1 on home ice. At the same time, the Panthers were making history by becoming the first British team to make the last 16 of Europe’s top hockey competition.

It is a group stage Braehead Clan graced two years ago (also playing Vaxjo) and would dearly love to one day return to. Yet while in the short-term there is no financial gain to be had for Clan as two of their EIHL rivals shine, Braehead hockey and operations director explains the benefits the Glasgow side will make the most of.

“The two results were phenomenal for the league,” said Chalmers. “The EIHL has progressed massively over the last three years. It’s now a very, very good standard.

“It is almost comparable to the Austrian league or the bottom end of the DEL [in Germany]. A lot of people work hard to try and improve things. It shows you how far the whole league has come.

“For Cardiff to beat Vaxjo and Nottingham to beat a team from Finland to qualify for the last 16, just 10 years ago it would have been unthinkable.

“There is no financial benefit but the prestige is there. It helps us recruit. It’s been seen as a bit of a goon league for guys wanting to retire. That’s certainly not the case now.

“We are punching well above our weight and this can only help the team recruit better players. The results certainly won’t have gone down well in Finland and Sweden! We’re not known as a hockey hot bed but I think we are turning heads.”

The signs are encouraging on a whole for British hockey and Clan may well benefit when the time for recruitment properly comes around again. But in the meantime it shows the strength of two of the league’s big hitters who have invested heavily to once again raise the hockey bar in the UK.

Chalmers explained: “What will happen going forward is the league will have one place in the Champions Hockey League and the play-off winners will go to the Continental Cup [hockey’s answer to the Europa League].

“I don’t think we will see more than one spot so we would need to win the league to get into the CHL.

“We have aspirations of winning trophies. We’d obviously like to do it but it’s going to get tougher and tougher. It’s more and more competitive.

“Having said that, we just need to glance to the table at the moment and you can see Manchester Storm right up there. They have started very well.

“Ryan [Finnerty, the former Clan head coach] has put up a good roster and it shows if you can get some consistency and play to your strengths anything can happen.”

Back to Clan matters, this Saturday will see the homecoming game for Braehead after four weeks on the road with the visit of Fife Flyers, a match sponsored by the Evening Times.

“We need to get off with a win and need a big performance,” added Chalmers. “We want to build continuity and momentum off this game for the team and supporters.

“It was always going to be very difficult. It’s not easy for the guys to be on the road for four weeks.

“We got a couple of wins and that’s a positive. We’d have liked one at the weekend in the double header with Cardiff and Guildford, though. We should be beating Guildord but Cardiff were always going to be difficult.

“Still,it shows there are no easy games this season and that’s why Saturday is important.”