Puerto Rico’s next international hockey test will come on wheels, with a senior men’s side set to make the island’s World Skate Games debut in Asunción, Paraguay, from Oct. 2-18, 2026. The roster will blend island-based inline players with mostly U.S.-based ice players who bring varying levels of roller experience, and Rich Garvey will be behind the bench.
For the Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association, the trip is more than a first appearance at a major inline championship. It is another chance to put the program in front of young players on an island where ball hockey and inline hockey remain the practical entry points to the game.
“We have always wanted to represent Puerto Rico at the highest international level,” association president Scott Vargas said. “To do that, we need to be in world championships. We have not been able to reach that point through the IIHF yet, but this gives us that opportunity. It is the biggest stage we have played on so far.”
Puerto Rico joins a deep World Skate field
Twenty-three countries are expected to compete in inline hockey across senior and junior men’s and women’s classes in Paraguay. The wider World Skate Games is projected to draw more than 10,000 athletes and staff from over 100 nations, with 12 disciplines on the schedule, including speed skating, skateboarding, downhill events and roller derby.
Puerto Rico will play in Group C of the senior men’s inline competition alongside Germany, Uruguay, Chile and Russia. The United States, the 2024 senior men’s champion in Roccaraso, Italy, is in Group A with France, Namibia, Slovakia and Switzerland.
Eduardo Rojas, a member of the World Skate Inline Hockey Technical Commission, said Puerto Rico’s entry is a meaningful addition for the sport’s growth in Latin markets.
“It matters a great deal because it shows the game is expanding,” Rojas said. “As someone from a Latin background, I enjoy seeing more Spanish-speaking countries involved. Puerto Rico has American hockey infrastructure and knowledge along with the identity of a Latin country. I’m eager to see what they can do.”
Building from the floor up
Puerto Rico has been an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation since 2022, but it does not have the permanent indoor ice facility needed for full membership. The Aguadilla Ice Skating Arena was damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and never reopened.
PRIHA was formed in 2020 by players of Puerto Rican heritage from across North America. Its work has centered on expanding hockey access for the island’s population of 3.2 million while continuing to push for a new indoor ice rink.
The association opened an indoor dek and inline facility earlier this year, then started Liga Boricua as an inline league. It also introduced the Palos en Manos floor-hockey program at three schools, delivering 20 sticks, 20 balls and two nets to each site.
That groundwork was on display in August during Fiesta de Hockey in San Juan, a weekend that included an inline exhibition and the first NHL Street tournament held in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The program already has international results to point to. Puerto Rico’s men captured the 2025 IIHF Development Cup in Andorra, while the women won the 2025 IIHF Women’s 3×3 Series in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Garvey takes the bench
Vargas, a Tampa native who played NCAA Division III hockey at Finlandia University from 2012-15, said the Paraguay club is still learning what the world’s top inline teams will demand.
“Some players have a background in inline, and some do not,” Vargas said. “There is no pressure attached to only one outcome in our first time there. That is what makes this debut important. We have the chance to show people what this program can become.”
A group of Puerto Rican players received an early look at international roller hockey in June at the International Inline Hockey Series Andes Series in Bogotá, Colombia. Vargas described the competition as fast and highly tactical, a useful wake-up call for players likely to travel to Paraguay.
Garvey arrives with experience in both versions of the game. He has worked with Colombia’s ice and inline programs and coached Grand Canyon University in Phoenix to the National Collegiate Roller Hockey championship in 2024.
His measure of a successful tournament is not tied solely to the final standings.
“Hockey is hockey,” Garvey said. “We need to win the games we should win, have players rise above expectations and take a game, and I need to find a way to take one through an adjustment or a little gamesmanship during a game. If we get those three things done, I will view it as a success regardless of where we finish.”
After the horn
Puerto Rico’s World Skate debut gives the association a new international proving ground while its longer-term ice ambitions remain tied to building a permanent rink on the island. For now, the program’s pathway runs through sticks, balls, roller surfaces and a chance to test itself against established inline nations.
Next puck drop
Puerto Rico opens its first World Skate Games campaign in Asunción, Paraguay, during the Oct. 2-18, 2026 tournament.
