Ultimately, this is not a list of who I think will be the best late-round picks or a ranking, but five players I watched this year that I think deserve consideration. We’ve seen depth picks play crucial roles, eat tough minutes, and have playoff heroics in recent PWHL seasons, proving that nailing the late-round picks can make a huge impact. In 2024, I wrote about Anna Kjellbin (also seen in the Most Improved Players article!), Rylind MacKinnon, Darcie Lappan, Chayla Edwards, and Ilona Markov. In 2025, the featured players were Vanessa Upson, Ena Nystrøm, Lily Delianedis, Morgan Neitzke, and Lyndie Lobdell. Four of those players have played regular minutes in the PWHL, two of them have been on and off the reserve list, and four have not appeared in the PWHL.

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Kayleigh Hamers - LHD - SDE - 29 - Netherlands

Summary: The captain of the Dutch Women’s National Team, Hamers has a long list of IIHF recognition for her performances in the DIIA/DIIB/DIA World Championships, and has ascended to one of the most reliable and longest tenured defenders in the SDHL. Since she joined SDE in 2015, she has helped the team go from a bottom-of-the-table finish to consistently making the playoffs, accumulating 178 points in 380 games.

Why someone should draft her: Hamers is an experienced defender who, while she’s been used in a more offensive role with her SDHL team, has shown the skills defensively to be effective in a more depth role. We saw her excel in a more defensive role last year as a result of SDE’s addition of Dominika Lásková, particularly in the semifinal series against Frölunda, where she consistently won her minutes against some of the best lines in the PWHL. She is unafraid to challenge opposing players and charge directly into every inch of available space, but also effectively evaluates the risk of doing so to eliminate turnovers, and is very communicative with her defense partners. Hamers has good “baseline” skills that should translate to the PWHL as one of the more physical defenders in the SDHL. Her offensive skills are less likely to get the chance to shine in the PWHL, but she has fairly good puckhandling skills, and has been called upon to take shootouts for SDE and the Netherlands before. She was used a lot in power plays and six on five situations for SDE due to her ability to get the puck into the slot from the boards, even sometimes as low as the goal line.

Here is highlights from one of her better games, although SDE ultimately lost:

SDE has produced or rostered some PWHL-level defenders, with Dominika Lásková joining last year, but also defenders like Madison Bizal, Jessica Adolfsson, and Dominique Kremer, and Hamers has outplayed basically all of them on both sides of the puck. Forwards Gabrielle David and Sam Cogan also went to SDE and returned to the PWHL at the end of the season, looking improved. What teams players come from matters, and SDE has a good reputation for producing players who can compete for PWHL minutes.

Why she might fall: She’s 29 and from the Netherlands and has played her whole career in Europe. She doesn’t get the benefit of playing in the top division, and the Netherlands hasn’t even consistently been in DIA, which will make teams worry about how she will handle a faster/more physical league. Ultimately, it will be how much teams trust the defensive side of the game to translate.

Emerson Jarvis - Center - Quinnipiac - 21 - Canada

Summary: Jarvis is probably the most well known/highest rated player I have on this list, and thus a little out of place, but I dig her too much to not write about her. Most have her in the third round, so she still fits. After transferring out of Ohio State her freshman year, Jarvis spent the last three seasons at Quinnipiac, and saw her production explode in her senior year when she had 38 points in 41 games. Jarvis played with more confidence this past year, trying things offensively we may not have seen from her in years past and challenging defenses more directly.

Why someone should pick her: One of the best things that can help you transition to the PWHL is being a high-quality skater, and Jarvis can skate. Not only does she have a ton of speed, but she also skates beautifully, and I mean beautifully. It’s one thing to be fast, but she’s just incredibly technically sound. In a draft lacking centers, Javis’s skating gives her the upside to stand out from some of the other forwards expected to go third round or later in the draft.

Why she might fall: As said earlier, she won’t fall that much, but the biggest knock against her is that her senior year was significantly better than any other year, and the ECAC was weaker this year. Additionally, she’s never been the best player in her program (Kahlen Lamarche, who had 64 points last year, would lead the way for Quinnipiac), which is what likely keeps her out of the first two rounds.

Gracie Gilkyson - LHD - Yale - 23 - Canada

Summary: Gilkyson spent four years at Yale primarily as their number two or number three defender, where she collected a handful of ECAC Defender of the Week/Month accolades, blocked shots, and played on the second power play unit. We got to see Gilkyson’s offensive side more this year, playing alongside Molly Boyle, where she recorded a career high of 27 points in 36 games.

Why someone should draft her: A team will be able to put Gilkyson in and not worry much. We likely won’t get to see any of the offensive side of Gilkyson we saw in her senior year translate to the PWHL level, but she’s a very smart player who takes efficient routes, gets passes into high-danger areas, and is a demon in board battles. At worst, she should be a third-pair defender, but I’m a big believer that after adjusting to the league, she could have room to grow with how well she sees the game

Why she might fall: She doesn’t necessarily have a physical attribute that makes her stand out (good shot, speed, etc.), as fellow former teammate Vita Poniatovskaia has with her skating, and even Poniatovskaia didn’t get drafted or find regular minutes last year despite being held in higher regard. You could also draw similarities between her and Emma Seitz, who ended up in the SDHL instead. But, with expansion, it might end up being the right place and right time for Gilkyson.

Alexis Petford - RW - Colgate - 22 - Canada

Summary: The people (me) are saying it’s the summer of NEWHA. After Brooklyn Schneiderhan became the first Saint Anselm (RIP their DI program as they go DIII along with the school’s athletic program) in Switzerland, we will likely see the first NEWHA alumni make the PWHL with Petford. She spent her first two years at Stonehill before transferring to Colgate, her offense taking only the minor hit you’d expect going to a stronger conference. Petford finished her NCAA career scoring 138 points in 151 games, including 33 points in 36 games her senior year.

Why someone should pick her: Petford has the kind of shot you can’t teach and that you don’t see a ton of in late draft rounds, and that will make a team feel she’s worthwhile in investing in. The fact that she took very little time to adjust to the tougher competition in the ECAC should give a team confidence that she could adjust again to the PWHL.

Why she might fall: It’s hard to know exactly how her game will look in a more in-depth role with less space. Her offensive talents are strong but not so strong that she will likely crack a team’s top six, and she sometimes struggled to make quick decisions against the faster defenses she faced in college

Erica Rieder - LHD - Luleå - 29 - Canada

Summary: Erica Rieder joined MoDo in the SDHL in 2019 and spent three seasons there before taking time off from hockey to attempt to make the Summer Olympics at Cycling. This article from The Ice Garden’s/Title IX writer and hockey player Sally Hoerr discusses Rieder’s journey and paints a picture of someone who has incredible physical ability, knows her body well, and takes on new challenges head on. The narrative matches what we’ve seen on the ice, especially in her return to Luleå the past two years. It was as if no time had passed, with Rieder instantly getting top minutes and stepping up big as Luleå dealt with key injuries to players like Nadia Mattivi and Jenni Hiirikoski. She’s put up 20 points in each of her last two regular seasons, and was only on the ice for 14 goals against last year.

Why someone should pick her: Rieder is comfortable doing the unglamorous work. She’ll clean up net front, get in board battles, and put her body on the line to recover the puck. Her achievements in the fitness realm will play a big part in how a team values her. Having someone who can reliably handle the travel, pace, and physicality of the PWHL is no small thing. Additionally, Rieder did well playing the bumper position on the power play for Luleå this season. While I don’t expect a PWHL team to utilize her there the same way, it might be good for a team to have in their back pocket

Why she will fall: Besides just her age and untraditional experience, Rieder had a very rough series against Brynäs in the SDHL playoffs. She frequently overcommitted and got beaten by the speed of Brynäs’ top line. At the same time, all of Luleå had a shockingly sloppy series where they looked like they were phoning it in, and Brynäs had a team of destiny thing going, so maybe it wasn’t a her thing? She had a great regular season. Rieder would do best in a sheltered third-pair minutes role, and I think she does end up there, but the question is whether a team will use a draft spot on that or wait to invite her to training camp.

PWHL (USA and Canada)

Photo via the PWHL on Instagram

Headlines:

• Montreal Victoire wins the 2026 PWHL Championship
  The Victoire beat the Charge three games to one in the PWHL finals to win the franchise’s first championship. Marie Philip Poulin was named Playoffs MVP, and defender Maggie Flaherty won her third straight PWHL championship. The Victoire celebrated with a Championship parade attended by over 20,000 people.

• The PWHL announces expansion teams in Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose, and Hamilton
  The Detroit expansion team will play in Little Caesars Arena. Famous Canadian goaltender Manon Rhéaume was hired as general manager. She most recently worked in hockey operations with the Los Angeles Kings and as director of Detroit’s Little Caesars AAA girls Hockey Program. Detroit also hired Josh Sciba as their head coach, who was an assistant coach for the New York Sirens and the US Women’s National Team.
  
  PWHL Hamilton will play in TD Coliseum, and is led by USWNT Gold Medalist Meghan Duggan as general manager and former Boston Fleet coach Kris Sparre. As an executive, Duggan worked with the New Jersey Devils, moving up the ranks to Director of Player Development. Sparre, hired by the Boston Fleet last year and named a finalist for PWHL coach of the year, is originally from Mississauga and mentioned that he made the move to be closer to home.
  
  Las Vegas hired former CAA Women’s Hockey player agent Dominique DiDia as their general manager. Didia worked for the Los Angeles Kings for over a decade before becoming a player agent, representing names like Hannah Bilka, Blayre Turnbull, and Aerin Frankel. The team has not yet publicly named a head coach, and will play out of T-Mobile Arena.

  
  San Jose’s expansion team will play out of the SAP Center and be coached and managed by Troy Ryan, who coached both the Toronto Sceptres and the Canadian Women’s National Team last season. No PWHL team has had one as both their GM and coach before this.

• PWHL releases official expansion procedure
  All information on the PWHL expansion process can be found in both English and French here.

• 2026 PWHL Draft eligibility list published, featuring 236 players
  The list can be found here. The PWHL draft will take place in Detroit on June 17th at 5 PM Eastern Time.

• Seattle Torrent part ways with head coach Steve O’Rourke
  The firing comes after Seattle finished last in the PWHL standings. Before this, O’Rouke’s experience came primarily in junior men’s hockey.

• Vancouver Goldeneyes fire Brian Idalski

  Idalski coached the inaugural season for the Goldeneyes, where they finished in sixth place, but did win the gold plan to get the first overall draft pick.

• Savannah Harmon and Hannah Brandt announce retirement

  Toronto Sceptres defender Savannah Harmon retires after eight years of post-collegiate hockey. During her college career at Clarkson, Harmon won two championships as captain of the Golden Knights and was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier award. She’d go on to play for the Buffalo Beauts in the NWHL/PHF, the PWHPA, and the Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres in the PWHL. Internationally, she won two gold medals and three silver medals at the World Championships, alongside a 2022 Olympic Silver medal, for Team USA.

  
  Hannah Brandt announced her retirement, pursuing a career as a physician’s assistant after spending the last three seasons as a forward with the Boston Fleet. Before the PWHL, Brandt played with the PWHPA and the Minnesota Whitecaps of the NWHL/PHF, where she won a championship in their inaugural season. Her college years were spent at the University of Minnesota, where Brandt won three NCAA Championships and was named a Patty Kazmaier finalist three times. Brandt was also part of the 2018 USWNT that broke the program's 20-year gold medal drought and won three World Championships. She’d make her way back to the Olympics in 2022 and won silver.

SDHL (Sweden)

Headlines and Major Transactions:

• Luleå signs Ebba Hedqvist and Aoi Shiga, re-signs Franziska Stocker and Jenna Donohue

  Headlining Luleå’s signings is Ebba Hedqvist, a forward who spent the last five seasons with MoDo. Although Hedqvist signed a two-year deal with MoDo last season, she was able to work out an arrangement with the team to break the contract and sign for three seasons with Luleå. At just 19 years old, Hedqvist made Sweden’s Olympic team and had a breakout tournament at the 2025 World Championships, with five goals and one assist in six games. At the club level, Hedqvist was 14th in league scoring with 27 points in 35 regular-season games.

  
  Also coming over from MoDo is Aoi Shiga, sister of Luleå forward Akane Shiga. Last year was Aoi’s first season in the SDHL after several years with the Japanese National Team, and she led all of MoDo’s defenders in points with 17 points in 36 regular-season games.
  
  Luleå is also bringing back Italian defender Franziska Stocker and American forward Jenna Donohue. Stocker was brought on as an injury replacement for Jenni Hiirikoski after her stellar performance at the Olympics, and had three points in six playoff games for Luleå after only playing two regular-season games with the club. Donohue played her first post-collegiate season with Luleå and had 12 points in 36 games.

• Defenders Ebba Berglund and Courtney Vorster extend with MoDo
  Berglund is a shutdown defender with over ten years of experience in the SDHL. Having served as MoDo’s captain the last two years, she will also take on a new role in the front office doing administrative work, with the intention of preparing her for a future in sports business.
  
  Vorster, a Canadian-born defender, has become a steady presence on SDHL bluelines since she first signed in the league in 2023. She made the move over to MoDo last year after spending her first two seasons with Leksands, and accumulated 13 points in 36 games.

• Justine Reyes signs with HV71

  Reyes is a forward with the Italian National Team who spent last year with MoDo. She has experience in the NCAA, the PHF, the DFEL, and the EWHL, and three seasons in the SDHL. Her best season was in 2023-2024 with Linköping, where she had 23 goals in 25 games.

• Josefine Holmgren, Emma Söderberg, Mathea Fischer, and Kayleigh Hamers extend with SDE

  Holmgren is one of the league’s most veteran defenders, having played primarily in the SDHL or its earlier iterations since 2007. Last season, she returned to the SDHL after two years in Switzerland.
  
  Emma Söderberg started in 17 regular-season games for SDE last year, posting a .931 save percentage. With Kassidy Sauvé leaving SDE, Söderberg will likely be the primary starter for SDE next year rather than the split tandem situation she was in last year.
  
  For the forward group, Norwegian National Team forward Mathea Fischer returns for her fifth season with SDE. She was named captain last season and scored 24 points in 35 games alongside a stellar postseason performance of nine points in seven games.

  
  Another longtime member of SDE’s core who extended is Kayleigh Hamers. The Dutch defender has played with SDE since 2015 and developed into one of the league’s best defenders, playing top-pair minutes and scoring 24 points in 36 games last year. However, Hamers declared for the PWHL draft. If selected, she’ll likely start the year in SDE before coming over to North America. It was not stated if any of SDE’s other players who are eligible for the PWHL through free agency (such as Söderberg, who played in the PWHL previously) have opt-out clauses.

• Julia Shaunessy extends with HV71

  Shaunessy joined HV71 after being cut from Boston Fleet’s training camp, and was highly impactful in her twelve games played, with six goals and two assists.

• Emma Forsgren signs with Skellefteå
  Forsgren is a fringe Swedish National Team defender who’s played at Brynäs, SDE, Djurgårdens, and now Skellefteå. At only age 23, she has extensive experience both in the SDHL and internationally.

• Brynäs and Färjestad to play outdoor game at Tierp Arena

  In partnership with the SHL, the SDHL will have an outdoor game between Brynäs and Färjestad at Tierp Arena, an outdoor racetrack. The game will take place on December 19th. The last time an outdoor game of this scale was done in Sweden was in 2013, between two SHL teams.

• Long time Luleå defender Johanna Fällman retires
  Fällman began playing high-level hockey in an earlier iteration of the SDHL in 2006 and would ultimately spend fifteen seasons in the league. She won the league championships seven times, including five consecutive wins with Luleå, helping build their dynasty. Her career also took her to North America, where she played three seasons with Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA and one season with the inaugural PWHL New York team. Internationally, she represented Sweden at one Olympic Games and seven World Championships.

Other Transactions:

Previous Team/extension in parentheses

• Brynäs: Oona Koukkula (extension)

• Djurgårdens: Tea Løkke Nyberg (HV71), Elina Sydenhag (Luleå’s NDHL team), Johanna Eldebäck (Rögle)

• Färjestad: Alva Johnsson (SDE), Alli Borrow (last played for Färjestad in 2025)

• HV71: Alva Solberg (extension), Eimear Leacy (extension)

• Linköping: Cassidy Maplethorpe (Rögle), Marthe Pabsdorff Brunvold (extension), Tilde Sjödin (Luleå)

• Luleå: Fanny Aneborn (SUNY-Cortland), Nella Berg (HPK)

• MoDo: Moa Johannesson (extension)

• SDE: Linnea Adelbertsson (extension), Emmi Juusela (SDE), Izabel Ryding (extension), Alva Vitalisson (Hammarby), Zsofia Pazmandi (Lindenwood University), Malou Hassinen (AIK)

• Skellefteå AIK: Sara Bjurvén (extension), Malou Berggren (extension), Ellen Lövgren (extension), Laura Lerchová (extension)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines and Major Transactions:

• Two-time MVP Estelle Duvin signs with Fribourg-Gottéron

  French forward Estelle Duvin is one of the league’s best players, with 215 points in 106 games and two MVP titles to her name. After spending three years with Bern and winning a championship with them in 2025, Duvin is moving to Fribourg-Gottéron. Duvin is the latest, but certainly the biggest, player leaving Bern as part of their major roster turnover.

• Millie Rose Sirum and Mira Seregély sign with EV Zug
  Millie Rose Sirum is a Norwegian National Team defender who played for Skellefteå in the SDHL last year, but terminated her contract towards the end of the regular season after 33 games, where she scored 18 points. Before the SDHL, she played four seasons with Holy Cross and one with Providence in the NCAA.
  
  Mira Seregély is a Hungarian forward who played with HK Budapest after spending four years at the University of Maine. The 22-year-old was fifth in points in the DFEL last year, with 30 points in 24 games, and had three assists at the 2026 DIA World Championships.

• Kaitlin Jockims and Avery Farrell sign with Davos
  Jockims is a Cornell graduate, playing her first post-collegiate season with Djurgårdens and scoring nine goals in 36 games. The 24-year-old Canadian will look to find a more offensive spark on a Davos team looking to compete for a championship.
  
  Avery Farrell is a rookie forward who played one year at Franklin Pierce before transferring to St. Cloud State, and had a strong senior year with 21 points in 36 games.

Other Transactions

Previous Team/extension in parentheses

• Fribourg-Gottéron: Nora Daneel (extension), Aiyana Vuillemin (Langenthal), Manon Jossevel (Zunzgen-Sissach), Liv Hunziker (extension), Lou Krebs (extension), Marie-Sophie Müller (extension).

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Major Headlines and Transactions:

• Minttu Tuominen named coach of Kiekko-Espoo

  Minttu Tuominen retired at the end of the 2025 season, then unretired for the 2026 playoffs to help Kiekko-Espoo win another championship. Now, the legendary Finnish defender will take over as head coach for the Auroraliiga dynasty. After Kiekko-Espoo won the championship this season, head coach Sami Haapanen announced he’d be stepping down from the head coaching role. He will stay on as an assistant coach for the time being.

• Anni Keisala joins HPK as coach
  After announcing her retirement at the end of the 2026 season, Anni Keisala will take over as the goaltending coach for HPK.

• Emmi Loponen signs with HPK
  One of the most promising young players in Auroraliiga is leaving Kärpät for HPK. 17-year-old forward Emmi Loponen had 29 points in 31 games last year, leading the league in points by a U18 player by 13 points. At HPK, she will join one of the league’s other young prospects, Eva Lamberg.

• Jenna Lehtiniemi and Veera Huotari announce retirement
  Lehtiniemi was a member of Ilves’ blue line for the last decade, and served as either assistant captain or captain for the majority of that time. She retires sixth all-time in games played for the franchise with 271.
  
  Veera Huotari played in Auroraliiga and earlier versions of the league since 2015, splitting her time between Kärpät and HIFK, where she ended her career. She was part of the 2023 and 2024 Championship-winning teams with HIFK and was awarded the 2026 Auroraliiga Scholastic Player of the Year.

Other Additions

Previous Team in parentheses

HPK: Miia Vainio (TPS), My Lau (Rögle), Henni Virtanen (Kiekko-Espoo), Riia Saarni (Kiekko-Espoo), Julia Kuusisto (Ilves), Helen Strömberg (Ilves), Aino-Emilia Tammisto (HC Nokia U16), Kaisla Kortelainen (TPS)

Kiekko Espoo: Lilia Huovinen (Kuortane), Tanja Koljonen (VSV Lady Hawks), Sinna Varjonen (Kuortane), Jennika Ojala (Kuortane), Kiti Seikkula (HPK), Heta Seikkula (HPK), Moona Keskisarja (RoKi), Susanna Viitala (TPS)

Pelicans: Jade Mäkivaara (TPS), Veera Paroinen (KalPa), Pinja Niemistö (Kuortane), Saimi Lehto (Ilves), Lotta Leskinen (Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia)

TPS: Keira Bolt (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire), Annika Marjatsalo (EjL U18), Kiia Narinen (KalPa)

Other

• Brian Idalski hired to coach the Czech Women’s National Team, Ivo Mocek brought on as an assistant
  Ideleski coached the Vancouver Goldeneyes in the 2025-2026 season before being fired, and has previous Olympic experience with the Chinese Women’s National Team. He is best known for his time coaching the University of North Dakota
  
  Ivo Mocek is a Czech native who broke into the women’s hockey scene by coaching the Metropolitan Riveters from 2019 to 2023. After the league folded, he coached in the Chinese Women’s Hockey League with Shenzhen KRS and was a consultant for the national team.

• IIHF adds Division IV to the Women’s World Championships with Iran, Belarus, India, and Singapore in November 2027, updates inclusion policies on Belarus and Russia
  Iran previously qualified for Division III at the 2022 World Championships but withdrew because Israel was competing in the same division. Since then, they have participated in the Women’s Asia and Oceania Cup and Developmental Cup, where they’ve won a gold medal and two silver medals.
  

  India launched their program in 2016 and has primarily played in the Asia and Oceania Championship, where it won bronze in 2025. Singapore has participated in the last three Division IIIB Championships, finishing last each time.
  
  Belarus joined after the IOC and IIHF lifted the four-year ban this month. The country was banned from competing due to its support of Russia in the invasion of Ukraine. The ban on Russia was also lifted, but the IIHF stated it did not have immediate plans to reintegrate Russia yet, and that it would be on a case-by-case basis. Belarus has never played an international game before for women’s hockey, as the team and a domestic league only formed in 2023.
  
  Due to Belarus’s inclusion in the U18 DIII Women’s World Championship, Lithuania announced it will no longer be participating.

• Team Canada parts ways with Gina Kingsbury

  Gina Kingsbury has been the general manager of the Canadian Women’s National Team since 2018, winning one Olympic gold and an Olympic silver since. Canada’s National Team will move in a new direction with both her and Troy Ryan leaving, but Kingsbury will keep her position as the Toronto general manager in the PWHL.

Our fictional PWHL Most Improved Player Award will look at offensive output, on-ice impact, and role increase during the regular season. While points matter most, we will also look at shots and expected goals to factor in the shooting percentage benders that short seasons are vulnerable to.

Where the Numbers Came From

Expected goals, shot locations: hockey-statistics’s PWHL website https://pwhl.onrender.com (which you can support here)

Five on five points, primary points, five on five goal differential, average TOI: Kyle Cushman’s stat sheet (who writes on Substack and for The Score)

All other stats: PWHL’s website, eliteprospects.com

Now, without further ado, let’s meet our nominees…

Rebecca Leslie

The favorite for our imaginary award is Rebecca Leslie, whose offensive numbers exploded this year.

Most of what changed for Leslie wasn’t how she played, but her opportunities. Last year, Leslie averaged 10 minutes per game primarily in the middle of the lineup, with Anna Meixner on her wing and Kateřina Mrázová or Danielle Serdachny at center. Vanišová's going to Vancouver allowed Leslie to move up the lineup, and the departure of Serdachny and Darkangelo allowed Jenner to play center again, something she didn’t get the chance to do in 2025. They formed a line with Sarah Wozniewicz and instantly clicked, focusing on speed and capitalizing on the rush style offense the Charge likes to employ. Leslie was able to drive the net more and, as a result, got 19 of her 99 shots in high-danger areas, which converted to more goals.

Theresa Schafzahl

Schafzahl was straight up one of the best players to have on the ice at five-on-five in the league. Frankel effect? Maybe somewhat, but that number was only 9-7 last year, and it definitely doesn’t apply to Seattle. A more offensive side of Schafzahl emerged in Seattle, where she scored nine of her fifteen points after being traded. In previous seasons, she’d never scored more than six points.

Like Leslie, Schafzahl is a player whose production improved as her situation changed. Schafzahl has always been a great two-way forward, which landed her in a more checking role under Kessel’s system, playing on Brandt’s wing. Under Sparre’s system, she got more offensive opportunities with Müller centering her. During the first half of the season in Boston, she showcased her ability to find open space in the slot and get open as a good passing option for her teammates in transition. Still, Boston’s defense-driven offense and conservative forward group limited her ability to produce consistently. In Seattle, she was able to really show off her opportunistic offensive skills. Seattle lacked fast, strong skaters who could weave through defense and get open both in transition and when receiving high-danger passes in tight areas, which Schafzahl showed herself capable of in Boston even when the goals weren’t coming. Schafzahl was put on Carpenter’s line for all the games she played in Seattle and instantly got results.

Kelly Pannek

Pannek was always a top player in this league, but this year went from an all-star level player to an MVP-level player. She was helped by a 27.6 shooting percentage, which will not be sustainable going forward, but also saw her expected goal numbers double from 5.23 to 9.93. The numbers at five-on-five are comical, and Pannek, alongside Heise, formed the best 1-2 punch down the middle in the league to help the Frost dominate play when their top two lines were on the ice. While the Frost’s forward group has always been good, last year their even-strength offense ran through Jaques and Thompson, who they lost in expansion. The Frost had to adjust a move away from their high-to-low game from 2025-2026, which involved utilizing their centers more.

The two graphics below show a heatmap of the shots the 2024-2025 Frost took in the offensive zone vs. those in 2025-2026. The Frost got fewer shots from the top of the zone but maintained a similar number of net-front shots. Pannek’s play is a big reason for that.

Mae Batherson

Let’s go a different route. Batherson was eased into her role last year, finishing with great five-on-five stats in a limited role. She had three points and did not see power play time. With the Frost losing most of its defense core besides Stecklein, she was going to have to play a bigger role, and took it in stride. She finished the year with 15 points, including four on the power play as part of the second unit, and was only penalized twice despite regularly matching up with top competition. Perhaps most importantly, she was Kendall Cooper’s main defense partner for most of the season, and her sturdy defense helped Cooper find her game as a more mobile defender.

Honorable mentions

Sam Cogan

Cogan was a player on the inaugural Toronto team, playing third and fourth line minutes before moving to a reserve role in the 2024-2025 season. After not getting any playing time in season two, Cogan went to the SDHL and played for SDE. She was one of the league’s top scorers with 39 points in 33 regular-season games. When she came back over to the PWHL at the end of the SDHL season for Minnesota, it started like most late-season signings do, with limited minutes yet again in the regular season.

Everything changed once the playoffs started. Cogan played in the middle six, averaging around 16 minutes a game, scoring a goal and an assist (both in elimination games), and was one of the most noticeable players for the Frost. Only playing a handful of games makes her ineligible according to the imaginary voting committee, but keep an eye on her next year.

Anna Kjellbin

Kjellbin went from completely underwater last year to one of Toronto’s best defenders this year, albeit in a sheltered role. Toronto outscored opponents by two goals (11 GF-9 GA) at five-on-five with her on the ice despite the team’s -16 goal differential at five-on-five, compared to last year when Toronto was -6 (6 GF-12 GA) with her on the ice. She leaned away from contact last year, with only four hits (0.9 per 60), compared to a league-average of 16 hits this year (about 2.7 per 60 played). The fact that she was still playing depth minutes primarily puts her on the outside of this award, but it felt worth highlighting anyway.

Lina Ljungblom

The biggest candidate for “if she’d been healthy, she could have made a run at this.” Ljungblom had mono and, as a result, didn’t play her first game until January 4th, playing very sheltered minutes as she built her strength back up from an illness that hinders endurance. She really hit her stride in April, when her minutes regularly clocked in at over 10 minutes again. During that stretch, Ljungblom scored five of her nine regular-season points. While her missed time keeps her out of the running for this award, scoring a goal in the cup clinching game is a good consolation prize, I’m sure.

Final Thoughts

For a lot of these players, the difference in performance was not a drastic change in how they played, but the opportunities they got. With expansion coming, there have been concerns over the talent pool. However, after seeing how some players have emerged from depth roles to top performers after the first round of expansion, more roster spots may allow for more Rebecca Leslie-esque storylines next year.

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PWHL (USA and Canada)

Headlines:

• Playoffs begin with Montreal vs. Minnesota, Boston vs. Ottawa
  The Montreal Victoire won the regular-season title and picked the Minnesota Frost as their opponent.
  
  Currently, Minnesota leads the series 1-0, while Boston and Ottawa are tied 1-1.

• Vancouver Goldeneyes win first overall draft pick
  In accordance with the gold plan, the Goldeneyes accumulated the most points post-elimination to secure the first overall pick in the 2026 entry draft. University of Wisconsin defender Caroline Harvey is the top-rated prospect in this year’s draft.

• PWHL announces new expansion process
  Break out the diagrams. This five-step process includes contract matching, free agent selections, and three to six protection spots. There is no good way to summarize this, so check out The Ice Garden’s explainer here by Melissa Burgess and Maya Smith

• The Boston Fleet activate Olivia Mobley, Mia Biotti, and Noemi Neubauerová for playoffs, move Loren Gabel to a ten-day contract, and Laura Kluge to reserve
  The Fleet activate forward Olivia Mobley from the injured list, and sign defenders Olivia Mobley and Noemi Neubauerová from the reserve list. Neubauerová’s signing came after Rylind Mackinnon was suspended for game two of the playoffs.
  
  Loren Gabel previously signed a SPA contract halfway through the season, but was placed back on the reserve list for game one of the playoffs. She then signed a ten-day contract ahead of game two, although she did not play.
  
  Kluge’s move to reserve comes while dealing with a day-to-day upper body injury that kept her out of the lineup for five games.

• Samantha Cogan activated for Minnesota Frost
  Initially signed after her SDHL season in a reserve role, Cogan has signed a 10-day contract and played in Minnesota’s first playoff game.

Other Transactions:

• Ten-day contracts in April: Brooke Bryant (Seattle), Emily Zumwinkle (Seattle), Sini Karjalainen (Vancouver), Malia Schneider (Vancouver)

• SPAs signed in April: Darcie Lappan (Vancouver), Hanna Baskin (Toronto), Kira Juodikis (New York)

• Players released: Sam Isbell (Montreal), Kelly-Ann Nadeau (Montreal), Alexie Guay (Ottawa)

• Players moved to reserve: Maya Labad (Montreal), Vita Poniatovskaia (Ottawa), Madison Bizal (Minnesota)

Injuries (playoff teams only)

LTIR: Dominique Petrie (Minnesota), Zoe Boyd (Boston),

Day to Day: Natalie Buchbinder (Minnesota), Laura Kluge (Boston),

Returned this month: Erin Ambose (Montreal), Marie Philip-Poulin (Montreal), Maureen Muphy (Montreal), Brooke Hobson (Ottawa), Olivia Mobley (Boston),

Disciplinary:

• Boston defender Rylind Mackinnon was suspended for one game for a hit to the head on Ottawa’s Gabbie Hughes. The hit occurred on April 30th, the first day of their playoff series, where Mackinnon was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Mackinnon was previously suspended in the 2024-2025 season for an illegal check.

• Micah Zandee-Hart was suspended for one game for a hit to the head on Frost forward Katy Knoll on April 11th. The Sirens’ defender was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct. She had previously been fined, but not suspended.

• Boston Fleet forward Ella Huber was fined $250 for a cross-check to Montreal’s Hayley Scamurra on April 11th. She was given a minor penalty during the game and has not been fined or suspended previously.

SDHL (Sweden)

Headlines and Major Transactions

• Thea Johansson and Linneá Johansson sign with HV71
  Thea Johansson returns to the team she developed with on a two-year deal. The Swedish National Team forward spent three years with Mercyhurst and one with Minnesota Duluth, where she accumulated 117 points in 139 games. Johansson is one of the biggest free agent acquisitions for HV71 in recent years.
  
  Linneá Johansson joins from Luleå, whose sporting director, Oskar Häggström, said he was advised not to re-sign her due to injury concerns. Johansson played thirteen games last year and missed the Olympics due to injury. Despite only being 24 years old, Johansson already has 171 points in 278 SDHL games played. Her SDHL career started with HV71, who she last played for in 2018.

• Frölunda signs Kassidy Sauvé, Madie Leidt, Lisa Johansson, and Linnéa Andersson
  Goaltender Kassidy Sauvé and Lisa Johansson were rumored to be joining Frölunda last month, and the signings have now been made official. Both are major additions to Frölunda, who will likely have Sauvé starting and Johansson playing in their top six.

  Another big player from a rival team, Madie Leidt, was recruited by Frölunda. A DIII graduate of Middlebury College, Leidt spent three years with HK Budapest, where she became a Hungarian citizen and joined their National Team. Leidt played for Linköping last season, sliding into their top six and scoring 22 points in 35 games.
  
  Linnéa Andersson is a shutdown defender who has experience on the Swedish National Team. She has spent the last four seasons with MoDo, where she wore an “A”.

• Brynäs begins to build 2026 roster by signing Wilma Sundin, Lovisa Engström, and Lova Blom; extends core players Jenniina Nylund and Mina Waxin
  Sundin missed most of last year with an injury, but was one of MoDo’s most productive players leading up to it, having 11 points in 18 games. The 22-year-old center was on track to join Sweden at the Olympics before the injury.
  
  Joining Sundin from MoDo is Lovisa Engström, a 19-year-old center who was one of Sweden’s top U18 players in 2025. During the 2025-2026 season, she had 14 points in 36 games. Engström’s deal is for two years.
  
  On defense, Lova Blöm comes from Linköping, where she’s worn an A for the past three seasons and been relied on like a veteran defender despite her young age. While Blom did not make the Olympic team, she’s been a fringe player for the Swedish National Team and has World Championship experience.
  
  Extending with Brynäs is top scorer Jennina Nylund, who had 30 points in 36 regular-season games and 13 points in 10 playoff games in their championship run. Nylund has been a member of Brynäs since 2023 and signed for two more seasons.
  
  Mina Waxin also extended for one year after a season in which she was Brynäs’ second-highest scoring defender, playing big minutes alongside defense partner Sára Čajanová. Waxin has played with Brynäs since 2022.

• SDE signs Goaltender Martina Fedel and defender Teghan Inglis, extend Tereza Pištěková
  Martina Fedel is an Italian native who has spent the past five years with the University of Guelph. A dual citizen of Sweden, she developed in the SDHL with SDE and played in the organization from 2016 to 2020. In 2024, she was named USport Goaltender of the Year.
  
  After graduating from Merrimack College, Teghan Inglis spent the last two years with HV71 playing top-pairing minutes and becoming known for her physical game.
  
  Tereza Pištěková is a 20-year-old Czech forward who had 24 points in 35 games last year for SDE. Pištěková’s extension comes alongside her declaring for the PWHL draft, meaning she must have an opt-out clause if a PWHL team selects her.

• Ida Kuoppala extends with Skellefteå, sign Emma Forsgren

  Kuoppala was second in scoring for Skellefteå last year, with 23 points in 35 games. The Finnish forward was also second in shots on goal in the SDHL with 139.
  
  Skellefteå also bolsters its defense by signing SDHL veteran Emma Forsgren, who is entering her tenth SDHL season at age 23. The shutdown defender has been a fringe player for the Swedish National Team, appearing at two World Championships.

• Linköping extend Ellie Kaiser, sign Vendula Přibylová
  Kaiser joined Linköping last season after graduating from RPI, putting up 19 points in 36 games as one of the team’s highest scoring forwards.
  
  Vendula Přibylová is a Czech National Team player and SDHL veteran who’s spent the last four years with MoDo. During her SDHL career, Přibylová has been a reliable defense-first bottom-six forward.

• Martin Lindh takes over as Brynäs head coach
  Following the amicable departure of championship winning coach Filip Eriksson, Brynäs announced Martin Lindh will take over behind the bench. Lindh coached Skellefteå AIK the last two years, helping them make the playoffs in their first two SDHL seasons. Before that, he spent seven years as an assistant coach in the NDHL with IF Troja-Ljungby, giving him a wealth of women’s hockey experience.

• Slovenian goaltender Pia Dukarič joins Djurgårdens IF

  Dukarič came out of retirement late last year and joined Brynäs during their playoff run, but did not see any game time. She last started a game with Yale University in 2025, where she was a standout in the NCAA. In 2023, she was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award.

• Retirement Wave: Ellen Jonsson, Viktorie Švejdová, and Emelie Córdoba announce their departure from the game
  Ellen Jonsson played 13 years in the SDHL as a goaltender for Brynäs, AIK, Leksands, and Färjestad. Her best season was in 2022, when she led the SDHL in save percentage and shutouts. Jonsson also had appearances for the U18 and senior Swedish National Team.

  Viktorie Švejdová is a Czech goaltender who spent seven years in the SDHL and NDHL, playing for MoDo, SDE, HV71, and their NDHL affiliates. Švejdová was also a part of the Czech National Team, making an appearance at their first Olympic berth in 2022.
  
  Emelie Córdoba is a long-time staple in Swedish hockey, playing organized women’s hockey since 2011. She captained Färjestad last year in their first SDHL season.

Other Transactions

Previous Team/extension in parentheses

• Brynäs: Wilma Germundsson Wäng (extension)

• Djurgårdens: Elsa Åberg (MoDo), Tilda Edsman (brynäs), Adriana Van de Leest (HV71), Claire Vekich (PWHL reserve), Lia Leiderö Palmlöv (extension), Tiffany Hill (extension), Barbora Bartáková (extension), Isabelle Leijonhielm (extension), Wilma Georgny (extension)

• Färjestad: Kajsa Armborg (Örebro HK), Karley Garcia (extension), Emmy Nordström Åmark (Örebro HK)

• HV71: Kennedy Bobyck (extension), Ellen Wigermo (extension), Emelie Bernhardsson (Linköping U19)

• Linköping: Hilda Ljungberg (SDE) Liv Wignell (extension), Nicole Andersson (extension), Thilia Wahlberg (extension), Ella Jämsén (extension), Lindsay Agnew Svedén (extension), Maddison Achtyl (Stonehill College)

• Luleå: Mimmi Gill (extension), Emilie Kruse Johansen (extension), Hedvig Sturk (extension), Astrid Lindeberg (extension), Sara Grahn (extension)

• MoDo: Maja Grundström (extension)

• SDE: Olivia Sohrner (Linköping)

• Skellefteå AIK: Wilma Vidmark (extension), Evelina Arvidsson (HV71), Tyra Håkansson (extension), Jenna Pirttijärvi (extension)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines:

• Teams announced for new U16 League
  The first U16 Women’s Junior League in Switzerland is set to kick off this fall. The following teams will partake: Brandis Juniors, the HC Dragon Thun / Yetis, the EHC Olten Prospects, EV Zug, HC Fribourg-Gottéron, the HC Thurgau Girls, Lausanne HC Féminin U16, the Bern Girls Selection, and the ZSC Lions. (source)

• SC Bern extends Lara Christen, signs Finnish defender Ada Eronen amongst a flurry of roster moves
  Lara Christen is one of Switzerland’s best players, and currently their #1 defender on the international stage. The 23-year-old returns for her fourth season with Bern, who she captained the last two years.
  
  From Kiekko-Espoo, Bern also signed Ada Eronen. She was the highest-scoring defender in Auroraliiga last season with 48 points in 32 games. At 22 years old, Eronen has played in Auroraliiga her entire career, winning four championships and earning First-Team All-Star honors in 2026.

• Neuchâtel Hockey Academy signs Brooklyn Schneiderhan and Joelle Fiala

  Neuchâtel Hockey Academy finished last in the league last season, but is hoping for a stronger 2026-2027 with two major additions.
  
  Joelle Fiala is a University of British Columbia graduate who’s spent the last two seasons with Davos. She’s been a consistent scorer in the PostFinance Women’s League, with 57 points in 56 regular-season games.
  
  Brooklyn Schneiderhan is a rookie coming out of Saint Anselm College. The Montana native was named NEWHA player of the year last season after putting up 48 points in 38 games, good for 13th overall in the NCAA.

• Dominique Scheurer, Isabel Waidacher, Julia Marty, Eveliina Mäkinen, Nadine Hofstetter, and Kristina Kontny

  Scheurer is a 30-year-old forward who’s played 13 seasons in the Postfinance Women’s League, and its iterations, spending the bulk of her years with ZSC Lions, where she won two championships. Her career also featured five seasons with Grant MacEwan University in the ACAC.
  
  Isabel Waidacher played 12 seasons in Switzerland, primarily with the Lions, and won seven league titles. In the 2016-2017 season, she registered the most points of any player in the league, with 56 points in 19 games. She made several appearances for Switzerland on the international stage and spent a season with the College of St. Scholastica in NCAA DII and with Djurgårdens in the SDHL.
  
  Julia Marty is one of Switzerland’s longest tenured women’s hockey players. She began playing high-level club hockey in 2001, and played sixteen seasons in various iterations of the Swiss domestic league, putting up 176 points in 184 games. Julia, alongside her twin sister Stefanie, was one of the first Swiss players to play NCAA hockey, starting at the University of New Hampshire and then transferring to Northeastern. Her career accomplishments include a Hockey East Championship, an Olympic bronze medal, an SDHL championship from her season with Linköping, 2015 Swiss Ice Hockey Women of the Year, and a Swiss league championship. The impact Marty has had on the Swiss hockey program is so great that she has already been inducted into the Swiss Hockey Hall of Fame.
  
  Finnish goaltender Eveliina Mäkinen retires after a career that saw her play in Auroraliiga, the SDHL, the PHF, the NCAA, and the Postfinance Women’s League. Internationally, she is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist and was part of the 2019 Finnish team that won silver.

  Nadine Hofstetter is another pillar of Swiss hockey, having played in the domestic league for fifteen seasons. The defender won four league titles and was a big part of EV Zug’s rise to the top and championship this season. Internationally, Hofstetter was part of the 2022 Swiss Olympic team and made several World Championship appearances. She plans to stay involved with EVZ in player development.

  Originally from Colorado, Kristina Kontny came to Switzerland in 2015 and played in the ZSC Lions Frauen organization for most of it, serving as captain for the SWHL B team for several years and winning three championships with the A team. Halfway through her final season, she went from the Lions to EVZ, providing veteran depth and becoming a part of the franchise’s first championship.

Other Transactions:

• SC Bern: Emma Ingold (extended), Andrea Schranz (extended), Sophie Hudson (Queens University - USports), Zoe Merz (Ambrì-Piotta)

• HC Davos: Elena Gaberell (EVZ), Nele Bachmann (Malmö Redhawks), Alena Lynn Rossel (Bern), Ilana Leibundgut (Bern), Lia Rubin (SC Langenthal), Leoni Balzer (extension), Julina Gianola (Extension)

• Neuchâtel Hockey Academy: Emma Christe (extension), Tanja Leuenberger (extension), Lynn Wüthrich (extension), Clara Piazzon (extension), Mila Croll (Bern), Amélie Andrey (EHC Worb Damen), Alexane Juillard (HC Ajoie Les Panthères), Julia Schafer (EHC Zunzgen-Sissach), Bailey Kehl (EHC Zunzgen-Sissach), Inès Berset (extension), Pauline Menoud (extension), Nora Fornasier (extension), Tanja Kunz (extension), Anabel Kreutzer (extension), Tamara Bigler, (extension), Céline Bonassi (Bern), Jelena Sonderegger (Bern), Norah Voirol (DHC Lyss), Nina Paiva (extension) Amélie Paroz (extension), Amélie Walzer (Bern) and Olympe Guillemand (DHC Lyss)

Auroraliiga (Finland)

• Kiekko Espoo defeats HPK for their 18th championship
  The Auroraliiga dynasty beat HPK four games to two to notch another title. The finals saw longtime defender Minttu Tuominen come out of retirement for the final two games, recording a goal and an assist along the way. Kiekko-Espoo forward Emma Nuutinen had 25 points in 14 playoff games to help her team clinch the title, while 18-year-old HPK forward Eva Lamberg continued her break out year with 12 points in 17 games.

• KalPa will not apply for Auroraliiga license, plans to play in Mestis
  Last season, Auroraliiga implemented a system that required teams to apply for a license to play in the league. Teams are expected to meet certain professional standards to be approved for a license, such as operating as an LLC, having a full-time head coach, and having a 500-seat arena. All teams applied for and were granted a license for the 2025-2026 season, though teams were given leeway in meeting all criteria if they showed they were working towards meeting it.
  
  KalPa, which finished eighth in the standings last season, announced it will not apply for a license in the upcoming season. The team cited a lack of funds and a desire to focus on developing girls’ hockey. The KalPa players posted statements relaying that the KalPa front office was not transparent in their plans not to renew and failed to communicate ahead of the announcement that they would withdraw from the league. Players also stated that they created a plan to save the team, which included a blueprint for taking over operations and securing sponsorship money they had begun acquiring, but KalPa would not engage with them. More on this story can be found from Yle journalist Anu Kartunnen

• RoKi merges its A-team and Suomi-sarja, won’t compete in Mestis
  RoKi announced that, after discussions with the players, they have decided not to enter Mestis and focus on assembling a team for Suomi-Sarja, the level below Mestis. Last year, RoKi notably struggled in Auroraliiga last season, going 0-31-1 with a -231 goal differential. Their team was made up primarily of teenage players.

• Anni Keisala and Jutta Stoltenberg announce retirement

  Anni Keisala played 13 Auroraliiga seasons and two SDHL seasons, establishing herself as one of Finland’s top goaltenders. She is the only goaltender in Auroraliiga history to win the Riikka Nieminen Award for best player, and was also named the best goaltender of the 2021 World Championships. Keisala’s accomplishments also include numerous Auroraliiga goaltending awards, an Olympic bronze medal, and an Auroraliiga championship.

  Slotenberg is a forward and defender who had one of the longest careers in Auroraliiga. She played 18 seasons and scored 242 points in 490 regular-season games. She spent her entire career with HPK, including two years she served as captain.

Other

Image from IIHFWomen on Instagram

• France, Netherlands, and Poland, and Hong Kong earn promotions in the DIA, DIB, DIIA, and DIIB Women’s World Championships

  Unlike in previous years, only one team from the Division IA World Championship would be promoted, with France earning the spot in the top division for the 2027 Women’s World Championship. China was relegated.

  The Netherlands was promoted to Division IA, Poland to Division IB, and Hong Kong to Division IIA. Spain was relegated to Division IIA, North Korea was automatically relegated to Division IIB due to withdrawing from the tournament, and Belgium was relegated to Division IIIA.

• Czech Ice Hockey Association will not renew Carla McLeod’s contract

  McLeod was the head coach for the Czech Women’s National Team for the last four years, helping the program win its first bronze medals in 2022 and 2023.

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PWHL (United States and Canada)

Headlines

• ION will broadcast the PWHL’s first-ever nationally televised game in the United States and will also broadcast the PWHL finals.
  On March 28th, the PWHL’s Detroit Takeover Game was broadcast on national linear television in the United States for the first time through ION. The PWHL finals in May will also be broadcast on ION, in addition to their streams on YouTube.

Transactions

• Boston Fleet trades forward Theresa Schafzahl for Seattle Torrent forward Jessie Eldridge

  Schafzahl is an Austrian National Team forward who’s played with the Boston Fleet since season one, accumulating 20 points in 77 games and earning praise for her two-way ability before being traded. Thus far in her tenure with Seattle, she has a goal and three assists in four games.

  
  Jessie Eldridge has been one of the top-scoring forwards in the PWHL over the past three years. She spent her first two seasons in New York before moving to Seattle in the expansion draft and scored 51 points in 73 games before the trade. Since joining Boston, she has a goal in five games.

  
  Both players’ contracts expire at the end of the season. The Fleet have clinched a playoff spot and are in first place, while Seattle sits in last and will likely miss the playoffs.

• New York Sirens trade defender Jincy Roese for Minnesota Frost forward Denisa Krížová
  Jincy Roese spent the first two PWHL seasons with Ottawa before joining New York in free agency. She has 26 points in 74 games and joins a Frost team that’s currently in third place.

  
  Denisa Křížová is a Czech National Team forward who has played all three seasons thus far with Minnesota. She has 22 points in 95 games and won two championships with the Frost. New York is four points out of a playoff spot and trying to make the postseason for the first time.

• Montreal Victoire signs Nadia Mattivi and Maya Labad to Standard Player Agreements

  Mattivi is the captain of the Italian National Team who has spent the last two seasons playing top-pair defense on Luleå. In 2024-2025, she won SDHL defender of the year and has been one of the highest-scoring defenders in the SDHL since her debut. The 25-year-old graduated from Boston University in 2024 and entered the PWHL draft but went undrafted, making her eligible to sign with Montreal.

  
  Montreal also signed Maya Labad, whom they drafted in the fifth round last year out of Quinnipiac. Following the injury to Maureen Murphy, Labad joins the team on a standard player agreement.

• Forwards Gabrielle David and Jada Habisch sign with the Seattle Torrent

  David spent the first two seasons of the PWHL with the Montreal Victoire before signing with SDE this season, where she was third in the SDHL in points. With SDE, she had 51 points in 40 games.
  
  The Torrent drafted Habisch in the fourth round of the 2025 PWHL draft. She has spent most of the season on the reserve list.

• New York Sirens sign Nicole Vallario to a Standard Player Agreement, sign Sarah Bujold and Kira Juodikis to reserve contracts
  Vallario is a Swiss National Team defender who’s been signed to a 10-day contract with New York twice this year before joining on a Standard Player Agreement.
  
  Sarah Bujold is an experienced forward who played in Montreal during the first PWHL season. Her last two seasons have been with Luleå, where she scored 45 points in 59 games. She joins as a reserve, returning to New Jersey after having previously played with the Metropolitan Riveters.

  
  Kira Juodikis was a training camp invite for the Sirens before getting cut and joining the ZSC Lions. In Switzerland, she was second on her team in scoring, with 24 points in 27 games.

• Ottawa signs Vita Poniatovskaia to a Standard Player Agreement, signs Alexie Guay to a Reserve Player contract.

  Poniatovskaia was a training camp invite who’s been on Ottawa’s reserve list all season. The defender is the third Russian player to sign with Ottawa Charge this year and the third to sign in the PWHL.

  
  Defender Alexie Guay has spent the bulk of her last two seasons in the SDHL, but has some PWHL experience as a reserve with the New York Sirens at the end of last year.

• The Toronto Sceptres sign Kristin Della Rovere to a Standard Player Agreement from the reserve list, and release forward Clair DeGeorge. The New York Sirens sign Clair DeGeorge upon her release
  After the Sirens asked to sign Italian National Team Forward and Toronto reserve Kristin Della Rovere, the Sceptres were forced to either sign Della Rovere or let her sign with New York. Toronto chose to sign Della Rovere to an SPA and release Clair DeGeorge to make room for Della Rovere. In response, New York signed DeGeorge, who had previous experience as a fourth-line player with Minnesota and Montreal. (source)

• Brooke Bryant (Seattle) and Kaitlin O’Donohoe (Minnesota) moved back to reserve roles

  Both players were signed as injury replacements and have been returned to the reserve list with the activation of Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield.

• Sini Karjalainen signs a reserve contract with the Vancouver Goldeneyes

  Finnish Olympic defender Sini Karjalainen has experience in Auroraliiga, the NCAA, and most recently with Brynäs and Skellefteå AIK in the SDHL.

• Anneke Rankila returns to Toronto on a reserve role
  Rankila played with Toronto on and off the reserve list last year, and joined SDE this season after getting cut from Toronto’s camp.

• Samantha Cogan joins Minnesota in a reserve role
  Cogan spent the first two PWHL seasons with Toronto, playing 23 games and spending most of last season on the reserve list. Her 2025-2026 season was with SDE, where her offensive output exploded for 45 points in 41 games

• Boston Fleet signs Noemi Neubauerová to reserve contract
  Neubauerová played with the Toronto Sceptres last year and joined EV Zug this year, where she won a championship. She has played as a forward at the club level and as a defender with the Czech National Team.

Injuries

LTIR: Dominique Petrie (Minnesota), Zoe Boyd (Boston), Olivia Mobley (Boston), Erin Ambose (Montreal), Marie Philip-Poulin (Montreal), Maureen Muphy (Montreal), Kristýna Kaltounková (New York), Mikyla Grant Mentis (Seattle), Taylor Girard (New York), Hannah Bilka (Seattle), Brooke Hobson (Ottawa)

Day to Day: Dara Greig (Montreal), Raygan Kirk (Toronto), Natalie Buchbinder (Minnesota), Jill Saulnier (Boston)

Returned this month: Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota), Hilary Knight (Seattle), Sophie Shirley (Boston), Riley Brengman (Boston), Emma Gentry (Toronto), Daryl Watts (Toronto), Jincy Roese (New York), Katie Chan (Vancouver), Claire Thompson (Vancouver)

Disciplinary

• (3/29) Toronto forward Clara Van Wieren was suspended one game for boarding Boston’s Sophie Shirley in the game on March 27th. The infraction also resulted in a five-minute major on the ice

• (3/18) Minnesota forward Peyton Anderson was suspended for one game for an illegal check against New York on March 15th

• (3/29) Boston defender Rylind Mackinnon was fined $500 for roughing Clara Van Wieren in the game on March 27th

• (3/24) Ottawa charge forward Rebecca Leslie was fined $500 for boarding Montreal’s Amanda Boulier in the game on March 22nd

• (3/18) Minnesota forward Britta Curl-Salemme was fined $250 for a cross-check in the game against New York on March 15th

• (3/18) Montreal defender Maggie Flaherty was fined $250 for an illegal hit against Boston on March 15th. The hit also resulted in a five-minute major and a game misconduct for Flaherty

• (3/18) Boston forward Loren Gabel was fined $250 for unsportsmanlike conduct on March 15th

SDHL (Sweden)

Brynäs poses after winning the SDHL Championship, via SDHL on Instagram

Headlines:

• Brynäs wins its first-ever SDHL championship, Viivi Vainikka named playoff MVP

  Brynäs won nine of the ten playoff games they played, defeating Skellefteå AIK in the first round, sweeping old foes Luleå in the semifinals, and taking down last year’s champions, Frölunda, in the finals.
  The two most recent SDHL titles have gone to a team that never won a championship before. Additionally, this year was the first time since 2017 that Luleå did not make the finals.

  
  Viivi Vainikka was named the Playoff MVP with seven goals and six assists in ten games. The 2025-2026 season was Vainikka’s first year with Brynäs, having played with Luleå for five seasons prior

• Linköping and HV71 win relegation series against Leksands and Rögle

  Both Linköping and HV71 ensured that they’d return to the SDHL next year, winning their relegation series 2-0.

• Skellefteå AIK hires Rickard Hårdstam as head coach
  Hårdstam comes over from Djurgårdens, where he was both general manager and coach. He had been with Djurårdens since 2019.

• Djurgårdens announces Johannes Strömberg will be its first-ever dedicated general manager, hires Per Nygårds as head coach
  Strömberg will oversee both the senior team and the U19 team for Djugårdens, and will work solely as a general manager, rather than combining the role with coaching as Djugårdens has done in the past. Before accepting this position, Strömberg worked for AIK’s women’s team as an assistant coach and as a video coach for Sweden’s U18 Women’s National Team.
  
  For their vacant coaching role, Djurgårdens hires Per Nygårds. The new coach has over 20 years of coaching experience, but has not coached women’s hockey before. The bulk of his jobs have been with Södertälje SK

• Frölunda hires MoDo women’s hockey coach Jared Cipparone (source)

  With Erika Holst departing to coach the Swedish Women’s National Team, Jared Cipparone will now take over as head coach of Frölunda. Cipparone has coached in the SDHL and NDHL since 2013, with his most recent tenure starting in 2022. He won back-to-back SDHL Coach of the Year awards in 2024 and 2025, as well as an SDHL championship in 2017.

• MoDo general manager Björn Edlund announces departure (source)
  MoDo is experiencing significant turnover, losing several players, their coach, and now their GM. Edlund has been with the team since 2015, taking over as general manager in 2017. Edlund has not stepped down yet, but has made it clear that he won’t be with the team much longer.

• Tim Brithén hired as Linköping’s head coach

  Brithén was most recently head coach at Rögle, who Linköping just defeated in the relegation series, and has been in that role since 2023. The bulk of his experience has been on the men’s side in various development and junior team roles, and includes ties to Linköping.

Transactions:

• Sofie Lundin signs a two-year extension with Frölunda
  Lundin is one of Frölunda’s top forwards, scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace the previous two seasons, and also appeared for Sweden at the Olympics.

• MoDo announces Wilma Sundin, Lovisa Engström, Aoi Shiga, and Lucy Morgan will not return next season
  Wilma Sundin suffered a season-ending injury halfway through the year, but was one of MoDo’s top players. The 22-year-old forward had 11 points in 15 games this year and was expected to make the Swedish Olympic team before getting hurt.
  
  Lovisa Engström is one of MoDo’s top prospects, only 19 years old but appearing in all 36 games for MoDo, and was named SDHL rookie of the year.
  
  Japanese defender Aoi Shiga was MoDo’s highest-scoring defender this season, taking on top-pairing minutes in her first SDHL season.
  
  Lucy Morgan was hurt during pre-season and did not appear in a game with MoDo, but was the third-string goaltender for both the Minnesota Frost and Ottawa Charge the season prior.

• Jenni Hiirikoski re-signs with Luleå
  One of the greatest SDHL defenders of all time and a key piece of Luleå’s success throughout the years will be returning for another year. The 39-year-old Finnish defender has had some health scares in recent years, including a season-ending injury blocking a shot at the Olympics, but has remained one of the best defenders in the SDHL. This season, Hiirikoski had 26 points in 34 games.

• Linköping announces Jorinde Heller, Ayaka Hitosato, Thea Liodden, Madie Leidt, and Chanreet Bassi are leaving the team
  Jorinde Heller, an 18-year-old goaltender who’s bounced between Linköping’s senior teams and development programs since 2021, will join College of the Holy Cross in the NCAA. Thea Liodden is a 20-year-old depth defender who’s spent most of her seasons with Linköping.

  
  Ayaka Hitosato has been with Linköping since 2021 as a top-four defender, playing alongside her sister, Haruka Toko.
  
  Both Madie Leidt and Chanreet Bassi joined Linköping this past season. Leidt came from the EWHL and ended the year as the team’s top scorer, with 25 points in 37 games. Bassi joined the team late after being cut from the Vancouver Goldeneyes training camp, and only appeared in nine games.

• RUMOR: Kassidy Sauvé and Lisa Johansson to sign with Frölunda in anticipation of Andrea Brändli and Elisa Holopainen triggering their opt-out clause to join PWHL (source)
  Göteborgs-Posten reporter Johan Rylander revealed that Brändli and Holopainen have opt-out clauses in their contracts that would allow them to join the PWHL, and Frölunda is preparing to lose them. While nothing is confirmed and likely won’t be until closer to the PWHL draft, Frölunda has recruited major names from SDE before, such as Emily Nix.
  Kassidy Sauvé is in her second year in the SDHL and has a wealth of experience, having played in the NCAA, PWHPA, PHF, and Auroraliiga. Through two seasons with SDE, Sauvé has a .929 save percentage in 37 regular-season games, but has had issues staying healthy.

  Lisa Johansson is one of the SDHL’s greats, currently sitting third all-time in scoring, and the highest among any active player. She has spent the past two years with SDE and previously played for Luleå, AIK, and Leksands. In 2017, she was named Swedish player of the year.

• RUMOR: Luleå offers Petra Nieminen the largest contract in SDHL history (source)
  26-year-old forward Petra Nieminen is interested in joining the PWHL, but Luleå is doing everything it can to keep her, offering Nieminen a contract they believe will match her potential PWHL salary. The amount was not disclosed, but would allegedly make her the highest-paid SDHL player. Her current contract has her making between 30,000 and 35,000 SEK a month (source) or between 3,174 and 3,703 USD a month.
  Nieminen was named the SDHL forward of the year this season after leading the league in points this regular season (45 points in 27 games). She’s spent the past eight years at Luleå, where she’s won five championships, led the league in goals three times, and is tenth all-time in league points.

• Skellefteå AIK signs Camryn Drever and Leia Eriksson for one year, Miranda Dahlgren and Rebecka Hollström for two years, and Nikita Bergmann for three years
  Camryn Drever, a product of the University of Saskatchewan, has been Skellefteå’s starting goaltender the past two seasons. Backing Drever up was Miranda Dahlgren, who made 16 total starts this year and has been with the team since 2018.
  
  Leia Eriksson and Rebecka Hollström are both depth defenders under the age of 20, who started the majority of games for Skellefteå this season in sheltered minutes.
  
  Nikita Bergmann is a 17-year-old Danish forward who’s excelled in international competitions and at the U18 level but hasn’t translated it to the SDHL. Still, she’s played regular SDHL minutes since she first signed with Skellefteå in 2024, which is notable for her young age.

• Nicoline Söndergaard Jensen leaves Skellefteå AIK (Source)
  The 33-year-old Danish player has a long career between the SDHL, NDHL, and NCAA Divisions I and III. She joined Skellefteå in 2023 when they earned their SDHL promotion, and has been one of their top-scoring forwards since.

• Julie Gough and Lauren Bellefontaine return to Farjeståd
  Both Gough and Bellefontaine are Canadian forwards who’ve been in Sweden for the past few seasons and were top contributors for Farjeståd in the team’s first full SDHL season.

• Emily Nix extends with Frölunda
  The German forward played primarily in the middle of the lineup, scoring nine points in 33 games during the regular season, but stepped up big time in the playoffs with six points in 12 games.

• Djurgårdens forward Alice Östensson announces retirement
  Östensson finishes her career with 202 points in 445 games, and is the all-time leader in games played for Djurgårdens

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines:

• EV Zug wins the 2025-2026 PostFinance Women’s League championship
  Since re-entering the league in 2023, EV Zug has won promotion into the top league, the 2026 Swiss Cup, and now the PostFinance Women’s League championships. They went undefeated in the playoffs, with league MVP Ivana Wey scoring a hat trick in the final game against SC Bern. EV Zug is notable in Swiss hockey for its semi-professional standards, which attracted high-level players like Lara Stalder and Alina Marti.

• Lausanne HC to join the PostFinance Women’s League in 2026-2027
  After SC Langenthal folded, Lausanne was the only team in SWHL B (Switzerland’s second-tier league) that was interested in playing in the PostFinance Women’s League. Lausanne won this year’s SWHL B championship against EHC Brandis.

Transactions:

• SC Bern signs Saskia Maurer, Sinja Leemann, Alizée Aymon, and adds Victoria Butuzov. The team also announces the departure of Stefanie Wetli, Estelle Duvin, Clara Rozier, Ilana Leibundgut, Alena Rossel, Amelie Walzer, Mila Croll, and Céline Bonassi.
  Maurer has won the last three goaltender of the year awards in the PostFinance Women’s League. Leeman is one of the top scorers on the team, while Aymon is a 20-year-old depth piece who can play defense or forward.
  
  Among the many departures for SC Bern is Estelle Duvin, a two-time winner of the league’s MVP, who’s scored at a two-point per game pace in her four PFWL seasons. Duvin is the biggest loss, alongside top scorer Clara Rozier and key defender Stefanie Wetli.
  
  From outside the organization, Bern is bringing in 16-year-old German-Ukrainian Victoria Butuzov, who’s played primarily in German boys’ leagues and with Germany’s U18 National program.

• Cassandra Rensch leaves HC Fribourg-Gottéron
  The 28-year-old Swiss rover once served as captain for Fribourg-Gottéron, but will now be departing after three seasons with the team and eleventh in the league. Last year, she had 11 points in 28 games and has been a fringe player for the Swiss National Team.

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Pelicans celebrate after earning Auroraliiga promotion, photo via Auroraliiga on Instagram

• Lahden Pelicans promoted to Auroraliiga after beating RoKi in relegation series, RoKi demoted to Mestis
  The Pelicans swept RoKi, outscoring them 16-2. As part of the promotion, the Pelicans will apply for an Auroraliiga license (which officials expect will be approved without issue) and will double their operating budget. (Source)

• Auroraliiga announces that bodychecking will be allowed starting next season
  The press release can be found here. Bodychecking will work the same as it does in the SDHL, PWHL, and PFWL, where some open-ice hits are limited to prevent “reverse hitting.”

• Auroraliiga finals underway between Kiekko Espoo and HPK
  Kiekko Espoo currently holds a 2-1 lead in the series, which will continue on April third.

Other News

• Sabres St. Pölten wins EWHL Championship
  Sabers St. Pölten got revenge in the rematch of last year’s EWHL championship, sweeping Aisulu Almaty in the two-leg final for their fifth title.

• Division II Group B World Championship begins in Bled, Slovenia
  Mexico, New Zealand, Ukraine, Belgium, Hong Kong, and Lithuania are currently competing for promotion to Division I. One player to watch is 15-year-old Lithuanian forward Rugile Stirnaite, making her senior team debut after playing in Sweden this past year. In the first two games, Stirnaite has five points.

• Estonia earns promotion from Division III Group B to Division III Group A
  Alexandra Stolyarova led Estonia and the tournament in scoring with 20 points in five games.

At one point, Sweden’s women’s team was just as dominant as the men’s team. Players like Maria Rooth, Erika Holst, Kim Martin Hansson, and Elin Homlöv led them to a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics, making them the first team outside the USA or Canada to make a gold medal game in a major tournament, with only one other team at the senior level having done so since. They were far ahead of most other countries, having a domestic league set up and sending some of its best players to top NCAA programs, but watched as countries that weren’t even present at the 2006 Olympics, like Czechia and Japan, passed them by.

How did one of the first major success stories in women’s hockey go from upsetting the United States to entering an almost 20-year medal drought a year later? And how did they get their best chance in 12 years to break it at the 2026 Olympics?

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Photo from IIHFWomen

The Dark Decade

At the 2018 Olympics placement game against Japan, defender Maja Nylén Persson led all Swedish players in ice time. The 24-minute night was just another positive mark on the young defender’s tournament: she netted her first senior national team goal a few games earlier, and racked up four assists over the last week and a half. For most federations, this would have been a cause for celebration. A young defensive prospect was already exceeding expectations on the world’s biggest stage, ready to step into the role of number one defender for the national team.

But Nylén Persson’s personal success would be overshadowed by two key questions: what was a 17-year-old doing playing 25 minutes a night for what should be one of the best hockey nations in the world, and why were they in danger of finishing last?

Sweden barely beat Japan in the preliminary rounds, and the only other two wins they’d get at the Olympics were in the group stage and placement games against the United Korea team, a team primarily made up of South Koreans who ranked 16th on the World Stage and got their only goal of the tournament against Sweden. The program was unrecognizable from the one that finished second in 2006. A 7-2 loss to Finland in the quarterfinals the night before was evidence of how far the National Team had fallen behind its Nordic rivals.

The players didn’t want to lose, but it was clear that the Swedish Ice Hockey Association didn’t care if they won. The SIHA spent the years since the silver medal telegraphing to the women’s team that there was no difference between seventh place and second. When the men’s team won a medal at the World Championships, they could expect millions in Swedish króna as a reward. The women’s team, meanwhile, would not earn any compensation or medal bonus even if they brought home gold.

If the difference in compensation wasn’t enough to indicate that the SIHA had no interest in keeping the women’s program competitive, the lack of preparation was. The clothes and equipment they were given were not made for women but rather for junior boys’ teams. They’d often fly into North America the night before a tournament, and took long ferry trips to Finland to save money instead of short flights. They were provided expired protein bars as food during the very few practices they got before major tournaments.

No one complained. They couldn’t. The SIHA wouldn’t ignore their concerns, but would do something much worse instead: retaliate against anyone who challenged them too much.

Two years before the 2018 Olympics, after another disappointing World Championship in which they failed to make it past the quarterfinals, the players tried to reach out to the SIHA for a meeting. For years, they had put up with the poor resources and pay that had led to stagnation, but the disrespect had reached a boiling point with the hiring of head coach Leif Boork. A man with no experience in women’s hockey and a long but fairly unsuccessful men’s hockey coaching career, Boork turned a bad situation into an unbearable one. Not only could players expect to be given expired food at training, but Boork would comment on their weight while eating it. On top of the inadequate fitness clothes supplied by the SIHA, players could also expect a remark from Boork on what they were wearing. Through it all, the team kept losing, and Boork’s outdated tactics and subpar coaching gave no one confidence that would change any time soon.

The majority of the team, led by top defender Emma Eliasson, gathered in a hotel room and asked the SIHA for an in-person meeting about their concerns. They didn’t want to give up on the team, but they knew the program was heading somewhere bad fast. The SIHA refused. Too many players in their Stockholm office would draw attention. They wanted the players to send an email instead.

Eliasson and her teammates sent an email containing concerns about the funding, resources, and coaching. A written response never came.

In the following days, Eliasson was called into Boork’s office. He asked if she was sure she stood by the contents of the letter. When she said she did, Boork and the SIHA responded by leaving her off the roster for the next camp and all future National Team tournaments.

The omission made headlines. Eliasson had just won the Swedish player of the year award and the SDHL defender of the year. Sweden didn’t have a defender better than Eliasson, and they definitely didn’t have eight defenders better than her. Swedish media confronted Boork about it, who refused to blame the letter directly, but made comments about needing leadership that wasn’t “weak.” Along with Eliasson, National Team Captain Jenni Asserholt also departed the National Team. Her transgression was skipping a camp over the summer to coach a hockey school, because the hockey school paid, unlike the National Team. Defender Michelle Löwenhielm and Caroline Markström also stepped away from the team due to Boork’s conduct, with Löwenhielm later returning. Markström, who retired after suffering from a concussion, did not. Neither did Eliasson, who would retire shortly after, when it was clear she wouldn’t make the Olympic team, nor Asserholt.

The departure of three prominent defenders is how 17-year-old Maja Nylén Persson ended up leading the senior Swedish team in ice time in an important Olympic game. The game would be one of the last that Boork would coach for the team, but the damage was already done. Since Eliasson’s letter became public knowledge, the SIHA continued to state its confidence in Boork and refused to meet with the players or acknowledge their concerns. Those who remained on the team grit their teeth and tried to hold on for the Olympics, because stipends for the Swedish Olympic Committee were the only form of payment they ever received from the national team. In addition to the Olympic Committee stipends, players were supposed to receive a stipend from the men’s league in Sweden, the SHL, which had collaborated with the SIHA to help the Women’s National Team cover the wages they lost while competing with the national team. The SHL donated 400,000 SEK, and SIHA said it would match the donation, but none of the women had seen the money yet or heard of a concrete plan to disperse the 800,000 SEK. The domestic women’s club league in Sweden, the SDHL, was not much help, either. The highest salaries in the league didn’t even reach 10,000 SEK a month, and most players weren’t paid at all. Conditions were poor, and players were frequently asked to do things like help clean the stands at the stadiums they played at.

Three minutes into overtime at the placement game, Japanese defender Ayaka Hitosato scored the game-winning goal for Japan, ensuring Sweden couldn’t finish higher than seventh. The low finish caused the Swedish Olympic Committee to pull future funding from the Women’s National Team. They weren’t seeing the results, and with Sweden not even coming close to their goal of winning bronze, funding seemed like a waste. The one assured lifeline the Swedish Women’s National Team had for payment was gone.

Something had to change, and with players like Eliasson and Asserholt forced into retirement, it had to start with the players remaining on the team. The rest of 2018 was spent unionizing under SICO, the labor union that organizes the SHL and the Men’s National Team. Sweden finally got a new coach, former player Ylva Martinsen, who had just led the U18 team to a silver medal, but the team she inherited still lacked the resources from the SIHA needed to compete. Seven total players retired after the 2018 Olympics, with several citing the lack of support as their reasoning. Sweden continued to free-fall at the 2019 World Championship. They were relegated to Division IA, and watched from the stands as their rivals, Finland, became the second European team to reach the gold medal game and challenge the North Americans. A new coach wasn’t going to be enough to fix this, not when the SIHA only arranged five practices leading up to the World Championship.

A letter wasn’t going to cut it against a hostile governing body that wouldn’t engage in good faith. In August 2019, the Swedish Women’s National Hockey Team initiated a strike.

The strike focused on ten points: Asking where the money the SHL and SIHA invested had gone after the SIHA had not paid it out, lack of insurance, needing longer camps ahead of tournament, better travel conditions and scheduling, a comprehensive development plan for the program, clothes and equipment made for women and not junior boys, increased staffing, food that isn’t expired, and respect. They had leverage, with Sweden hosting the United States, Canada, and Finland for the Four Nations Tournament that fall.

An agreement was met two months later, at the expense of Four Nations being cancelled. The contract included payment for lost earnings while playing for the National Team, insurance coverage for players while participating in national team duties, medal bonuses, and a bonus for promotion back to the top division. The following year, SICO helped the Swedish women negotiate a deal for the SDHL, which included insurance coverage for SDHL games, sick pay, and assistance with post-playing career development.

The March Back Up

The gains for Sweden’s Women’s National Team took a while to see, with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting full force around the same time, causing the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 Division IA World Championships. Sweden returned to the top division in 2022, not through promotion, but due to Russia’s suspension from IIHF play. The next few World Championships went better than 2018 and 2019, but Sweden still struggled to gain any ground on Japan and Germany, or win a quarterfinal game. While improvements were not immediately apparent on the international stage, they were occurring domestically in Sweden at the club level.

Unlike the PWHL, which is run separately from Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, the SDHL is run by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. The conditions in the SDHL were unsustainable during the dark years of the 2010s. Most players earned no salary, while those who did receive payment weren’t making anything close to a livable wage. Frequent failures to provide for players weren’t just about the lack of salary. Incidents like Linköping needing to ask fans to fundraise for players’ travel to the finals in 2018, or clubs forgetting to book return travel home from games, showed that women’s teams were treated like afterthoughts. Investing in the SDHL meant investing in everyday player development and allowing them to spend more time training and focusing on hockey. If Sweden’s Women’s National Team was going to become one of the best in the world again, the SDHL needed to do better.

In 2021, the SDHL launched an initiative to get 25% of players to a salary where they can make a living playing hockey within five years, with that “making a living” price set at a monthly salary of 22,500 SEK minimum. According to Sweden’s labor statistics, that would be below Sweden’s average median salary by about 14,000 SEK, though somewhat closer to what the average Swede in the “Sports coaches and instructors” and “Recreation and related associate professionals” industries makes. As of the spring of 2025, a report from Ida Forsgren at SVT revealed that the number of players making at least 22,500 SEK monthly was at 23%. The average salary for an SDHL player was 16,330 SEK per month before tax, and 41% earned at least 14,300 SEK a month. 49% of salaries went to foreign players, while the remaining 51% went to Swedish players.

Individual SDHL salaries aren’t typically made public, but earlier this year, Luleå’s salaries per player were reported by Kuriren’s David Olsson Jiglund. The breakdown is as follows:

30,000 to 35,000 SEK per month: Jenni Hiirikoski, Petra Nieminen

25,000 to 30,000 SEK per month: Sara Grahn, Nadia Mattivi, Sarah Bujold, Linnéa Johansson

20,000 to 25,000 SEK per month: Johanna Fällman, Jaycee Magwood, Charlie Kettyle, Jenna Donohue, Akane Shiga, Erica Rieder

15,000 to 20,000 SEK per month: Wilma Sjölund, Emilie Kruse Johansen

0 to 10,000 SEK per month: Minnie Gill, Astrid Lindeberg, Lovisa Lundström*, Tilde Sjödin, Hedvig Sturk*, Inez Nygren*, Stella Sjöberg*
* = indicates player also partakes in Luleå’s NDHL or U19 team.

While Luleå is a team that pays on the higher end of the spectrum, the article notes that those are not the highest contracts in the SDHL, and some other teams pay more. One of those teams is likely Frölunda, which formed in 2022 with a club investment of two million euros and has seen hundreds of thousands more come in from sponsorship and ticketing revenue. With Swedish legends Martin Hasson and Erika Holst at the helm, the team won the championship within three years and has both brought in established superstars and helped develop some of Sweden’s next wave of players.

Demands for a more comprehensive development plan have also come into fruition. One example is the TV-Pucken tournament, where players 15 years or younger represent the districts of the SIHA in a country-wide competition, with the playoff rounds broadcast throughout Sweden. While the men’s tournament has existed since 1959, the women’s version only launched in 2019 (though an early iteration, Stålbucklan, started around 2006 and was taken over by the SIHA in 2012; it only gained the same structure and television coverage in 2019). A proper junior league was created for players, now featuring 28 teams. The U19 league allows girls to develop within their age group instead of having to choose between playing with adult women or boys’ teams. Even for the top prospects who do earn some time on SDHL teams or boys’ programs, most also spend a part of their season in the women’s junior league, where they can play a bigger role and become more well-rounded.

Some of the first players to benefit from these new development systems, such as Mira Jungåker, Nicole Hall, Hilda Svensson, Thea Johansson, and Jenna Raunio, have now reached the senior team level, earning a silver medal at the U18’s in 2023 along the way. The number of Swedish players in NCAA Division I has skyrocketed: Of the 76 all-time Swedish women to play in the league, 22 are currently active. 18-year-old forward Hilda Svensson finished the 2025-2026 NCAA season seventh overall in points, and first among any European player, with 50 points in 30 regular-season games. Players who chose to stay in the SDHL instead of making the jump to the NCAA have also been impactful to the National Team, namely Lina Ljungblom, Hanna Thuvik, and the aforementioned Maja Nylén Persson.

The Swedish Women’s National Team's success at the 2026 Olympics isn’t only thanks to its young players. The more favorable conditions have allowed veterans like Lisa Johansson, Hanna Olsson, Emma Söderberg, and Anna Kjellbin to continue playing and improving. Perhaps most remarkable is Hanna Olsson, who started with the National Team during the Boork era. Olsson has had several major injuries in her career, but the most significant was torn tendons in her thigh that caused her to miss the majority of the 2023-2024 season. The Frölunda captain was able to rehab and return to form, culminating in her big moment at the 2026 Olympics, where she scored the game-winning goal against Czechia that sent Sweden to the semifinals. Without new stipulations in the CBA, such as insurance or investment from clubs like Frölunda, Olsson may not have been able to keep playing.

Where Do We Go From Here

While salaries improved in the SDHL since 2019, they still have a long way to go. The SDHL has likely met its initial goal of 25% of players earning a living wage (if the 23% figure for 2025 is anything to go by); they now need to work on the remaining 75%. Salaries should be raised so that the average SDHL salary is in line with the national average of 36,100 SEK at a minimum. With so many players still juggling other jobs, a study from Lund University reports that one in five SDHL players showed symptoms of burnout, compared to only four percent of SHL players.

Pressure for SHL clubs to invest and support their women’s programs has also led to positive change. Frölunda went from not having a senior club team to having one of the best in under five years. Skellefteå didn’t have a women’s or girls program for most of the 2010’s, and now has both an SDHL program and a U19 team. For some teams, it is still a work in progress. The Växjö Lakers, one of the SHL’s most successful clubs recently, only have a U19 women’s team, but will field a senior-level team next season.

Another change to improve development is to restructure the second tier league so that the NDHL and Hockeyallsvenskan are separate. The NDHL consists of A-teams, meaning the club’s highest level of play in the women’s program, and B-Teams, which are secondary teams for SDHL teams (such as U19 programs that play there and in the youth league). Some of the A-Teams actively invest and try for promotion, while others mostly coast and don’t have SDHL ambitions. All of these teams play in the NDHL from September to December, and then the best A-teams will go on to play Hockeyallsvenskan while the rest remain in the NDHL. Many players have been critical of the NDHL and the format of playing half a year there before going to Hockeyallsvenskan. The games are less competitive in the NDHL, hurting player development and leading to frequent large blowouts that make it hard for the higher-end teams to draw crowds in the first half of the year. Playing Hockeyallsvenskan year-round, as they do on the men’s side, would help the teams trying to earn promotion build their fanbase and challenge their players. Further developmental leagues should also be created, such as a U16 league.

In accordance with the demands of the strike, Sweden has greatly expanded its staff for the Women’s National Team. They now have two equipment managers, a team manager, a media manager, multiple physical therapists, and a strength and conditioning coach. The next step is encouraging more women and former players to take on those roles. They’ve already made some progress with Erika Holst taking the reins at the 2026 World Championships. However, many of the men in coaching roles on the national team level had little prior experience, if any, with women’s hockey. Johan Alm is the assistant coach of the U18 team in his first coaching job in hockey, and Andreas Karlsson hadn’t coached women until he took over as the U18 coach in 2022. That doesn’t mean they’re doing a bad job, Karlsson coached the U18 team to a silver medal after all, but just that women should be afforded these opportunities too if they pursue them. Former players like Josefine Jakobsen, Maria Omberg, Hanna Blomqvist, Sofia Engström, Linn Peterson, and Jennifer Axelsson are recently retired players who’ve moved into coaching and should be considered.

The Swedish medal drought may be ongoing, but it won’t last much longer. Competition is as tough as ever on the international stage of women’s hockey, but Sweden proved at the 2026 Olympics that it can hang with the best. The SIHA needs to continue this momentum, and clubs need to keep investing, but seven years after the strike, the future that the players fought for has arrived.

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PWHL (America and Canada)

Headlines

• Ottawa Charge to play Montreal Victoire at the Canadian Tire Center on Friday, April 3
  The game was originally set for March 11th at TD Place, but has been moved to give the Charge a chance to play in the higher capacity arena. More information can be found here.

Transactions

• Olivia Zafuto signs Standard Players Agreement (SPA) with the Boston Fleet

  Zafuto is a defender in her third PWHL season, and second with the Fleet, where she has primarily been a reserve.

• Montreal signs defenders Tamara Giaquinto to SPA and Kelly-Ann Nadeau to a 10-day contract

  Giaquinto was drafted in the 6th round by Montreal last year. Nadeau has been on and off the reserve list for Montreal for the last two seasons, playing a handful of games as a depth defender

• Élizabeth Giguère signs SPA with Minnesota

  Giguère spent the first two PWHL seasons with New York before signing with Minnesota as a reserve. The forward had 8 points in 53 PWHL games before joining the Frost.

• Ottawa signs Olivia Wallin, cuts Sam Isbell

  Wallin was originally drafted by the Torrent and cut after training camp before signing with the Charge as a reserve. Wallin is a forward who graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth last season and had 40 points in 39 games.

  With the addition of Olivia Wallin and the pick-up of Emma Greco via trade last month, the Ottawa Charge decided to cut Sam Isbell. The defender signed a one-year contract at the start of the season. Isbell was originally signed with the Fleet as a reserve player in 2024 before joining Ottawa, and has played in a total of 22 PWHL games

• Forward Lauren Messier signs a 10-day contract with Toronto
  Messier is a graduate of Dartmouth University who’s been on Toronto’s reserve list this season

• Sydney Langseth signs SPA with the Seattle Torrent

  A training camp invite turned reserve player for Seattle, Langseth joins Seattle as a forward who spent the last five seasons at Minnesota State University

• Vancouver signs forward Brianna Brooks to a 10-day contract

  Brooks was a fourth-round draft pick for the Goldeneyes this year and has been training with the team as a reserve

Injuries

LTIR: Dominique Petrie (Minnesota), Sophie Shirley (Boston), Zoe Boyd (Boston), Olivia Mobley (Boston), Erin Ambose (Montreal), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota), Hilary Knight (Seattle)

Day to Day: Riley Brengman (Boston), Emma Gentry (Toronto), Daryl Watts (Toronto), Jincy Roese (New York), Katie Chan (Vancouver), Claire Thompsonn (Vancouver)

Returned this month: Aneta Tejralová (Seattle), Anne Cherkowski (New York),

SDHL (Sweden)

Headlines:

• Playoffs and relegation series are set, Frölunda wins first regular season title

  The quarterfinals will be a five-game series with the following matchups: Frölunda (1) vs. Färjestad (8) / Luleå (2) vs. Djurgården (7) / Brynäs (3) vs. Skellefteå AIK (6) / SDE (4) vs. MoDo (5). The playoffs begin on March 2nd.
  
  The relegation series features two rounds. In the first round, NDHL teams Rögle and Leksands will play a three-game series. The winner of the first round will face HV71, while the losing team will face Linköping in a best-of-three series. The winners of each of those series will play in the SDHL next year. Round one will begin on March 4th.

• Jenni Hiirikoski suffers season-ending hand injury during the Olympics, Luleå signs Franziska Stocker

  After Hiirikoski suffered an injury during the preliminary round with Team Finland, Luleå was able to get an exemption from the SDHL to sign someone after the roster deadline had taken place. They recruited Franziska Stocker, an Italian teammate of Luleå star defender Nadia Mattivi. Stocker is a 28-year-old right-handed defender who’s spent the last several seasons with Södertälje SK in the NDHL. She had a strong performance at the Olympics, playing 22 minutes a night and scoring a goal.

• Luleå forward Petra Nieminen finishes the SDHL regular season with the most points (45), while Frölunda forward Elisa Holopainen finished with the most goals (27)
  Nieminen became the scoring leader despite missing nine games with injury, scoring at a remarkable 1.67 points per game pace.

  
  Four out of five of the top scorers for the SDHL this season, including Nieminen and Holopainen, were Finnish.

  
  For goaltenders, Frölunda’s Andrea Brändli had the highest save percentage with a .945 save percentage
  
  Linköping’s Ebba Svensson Träff had the most saves this season with 1,016 (next highest was 753) and 33 total starts. Despite her phenomenal .931 save percentage, Linköping has only managed nine wins in her 33 starts this year.

Photo of Elisa Holopainen in celebration of Frölunda finishing in first, via Bauerhockeyeurope

Transactions:

• Goaltender Ena Nystrøm extends for one year with Brynäs, with the option to add a second year

  The Norwegian goaltender is in her second season with Brynäs. Through 45 career regular-season starts, she’s maintained a .922 save percentage and led the SDHL in shutouts this year with five.

• Tilia Lindgren signs for three years with Skellefteä

  Lindgren is a fifteen-year-old forward who’s spent the majority of the year with IF Björklöven in a predominantly boys U16 league and with the Swedish U18 team. During the U18 World Championships, she had three goals and three assists in six games, and had 14 points in 16 games in her U16 club league. While her three-year contract doesn’t kick in until next year, Lindgren has played two games with Skellefteå on loan and already has two goals.

• Frölunda extends Paula Bergström for another season

  Bergström joined Frölunda last year after graduating from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and has become a major piece of their defense core, already earning an “A” in her second season

• Jenny Antonsson signs two-year extension with Brynäs
  The forward is in her fifth season with Brynäs and has been a consistent part of the middle of their lineup. This season, she’s served as one of Brynäs’ alternate captains and had 11 points in 29 games

• Skellefteå and Millie Rose Sirum mutually part ways

  Sirum was in her rookie season with Skellefteå and was fourth on the team in scoring, with 18 points in 33 games. No reason was provided for the mutual termination, just that it was a “respectful dialogue.” She is expected to play with the Norwegian national team at the DIA World Championships in April

• Wilma Sjölund signs two-year extension with Luleä

  Sjölund is only 22 but is a long-time member of Luleå, currently in her seventh season. This year has been a breakout year for Sjölund. She’s scored 18 goals and 10 assists in 36 games. Her previous highest point total was 12 points in 34 games, and she had never reached double-digit goals before.

Injuries

Please note that, as the SDHL/teams don’t often publish injury reports, this is likely incomplete

Currently out: Mimmi Gill (Luleå), Lucy Morgan (MoDo), Wilma Sundin (MoDo), Linnéa Johansson (Luleå), Astrid Lindeberg (Luleå), Ena Nystrøm (Brynäs), Jenni Hiirikoski (Luleå)

Returned this month: Laura Lerchová (Skellefteå AIK)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines

• Playoffs officially begin
  The first round of playoffs has already begun for the PostFinance Women’s League. EV Zug (1) and Bern (2) get a bye while Fribourg-Gottéron (4) plays ZSC Lions (5) and Ambri-Piotta (3) plays Davos (6) in a best-of-three series to determine who will move on to the semifinals.
  
  The series between Ambri-Piotta and Davos concluded this past weekend, with Ambri-Piotta sweeping Davos. Fribourg-Gottéron and ZSC Lions split the first two games of their series, and will play the decisive third game on March 4th.

• SC Langenthal Damen officially folds, with former players Lorena Marti, Anja Luternauer, and Lea Macleod joining SC Bern for the playoffs.
  Despite a last-ditch attempt to save the team, SC Langenthal Damen has officially folded at the conclusion of the regular season. Three players were allowed to join SC Bern for the playoffs, most notably forward Lea Macleod, who led Langenthal in scoring with seven goals and nine assists.

• Yara Keller, Leonie Kutzer, Chiara Eggli, Sarah Mettler, and Annic Büchi extend with EVZ
  Yara Keller and Leonie Kutzer signed for one year, while Chiara Eggli, Sarah Mettler, and Annic Büchi all signed for two years.

  
  All five players to extend are age 20 or younger, mostly playing depth roles with the team thus far. The one exception is Büchi, who’s already been one of EVZ’s top defenders and made the Swiss Olympic team after a great club season.
  
  The youngest of the group is Sarah Mettler, who is only 15 years old. She’s already spent most of this season with EVZ and has a goal and eight assists in 23 games.

• Emma Lintner, Mara Frey sign with EVZ for 2026-2027
  In addition to their extensions, EVZ adds two new players to next year’s team. Mara Frey has played the last few seasons with the ZSC Lions and has been a fringe player for the Swiss national team forward group, last appearing at the 2025 World Championships.
  
  Emma Lintner is an exciting Austrian prospect who played in Canada the last two seasons and has committed to play for the University of Vermont in 2027-2028. The 17-year-old forward has already played for Austria’s senior national team, scoring three goals at the last D1A World Championships to help them earn promotion to the top division.
  
  EVZ now has 16 players under contract for next season.

• Fribourg-Gottéron signs Canadian defenders Jamie Grinder and Kyra McDonald for the 2026-2027 season
  Grinder is a defender who spent four years playing DI Hockey in the NCAA before joining DEC Salzburg Eagles in the EWHL and AWHL this year. In 21 EWHL games, she has three goals and nine assists.

  
  Finishing up her USports career with Trinity Western University, McDonald is a forward who had a career-high 19 points in 28 regular-season games this season. The CBC had an article about McDonald and her hockey journey from her hometown of Inuvik to preparing to play pro in Switzerland, which can be read here

• Lara Stalder finishes the season as PostFinance League’s point leader, ties with Estelle Duvin and Lena-Marie Lutz for most goals
  Stalder had 53 points in 27 games and was a major part of EVZ’s first-place finish in the standings. Estelle Duvin, a French forward on Bern who led the league in points last year, tied with Stalder for most goals with 21. Also with 21 goals was Lena-Marie Lutz of Ambri-Piotta. Lutz posted a SWHL A/PFWL best in points, where her previous high was 11 goals.

Auroraliiga (Finland)

• Auroraliiga playoffs begin with best-of-five quarterfinals

  • Kiekko Espoo (1) v. KalPa (8): Kiekko Espoo up in series 2-0

  • HPK (2) v. Kärpät (7): Currently tied

  • HIFK (3) v. TPS (6): HIFK up in series 2-0

  • Kuortane (4) vs. Ilves (5): Ilves up in series 2-0

  • The Pelicans and Lukko from Finland’s second-tier league, Mestis, will face off to determine who will play in a best-of-five series against Auroraliiga’s ninth-place team, RoKi, for possible promotion

• Bulgarian defender Stefani Baykusheva joins RoKi for the remainder of the season

  Baykusheva becomes the first Bulgarian player in Auroraliiga history. The 19-year-old defender has played in Bulgaria for her entire career and represented her country on the international stage

• Emma Nuutinen is the Auroraliiga regular-season point leader for the second season in a row
  Nuutinen finished the year with 63 points in 28 games for Kiekko-Espoo, including a league-leading 27 goals. Her season caught the attention of the
  
  Finnish national team and earned her a spot at the Olympics after she was left off the roster for the previous four tournaments.
  
  The best U18 player was Emmi Loponen of Kärpät, who had 29 points in 31 games as a 17-year-old
  
  Veteran goaltender Anni Keisala led the league in save percentage, with a .946 across 18 games with HPK

Other

• Troy Ryan out as coach of Team Canada
  Ryan took over as head coach of the Canadian Women’s National Team in the 2020-2021 season. He led Canada to a gold medal at the 2022 Olympics, as well as multiple gold and silver medals at the World Championships and 2026 Olympics. After some criticism this past calendar year for Canada’s play during the rivalry series and Olympics, Ryan’s contract will not be renewed. He is still currently the coach of the Toronto Sceptres.

• Colin Muller is likely stepping down as the coach of Team Switzerland

  While nothing is official yet, Muller’s contract ended after the Olympics, and he strongly implied that he would be moving on in his post-game interviews after Switzerland’s bronze medal victory. Muller has been the Swiss Women’s National Team coach since the 2019-2020 season and has consistently kept Switzerland a top-five team, and led them to their second-ever Olympic medal and first since 2014.

• The World Championships begin with the third division
  Division IIIA wrapped up with Romania earning promotion to the second division, their first appearance in Division IIB since 2019. The last time they finished first/qualified for promotion was in 2016. Bulgaria, who were promoted last year, was relegated back to Division IIIB. The tournament’s top scorer was Thailand’s Ratana Kajonsaksumet, who had 12 points in five games.

  The Division IIIB tournament is currently underway. The remaining tournaments will all take place at the end of March/early April, except for the top division, which will be played in November.

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Photo via gonuwhockey

France

Finished: 10th

Did they meet their goal?: No, but came very close!

Biggest strength of this tournament: Alice Philbert

What they need going forward: Any defensive depth, more top-six wingers

France’s tournament got off to a bad start with a 4-1 loss to the team ranked closest to them, Italy, where they were outshot 46-15. The one goal losses against Japan and Germany were better outcomes, but both games were only close due to goaltender Alice Philbert’s heroics.

Philbert’s play was the story for France. She finished fourth in save percentage in the tournament (.933) while playing every single minute France qualified for and seeing more shots than any goaltender (179 total or 44.75 a game) despite only playing four games - you couldn’t ask for much more, especially from someone who joined the team so recently.

Chloé Aurard and Clara Rozier struggled, both getting into penalty trouble and only racking up one assist. In fairness, they disproportionately shielded the toughest forward minutes alongside Duvin and Baudrit, but they weren’t able to win their minutes against even Japan or Italy most shifts. France leaned very heavily on its top six players this tournament - Lea Berger, Emma Nonnenmacher, Anaé Simon, and Sehana Galbrun didn’t even see ten minutes of ice time across all four games combined. Clémence Boudin, Anais Peyne-Dingival, and Julia Mesplède averaged around 10 minutes a game as the third line. The tough minutes for the rest of the lineup, who played over 20 minutes every game, wore on them.

One reason France can be optimistic is that their NCAA players, Manon le Scodan and Jade Barbirati, played well. While +/- is an imperfect stat, it stands out that both players are the only two on France’s roster without a negative goal differential. They also collected a decent number of shots on goal, and le Scodan had two assists. Both are two of France’s better U25 players and project to fill out the forward group’s middle six long term, an area that’s been lacking for France.

The next four years are critical for France’s national team. They will be at the next Olympics via an automatic host bid. Italy’s successful Olympics provides France with a blueprint. They already recruited some North American-born players as dual citizens (such as Philbert) and have a good opportunity to add more if they provide an easier path for French Canadian players to join, but that alone won’t be enough. They need to support the development of homegrown French players’, which at this moment means trying to get them into other countries’ development systems at the club level as soon as possible. We’ve seen this with players like le Scodden and Barbirati heading to Canada at age 18 and a few others training in US programs, but they need to find a way to get their players to see tougher competition earlier. In recent years, they created/revamped the Pôle France Féminin, which is a more intensive training program for the best youth players to compete domestically. If they can find a way to tie in a senior club team that competes both domestically and in the EWHL, as Italy did with the Bozen Eagles, it would make a huge difference. Alternatively, or in addition to that, they can strengthen their ties with the nearby Swiss league and send some of their top prospects there. Clémence Boudin is their best U18 prospect and currently plays in a third-string boys league in France. She is one of the many they need to support and get into a better situation.

Japan

Finished: 9th

Did they meet their goal?: No

Biggest strength of this tournament: Top pairing defense, Rui Ukita

What they need going forward: Consistent goaltending, center depth

Japan’s goaltending was their biggest strength at the World Championships, but it was their biggest weakness at the Olympics. They finished last in save percentage despite only allowing 108 shots, or 27 shots per game. The difference in goaltending was most evident in their game against Germany. Where in the World Championships they upset Germany in a 1-0 shutout, they now lost 5-2

Japan’s biggest loss was in overtime against Italy, a game that ultimately decided who would head to the quarterfinals. Despite outshooting Italy 29-23, including eight shots from Akane Shiga alone, they’d ultimately lose 3-2. The game exemplified a lot of Japan’s problems - the coaching staff didn’t have full faith in Rio Noro or Riri Noro in the first and second lines, and cut their minutes in exchange for slotting Haruka Toko and Mei Miura up the lineup, which meant Makoto Ito wasn’t getting ice time, either. Six forwards played the majority of the third period, and it showed. After getting 15 shots on goal in the second period, they only had six in the third, and none were close to the net. In a must-win game when down a goal, it’s understandable to run your best players out there as much as possible, but the limited number of trusted players in that situation led to fatigue. Toko was the only forward consistently winning faceoffs for Japan, which meant she was often deployed on multiple lines in crunch time.

One area where Japan looked great was their top-pairing defenders, Aoi Shiga and Kohane Sato. For Sato specifically, this was her best appearance on the senior national team. The 19-year-old saw her ice time increase from 17 minutes to 22 minutes a game compared to the 2025 World Championships, and had two assists. Both Sato and Akane Shiga showed chemistry with each other, which answered one of Japan’s most pressing needs of the last Olympic cycle as the core defenders from their 2022 team began to age.

Italy

Finished: 8th

Did they meet their goal?: Yes, and exceeded it

Biggest strength of this tournament: Defense (particularly on penalty killing), top six forwards

What they need going forward: Continue Olympics momentum and funding, improve depth

Italy’s hope going into the Olympics as the lowest-ranked team was to put on a good show for the home crowd and keep the games close. They managed to get not one but two wins and make the quarterfinals, a historic moment for the Italian hockey program. Unfortunately, their spot as the last-ranked team in the quarterfinals meant playing the United States first, a team that mowed down all of its opponents in the group stage. Italy got dominated in the quarterfinals, as expected, but the 6-0 loss was a lot more respectable than their last Olympic showing against one of the US/Canada superpower teams: a 16-0 loss to Canada in 2006.

Perhaps Italy’s biggest accomplishment was the number of players who had an impactful tournament that will be a part of the program long-term. In my Olympic preview, I mentioned Fantin, Mattivi, and Fedel as the big three Italian-born players to watch. All three had their moments, especially Fantin, who led the team in goals, and Mattivi, who played top defense minutes. But other Italian-born players also stepped up big. Laura Lobis proved she can handle tough defensive assignments against top division teams like Japan and Germany, finishing with two assists and playing with Fortino in Italy’s big game against Japan. Anna Caumo played a top-six role alongside Della Rovere and Reyes and had two assists. Franziska Stocker rounded out the top four defenders and scored the lone goal against Sweden.

Going forward, the big question for Italy is how much it will continue to fund the program now that the Olympics are done. We’ve seen some countries like China (which recently launched its own professional league) use the Olympic momentum to continue building their hockey program, while others go back to the way things were before. Likely, some of the players who joined this Olympic cycle from North America will retire, especially older players like Fortino and Tutino, but would Italy be interested in offering any of them a coaching or development role? Will any of the current coaching staff stay on? Italy has produced some really great prospects over the years, with Mattivi and Fantin having legitimate PWHL hopes in the near future, and it would be great to see them continue to get support from their national team program. Up next for Italy will be their second appearance in Division IA at the World Championships this April, where they’ll try to avoid relegation.

Germany

Finished: 7th

Did they meet their goal?: No

Biggest strength of this tournament: Center depth, Nina Jobst-Smith

What they need going forward: More defense and a high-scoring left-winger

Germany had an up-and-down tournament. They started by getting utterly outclassed by Sweden, a team they were neck and neck with two years ago, but then got a decisive win against Japan, who shut them out at the last World Championship.

Laura Kluge and Nina Jobst-Smith dominated this tournament for Germany, ensuring they’d reach the semifinals. In an important game against Japan, the team that seemed closest to Germany in terms of competition going to the Olympics, Kluge had a four-point game. She’d also score the game winner against Italy in the final minutes of regulation, which ended up being the difference between a 7th and 8th place finish. Overall, her seven points in five games were the best point-per-game pace of the tournament and tied for seventh-most points among all players. Jobst-Smith, meanwhile, would finish second in total shots on goal by all players with 27, or an average of 5.4 per game. She had two goals, including the overtime winner against France, an assist, and averaged over 26 minutes a night, the second-highest time on ice average at the Olympics.

As for the rest of the roster, the top six performed as expected. They were overall competitive but struggled with consistency and finishing their chances. The second line, which featured both Welcke sisters and Svenja Voigt, best exemplified this. They had their best game against France when Luisa Welcke had nine shots on goal but couldn’t get on the score sheet. Ideally, Germany will develop a top-line left winger, move Nicola Hadraschek-Eisenschmid down to the second line, and get Voigt on the third line, where she’d be more impactful. The third line had its moments, with Franziska Feldmeier scoring Germany’s first-ever goal against Canada, but like most Group B teams, Germany leaned heavily on its top six.

On defense, Germany primarily played Jobst-Smith with Carina Strobel and Daria Gleißner partnered with Ronja Hark. Gleißner and Hark had their high points in this tournament but struggled against other teams’ top players, such as on the Estelle Duvin goal that tied the game for France and sent the game into overtime. Strobel was serviceable next to Jobst-Smith, but finding a defense partner that could fully match her skill set and moving Strobel to a more depth role would be best for Germany. They have some top forward prospects, but no one who’s stood out on defense. Considering their best defender was not developed in Germany, the national team should consider how they’ve been developing defenders and evaluate what they could do differently.

Finland

Finished: 6th

Did they meet their goal?: No

Biggest strength of this tournament: One of their three goals was by a depth forward? I guess?

What they need going forward: Stabilized goaltending, better coaching

This was a Murphy’s Law kind of tournament for Finland. It started with a bunch of them getting norovirus, and their game against Canada being postponed. Then, they were utterly snake bitten when it came to scoring, shooting an impossibly low 2.42% all Olympics. Finally, one of their top defenders, Jenni Hiirikoski, goes down with an injury after blocking a shot in their final preliminary game of the tournament.

But before any of this happened, Finland may already have been doomed by the controversial decision to fire Juuso Toivola. Firing any coach the year before the Olympics rather than letting them play out the cycle is controversial, but even more so considering they had been successful under Juuso Toivola - they won Bronze twice two of the three years that he was coaching, and he was the assistant coach in 2019, the year that Finland beat Canada and almost (or, arguably, did) beat the United States. The team had a clear identity under him, which was especially apparent in the 2025 World Championship, where, despite missing Hiirikoski and Vainikka and going down 3-0, they came back to win bronze. Finland decided to fire him, reasoning that they wanted to improve and challenge the United States and Canada more.

They brought in Tero Lehterä, who had never coached women’s hockey or an international tournament, and it showed. I don’t want to be too down on Lehterä, or say he could never be a successful coach of this team. But asking any coach completely unfamiliar with the program to come in with less than a year until the Olympics and produce a successful result is a tall order. Little things showed Lehterä’s inexperience. The decision to play Holopainen, who’s been Finland’s best forward in recent years, on the third line and only 15 minutes a night was one. Frequently going with two defenders on the power play in must-score situations was another.

Ultimately, it’s hard to blame just Lehterä, because he was given a bad hand. What if this team didn’t all get sick right before the tournament started? What if one of Holopainen’s ten shots went in, or Nieminen’s 13 shots, or Karvinen’s ten? But we can’t chalk everything up to just bad luck. If Brändli wasn’t perfect and Finland did beat Switzerland, it feels impossible that they’d even challenge Canada to the extent that Switzerland did, or that they’d beat Sweden in the bronze medal game, with the way that they were playing. The loss may not lie on Lehterä’s feet, but it should bring some heat to the people who decided to hire a new coach this close to the Olympics in the first place. As Finland’s U18 program deals with the fallout from being relegated, other National Teams get stronger, and core players like Karvinen, Hiirikoski, and Tapani get older, Finland must think about the next four years carefully.

Finland has a very young team, and most of these players will be back in 2030. So what can they improve in the meantime? Besides fixing the coaching situation and doing some internal evaluations of how they run their women’s program, they will need to focus on goalie development. The goaltending for Finland was not good enough. Ahola gave up 12 goals on 89 shots, and as unfair as it is, for the teams that aren’t USA or Canada to make it to the medal rounds, the goaltender needs to put on a near-flawless performance. Emilia Kyrkkö has had a good two years in the NCAA and was good at the U18 level, but hasn’t seen it translate on the senior level yet, nor has she gotten a chance to. Kerttu Kuja-Halkola has some promise, but is far from a top goalie prospect in the game.

Czechia

Finished: 5th

Did they meet their goal?: No

Biggest strength of this tournament: Natálie Mlýnková
What they need going forward: A really intensive meeting about the teams on ice direction

Czechia talked a lot about wanting to rival the USA and Canada on the international stage. They have the talent to do it. But they need to be cautious, because in the past three years, they’ve yet to prove they are the best team in Europe.

During this tournament, there was hesitancy to front-load the forward group of this roster, as Sweden or Switzerland did. The first line was fine, with Tereza Vanišová and Natálie Mlýnková on Kateřina Mrázová’s wings. However, the second line was Michaela Pejzlová centering Tereza Plosová and Denisa Křížová, while the third line had Kristýna Kaltounková in the middle of Adéla Šapovalivová and Klára Hymlárová. Czechia does not have the depth to spread its offense through the lineup that way. Natálie Mlýnková was the best player of the tournament, with a team-leading 20 shots and record-breaking three goals. Kaltounková is likely the best Czech player in the entire world right now, leading the PWHL in goals. Why are we not seeing them play together, at least in crunch time? Even if you have to split them up, Kaltounková should at the very least be the second line center over Pejzlová, and playing Kaltounková with Hymlárová never made much sense. As the tournament went along, and it was clear the middle six lines were not clicking, nothing changed. Czechia had a similar problem at the World Championships last year, where they had Mlýnková on the fourth line the entire tournament despite her playing like their best player (and she continued to prove that during this Olympics) and kept Pejzlová as the second line center despite it not working then, either.

Not only did the personnel decisions not make sense for Czechia, but the overall offensive strategy felt repetitive and predictable. They keep attempting to be a rush team, but do not have enough skaters who are elite when it comes to speed or overall skating skills to pull it off. The ones who do have the skill fit for that type of play are split up and put with slower players, creating situations over and over again where a rush chance becomes one player taking on four opposing players. In the game against Sweden, Czechia repeatedly tried to crash the net and force chances that way, despite being thwarted by a top-notch Swedish defense time and time again.

Penalties also killed Czechia. They took fifteen penalties in five games and had the worst penalty kill percentage in the tournament. Either they need to learn to kill penalties better, or stop taking so many. Preferably both.

The Olympics weren’t all bad for Czechia. As mentioned above, Natálie Mlýnková looked like one of the best players in the entire world through their five games. One of the youngest players on the roster, Barbora Juříčková, had a great tournament in limited minutes: she became one of only two players all Olympics to score against Team USA, and added another assist, despite having only 9 minutes of ice time per game. Juříčková will head to St. Lawrence next year and will only continue to improve. Noemi Neubauerová’s switch to defense paid dividends, and she was effective in that role.

Czechia has a very talented team, with plenty of impactful young players on the roster and more developing. But they need to be a little less big picture and more in the present to be a contender in the next four years.

Sweden

Finished: 4th

Did they meet their goal?: Yes

Biggest strength of this tournament: Goaltending, defense
What they need going forward: Continue to develop their forward group and offensive strategy

Sweden is built from the net out. Svensson Träff, in her first tournament as Sweden’s starter, proved why she is one of the best goaltenders in the sport right now. The 21-year-old had a .939 save percentage through six games and posted two shutouts, including an impressive performance against the Czech’s to help send Sweden to the semifinals. Her only shaky game was against the eventual gold medal winners, the United States.

However, for as good as Svensson Träff was, the defense was the biggest difference maker. Sweden played an overall great team defense, willing to concede that they’d likely give up more shots, but limited their danger and focused on disrupting cross-ice passes. The mobile nature of the defense core thrived with the shortened neutral zone and quickly turned defense into offense with stretch passes out. The first pair of Mira Jungåker and Maja Nylén Persson gave Swedish fans a taste of what is going to be an elite top pairing for years to come, and were arguably the best defense pair outside the United States. Nylén Persson played a more defensive role than we’ve seen her take on in the past, allowing Jungåker to fully embrace the role of a rover defender. Sweden’s offense usually started with Nylén Persson making a great defensive play and passing to Jungåker, who was comfortable either carrying the puck up ice herself or making a long pass out for the forward group. Jungåker would tie Jobst-Smith for the second-most shots in the tournament with 27, and had two goals.

However, Sweden did have limitations. As they have throughout Lundberg’s tenure as coach, they struggled to sustain any consistent offensive pressure in games against opponents on equal footing to them. Besides the top line (and primarily Hilda Svensson, a playmaker with a great eye), players often weren’t able to make high danger passes to set up good offensive chances, and didn’t have a coherent enough forecheck to win rebounds and put pressure on. Both of these weaknesses hurt them against Switzerland, but the final strike against Sweden in the bronze medal game was just how ill-prepared they were for three-on-three overtime. The team looked as if they’d never practiced three-on-three in their life, making inopportune line changes and miscommunicating throughout. Only Svensson Träff’s great play kept the overtime from ending in about thirty seconds.

Sweden will have a new coach by the World Championships, as they’ve already announced the hiring of Frölunda coach and former player Erika Holst. Hopefully, with her, Sweden can see some improvement on the offensive side and build on the last four years.

Switzerland

Finished: 3rd

Did they meet their goal?: Yes, and exceeded it!

Biggest strength of this tournament: Goaltending, top line forwards

What they need going forward: Get a puck-moving defender and more offensive depth

Remember what I said earlier about Czechia not game planning for the team they had? Switzerland was the opposite. They knew exactly what they had to work with, and executed a game plan perfectly around it.

Switzerland knew they had Andrea Brändli, one of the best goaltenders on the planet. They also knew they had Alina Müller and Lara Stalder, two of the best forwards in any game they play, who could score even if they only had two minutes of offensive zone time. Alongside Müller and Stalder are Rahel Enzler, Sinja Leeman, and Ivana Wey, who could provide some support to those two stars. After that, Switzerland had a roster that could commit to team defense for long stretches of time under pressure and absolutely lock down the middle of the ice to limit the high danger chances Brändli saw and clean up any rebounds. As such, the game plan consisted of:

1. Play as conservative a defense as possible. Do not overcommit, and play a careful zone coverage that protects the middle of the ice, with forwards occasionally going for puck retrieval down low

2. In any offensive situation, get the puck to Alina Müller

3. If you can’t get the puck to Müller, get it to Stalder, Wey, or Enzler

4. Try to get offensive opportunities primarily off set faceoffs

The plan worked against Czechia to start the tournament. It worked against Finland. It almost worked against Canada. Then, finally, it worked to get them bronze.

If anyone doubted that Alina Müller was one of the top ten players on the planet right now, and top five forward, that should be silenced. Switzerland scored nine goals all tournament, and she factored in on six. Hell, Switzerland only had 120 shots, and she had 21 of those, meaning she was responsible for 1/5th of Switzerland’s shots on goal. Müller had two game winners, a power play goal, and a shorthanded goal, ultimately leading to her being named to the Olympic All Star team.

Brändli is the other MVP for Switzerland. She missed the first few games with norovirus, and only had one preliminary round game before the playoff round began, but would go on to make 116 of 119 saves in the next three games to secure a bronze medal.

Switzerland’s defense wasn’t as flashy as other teams, but Alessia Baechler and Lara Christen did lock it down when it mattered. For a team with a -9 goal differential, Baechler ended up +3 and Christen +4, while both played around 25 minutes a night. Once again, it’s hard to really use +/- as an evaluator, but with limited stats available, we’ll be impressed by how much they were outliers despite playing more than anyone. To best replicate success, Switzerland will hope that either Baechler or fellow young defender Laure Mériguet can develop offensively, which would fill the need for more puck movement from their defensive core.

Another aspect that made this Swiss team more effective than last year’s was Ivana Wey taking a step forward. She scored the game-winning shootout goal against Czechia, assisted on Müller’s overtime winner, and overall took a giant step forward offensively. During the 2025 World Championship, she did not register a single shot on goal; this time around, she had 12. Switzerland’s domestic league, the Postfinance women’s league, has seen an increase in investment during the past three years, which showed in players like Wey and Leeman stepping up this tournament.

Canada

Finished: 2nd

Did they meet their goal?: No

Biggest strength of this tournament: Special teams
What they need going forward: reevaluate their team structure

Doom clouded Canada ever since the 2025 World Championships. Time and time again in 2025, they would lose to the United States, with the results becoming more drastic as the year went on and the Rivalry Series began. It’s important for coaches and management not to overreact to exhibition games and sample sizes, and trust that things will even out, but there wasn’t really anything positive for Canada to draw from leading up to the Olympics.

The good thing about exhibition games is that, well, they don’t count. You play them so you can learn from them. But Canada never seemed to learn anything from them, barely tweaking the roster and strategies even as they failed to produce success.

In fairness to Canada, they were only one goal away from meeting their goal. Two minutes was the difference between the narrative that Canada was ill-prepared for the Olympics and a gold medal. They played their best game in the gold medal game, with their best player playing injured. But just like we can’t overreact to one game when it goes bad, we can’t put too much stake in one game when it goes well, either. The body of work over the past year is enough to reevaluate the strategies of this team going forward.

The whole forward group could not find any chemistry and seemed to be in a bit of an identity crisis. Watts was their best forward, and she had chemistry with Fillier, but no center seemed to fully fit right with them. One has to wonder if things would be different and there’d be more time to find a fit if Canada recruited Watts in 2022 when she graduated, and everyone in the world but them knew she was good enough to be a star on this team, rather than only adding her last year. The same could be said for Jaques - I already did my rant on why she needs an elevated role on this team in the preview, but it’s worth pointing out that the shots on goals leaders were all defenders in this tournament (Harvey, Jobst-Smith, and Jungåker) and the three point leaders were defender as well (Edwards, Harvey, Keller). Women’s hockey is moving in a direction where the offensive-defender is the most important role on the team, and Canada has yet to embrace it, despite having the personnel to do so.

So, what’s next? Build a defense around Jaques, Primerano, and Shelton. Figure out a way to integrate Gosling and Gardiner in the forward group, and start giving Sara Manness and Stryker Zablocki reps and senior camps as soon as possible. Figure out what the identity of this team is going forward and have faith in the personnel to execute it.

USA

Finished: 1st

Did they meet their goal?: Yes

Biggest strength of this tournament: Defense and goaltending

What they need going forward: Keep up high-level player development

The Olympics could not have come at a better time for the United States. The veteran core, like Knight, Carpenter, Pannek, Coyne, and Stecklein, haven’t started to decline much yet, while Harvey, Edwards, Bilka, Murphy, Dunne, and Janecke are all beginning to reach the end of their development stage and be full-fledged players in their best years. There are some impact players (Frankel, Barnes, Keller, Heise) who fall between those two categories, but the majority of this roster fell on two ends of the peak of an aging curve.

The United States gold can also be attributed to dynamically offensive defenders who are comfortable taking risks to win, especially while having goaltenders as good as Philips and Frankel behind them. No pairing better exemplified this than Keller and Edwards, who had some major mistakes in the gold medal game (more than they usually make, likely shaken a bit by the play that led to Canada’s short-handed goal) and also were involved in the two goals that won the gold. Often in hockey narratives, we frame offensive defense and shutdown defense as opposite things that can’t overlap, but despite some of the risks taken and mishaps in the gold medal game, the United States proved that isn’t true. Though they did benefit from trusting their goaltender to make the big save if an aggressive pinch or breakout led to a high danger chance, they still overall had the best defense of any team only allowing two goals against all tournament and an average of seventeen shots against a game. The best defense is in making sure your team has possession as much as possible, and all of their defenders are beasts when it comes to possession. You could have had a power play unit of all five of these defenders, and it wouldn’t have looked too crazy because of how comfortable they were in their skating ability and puck handling (though I don’t advise doing that).

Not only did the United States win gold, but they did so as one of the most dominant teams we’ve seen at the Olympics. They averaged 41.7 shots on goal a game (compared to the next highest, Canada, at 36) and had an 11.3% shooting percentage when no one else reached 9%. They have the best defender in the World right now, who’s arguably the best player in the world: Caroline Harvey won MVP of the tournaments and registered the most points. At the age of 23, she also has already won an Olympic best defender award, was named the best defender at the World Championships twice, won NCAA defender of the year twice, has made countless all star teams, and won six championships across IIHF and collegiate competitions. She can’t even rent a car yet. As long as Harvey is playing, the USA is going to continue to be dominant.

Switzerland

Previous Appearances: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022

Previous Results: Bronze (2014), 4th (2022), 5th (2010, 2018), 7th (2006)

Current Ranking: 5th

Goal: Make the semifinals

Top Five Players: Alina Müller, Lara Stalder, Andrea Brändli, Rahel Enzler, Ivana Wey

Roster

Switzerland is the youngest team in the tournament with an average age of 23. Their youngest players will not be playing sheltered minutes, either. 17-year-old Laure Mériguet, their top defensive prospect, averaged 15 minutes a game at the 2025 senior World Championships. She’ll join a defense group that is stronger than in previous years, but still lacks a number-one defender on par with the other Group A teams. Instead, they’ll try to make it work with two quality second-pair caliber defenders, Lara Christen and Nicole Vallario. Providing veteran leadership are Stefanie Wetli and Shannon Sigrist, who, despite being 26, are heading to their third Olympics. Alongside Mériguet is another young defender who’s still developing but has the chance to reach a similar ceiling to Vallario, Alessia Baechler. She’s had a solid freshman year at Northeastern and was the Swiss league defender of the year last season. Both Mériguet and Baechler also bring some size to Switzerland’s defensive core, standing at 5’8” and 5’9”, respectively.

The forward group is where most of Switzerland’s star power is. Alina Müller has continued to prove in the PWHL that she’s a top ten center in the game at her worst. Lara Stalder is not far behind her, and while she’s fallen a bit out of the North American spotlight due to playing in the Swiss league, she can still take over a game the way she did in the SDHL and NCAA. Rahel Enzler is the other forward who has proven herself as a capable scorer on the international stage, but if Switzerland is going to make the jump to the semifinals and try for bronze, they will need secondary scoring from the rest of their players. Ivana Wey has had success at the club level, but has not been as effective offensively at major tournaments. The same can be said for Alina Marti, who hasn’t recorded a point at a major tournament since 2022. Making their offensive woes harder is the injury to Noemi Rhyner, who normally plays the second line, and will be replaced by Lisa Rüedi.

Stalder scores against Czechia at the 2024 World Championships

Besides Müller and Stalder, Switzerland’s biggest strength is goaltender Andrea Brändli. She had a tough World Championship in 2025, which saw her sit out for the placement game, but she looks back to normal in the SDHL this year. Moving to the SDHL’s top team, Frölunda, has lightened her workload, and she should be rested and ready to go for the Olympics.

This team continues to occupy a weird in-between as the clear last place team in Group A, but better than Group B. If they finish fifth in Group A again, they’ll face whoever is in fourth (likely Finland or Czechia), and they’ll need Brändli to stand on her head to give them hopes of advancing.

Czechia

Previous Appearances: 2022

Previous Results: 7th (2022)

Current Ranking: 4th

Goal: Bronze

Top Five Players: Kristýna Kaltounková, Tereza Vanišová, Dominika Lásková, Kateřina Mrázová, Klára Peslarová

Roster

The rise of Team Czechia during this Olympic cycle, from 7th place to winning two bronze medals, is admirable. Czechia upsetting one of the North American teams in the semifinals isn’t unthinkable considering how close their semifinal against the USA was. However, considering Czechia has never won an Olympic medal before and missed out on bronze at the last two World Championships, they'll be more than happy to earn a third-place finish.

Kristýna Kaltounková is the star of this offense. The first overall pick at the 2025 PWHL draft enters the Olympic break leading the league in scoring with 11 goals. 2025 was her first-ever senior tournament with Czechia, and with more time to acclimate and develop in the PWHL, it’s reasonable to expect that she’ll be an even bigger force for Czechia this time around. In addition to Kaltounková, several Czech players are coming into this tournament having made big developmental steps this year - Natálie Mlýnková also made the jump to the PWHL, and Tereza Plosová and Adéla Šapovalivová started their NCAA careers.

Speaking of Mlýnková, she’s another key player for the Czech’s heading into the Olympics. Mlýnková was the player tied with Kaltounková for most points for Czechia at the last World Championships and led them in points at the 2024 tournament, but played primarily third or fourth line roles. In her first PWHL season, she’s continued to prove that she can compete at the highest levels, with four goals and two assists on one of the PWHL’s deepest teams. Giving her a bigger role is needed if Czechia is going to play at its best.

Outside of the two PWHL rookies, Czechia will be looking for Adéla Šapovalivová to translate some of her U18 success and NCAA production to the senior level. She had a good World Championship performance last year, playing top six minutes, but has another level she can reach. At only 19 years old, she still has a long way to go, but another step forward in production will be a big help to Czechia. The young core of Šapovalivová, Tereza Plosová, Barbora Juříčková, and Linda Vocetková will be supplemented by long-time veterans Kateřina Mrázová, Denisa Křížová, Tereza Vanišová, and Michaela Pejzlová.

On defense, Dominika Lásková and Aneta Tejralová lead the way, with Lásková back in full form after recovering from her ACL tear. One player to watch on defense is Sára Čajanová, who was key to their 2023 Bronze medal victory but showed some signs of regression in 2024 and 2025. At the club level, she’s looked back on her game this season, with 22 points in 33 games, a massive step up from the 14 points in 28 games she had in the 2024-2025 season. She and Daniela Pejšová are important to the stretch pass and rush-based system that Czechia likes to deploy. Pejšová hasn’t seen the same offensive production in the PWHL this year that Čajanová has in the SDHL, but she is playing with more confidence in a Boston Fleet system that plays to the same strengths she’ll need for Team Czechia. Rounding out this group are Klára Seroiszková and Andrea Trnková, the latter of whom had a big career move this year, transferring from RPI to Clarkson.

Klára Peslarová was good at the World Championships last year and has been good for Brynäs this season, but for Czechia to medal, she needs to reach the level she played at in the 2022 Olympic Games, when her .945 save percentage earned her a spot on the Olympic All-Star team.

Overall, this is a fast, physical team that does best when pushing the pace and forcing other teams to engage in a shootout. They play similarly to the USA, although with less firepower down the lineup, and will hope the top of their lineup and goaltending can give them the edge.

Finland

Previous Appearances: All

Previous Results: Bronze (1998, 2010, 2018, 2022), 4th (2002, 2006), 5th (2014)

Current Ranking: 3rd

Goal: Make the gold medal game

Top Five Players: Susanna Tapani, Jenni Hiirikoski, Petra Nieminen, Elisa Holopainen, Ronja Savolainen/Michelle Karvinen sorry I’m cheating. I’m physically incapable of picking between the two of them

Roster

At the 2025 World Championships, I called this the best forward group Team Finland has ever had, and they are only better now that some of the younger players have grown. A team is in pretty good shape if its third line consists of Sanni Vanhanen, Jennina Nylund, and Ida Kuoppala.

The stars of the show are still, of course, their top six. Michelle Karvinen and Elisa Holopainen represent two different generations of extremely crafty offense, and Susanna Tapani plays a strong power forward role and has hit another level since joining the Boston Fleet. Petra Nieminen brings it all together, having what may be the best year of her career so far, with an SDHL-leading 43 points in 25 games played, or a 1.72 points-per-game pace. For context, the next best player in points-per-game in the SDHL is sitting at 1.24. One of the things that makes Finland’s 2026 team so much better than their 2022 team is that more of the forward group is in their prime right now, rather than being developing prospects. Julia Schalin and Sanni Vanhanen are the youngest players at 20, but most players are between 24 and 30.

On defense, Jenni Hiirikoski returns after missing the last World Championships due to a heart procedure. While she started the SDHL season a little slow by her standards (and above average by everyone else’s), she’s hit her stride again and leads the SDHL in defense scoring with 26 points in 34 games, and has scored at a point-per-game pace since the holiday break. Ronja Savolainen, who’s playing over 22 minutes a night as a top-pairing defender for the Ottawa Charge, is Finland’s other star defender. She played a massive role in Finland’s bronze medal victory last year, leading the team in scoring with six points in seven games. After that is Nelli Laitinen, whose offensive game took major steps forward at the University of Minnesota this year and will likely be selected in the PWHL draft, and Sanni Rantala, one of the SDHL’s best defenders. A combination of Siiri Yrjölä, Sini Karjalainen, and Elli Suoranta fills out the rest of the defense core.

Jenni Hiirikoski scores for Lulea

One of the biggest questions for Finland is which Sanni Ahola are they going to get. Ahola’s biggest problem is consistency, and Finland saw last year at the World Championships how that can manifest: she can be a goalie that loses the net in the first period, or she can stand on her head and steal you a game. If they do have to look towards their backup, Emilia Kyrkkö is having a great year at St. Cloud, but she struggled during the European Hockey Tour.

A bronze medal wouldn’t be disappointing for Finland, necessarily, but there is room to dream bigger. Never before have they had so much depth, and Hiirikoski and Karvinen are playing in their fifth and likely final Olympics. Becoming the first European team to reach the gold medal game since 2006 would be a monumental accomplishment. During the World Championships, Finland unravelled very quickly in the second period of their quarterfinal against Canada, getting scored on four times in just a matter of minutes after keeping the game fairly even in the first. With Hiirikoski and Vainikka healthy now and more consistent goaltending, the road to victory doesn’t feel so crazy.

Canada

Previous Appearances: All

Previous Results: Gold (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022), Silver (1998, 2018)

Current Ranking: 2nd

Goal: Win gold

Top Five Players: Marie Philip Poulin (ever heard of her?), Ann-Renée Desbiens, Sarah Nurse, Laura Stacey, Daryl Watts

Roster

Canada fans have been in panic mode after a disastrous Rivalry Series, which is understandable, but I am here to make a very bold statement: Canada is still good

Canada has the oldest average roster at this tournament, with an average age of 29 (next is Finland, with an average age just under 26). This is in part due to them not rostering any NCAA players, but also reflective of an older core overall that has become the main storyline for this team heading into the Olympics.

Several of Canada’s star forwards, namely Sarah Fillier, Natalie Spooner, Emily Clark, and Laura Stacey, have played extremely well in the PWHL this year and have some of the highest individual expected goals for in the league, but have been unlucky shooting percentage-wise and thus have not shown up on the scoresheet. Shooting percentage fluctuates, and bouts of bad luck are fairly random, so hopefully the new environment of the Olympics will help turn things around. Meanwhile, Brianne Jenner, Julia Gosling, and Kristin O’Neill are rejuvenated this year, playing with newfound confidence and production that mostly mirrors their underlying numbers. Sarah Nurse missed most of the year with a hand injury and yet hasn’t looked like she missed a beat since returning to Vancouver. Overall, this is the same offense group everyone knows and loves, with players from lines 1-4 that are capable of taking over a game and world-class players leading the way. Defense is where things get a little more interesting.

The two best defenders on the team are Ella Shelton and Sophie Jaques, yet for some reason, Jaques played under ten minutes a game at the 2025 World Championships. Allow me to repeat my Sophie Jaques propaganda:

• Tied Hilary Knight for most total five-on-five points AND primary five-on-five points in the PWHL last season

• Minnesota outscored opponents 28-13 at five on five when she was on the ice last year, the best five on five goal differential of any defender besides Batherson, who was playing primarily sheltered third line minutes

• Despite Vancouver’s offensive struggles this year, she has the best individual expected goals for of any defender in the PWHL, according to hockeystats.com

She’s proven herself at the club level as being one of the best, if not the best, defensive play drivers available to Canada, while being more than capable in her own end. Her stick work, particularly in tight spaces, helps her win puck battles while avoiding penalties, and doesn’t fall into the doomed trap of trying to out-physical the USA. I don’t know if this is a Daryl Watts situation where they’re only going to realize that Jaques is elite if she plays for Team Canada’s coach and GM at the club level, but I hope it’s sooner than that.

A lot has been made of the decision to bring Jocelyne Larocque, who is still a great defender, but isn’t the top-pair defender on the international stage she used to be. Many have already written about the decision to bring Larocque over Primerano, so we won’t revisit that argument. However, if Canada is going to have Larocque in this tournament, they need to manage her minutes. For example, there is 0 reason for her to play 19 minutes in a 7-1 blowout against Japan as they did at the World Championships. Whether she should be playing top minutes in high-stakes games is another conversation, but regardless, they need to be more deliberate about resting her this time around.

Kati Tabin is the final interesting piece to this defense squad. She’ll be at her first-ever tournament for Team Canada after becoming Montreal’s de facto top defender, leading the team in both minutes and points from a defender. While Tabin will likely play limited minutes at the Olympics, her inclusion is a testament to her versatility and consistency. She also gives Canada’s defense a physical edge, along with Fast, that may have been missing previously.

Canada lost both games to the USA at the last World Championships, each by one goal. The gold medal game was significantly closer than the group stage game, despite the score. However, these teams are still so unbelievably close that if they had a proper best-of-four series (Rivalry Series exhibition games don’t count), it would go to a game seven overtime.

USA

Previous Appearances: All

Previous Results: Silver (2002, 2010, 2014, 2022), Gold (1998, 2018), Bronze (2006)

Current Ranking: 1st

Goal: Win gold

Top Five Players: Caroline Harvey, Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne, Alex Carpenter, Taylor Heise

Roster

The USA is full of emerging stars. In this group are five players who will likely go in the first round of the PWHL draft: Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, and Kirsten Simms.

I debated between a million players who could be in the top five here, specifically from the forward group, but the one who I may regret not listing the most is Kelly Pannek. She’s not as flashy as other players and doesn’t always get her due because of it, but she’s been on a rampage since the last World Championships. Currently, she sits third in primary points in the PWHL and tied for second in five-on-five points. Most importantly, teams do not score when she’s on the ice. The Frost have a 13-3 goal edge at even strength when Pannek is on the ice. A lot of Pannek’s skill set reminds me of emerging star Tessa Janecke, who also doesn’t always get her due, especially s playing at Penn State instead of a WCHA school. She’s gotten more attention since scoring the golden goal at the 2025 World Championships, but a lot of what she does best is the subtle skills that can fly under the radar. She’s great on both sides of the puck, extremely mature, and relentless on the forecheck. Team USA is full of stars and talent that will likely wow those watching, but don’t forget to appreciate the quiet (and not so quiet) aspects of Pannek and Janecke’s games that keep USA on top.

The defense is made up of very offensive-minded players who love to carry the puck. They’re also gigantic. Four of these players are 5’11” or bigger. “Bruiser” is not the word that immediately comes to mind for any of these defenders (except maybe Keller), but it’s going to be pretty hard to muscle any of them off the puck.

Caroline Harvey is the best defender currently at this tournament, which I do not say lightly, as there are multiple future Hall of Famers playing. I do not think it’s an exaggeration to say she may be the best player in the world after the Poulin, Knight, and Hiirikoski trio retire. Luckily, instead of trying to describe how good she is, the IIHF has made this nice highlight reel.

The USA will have Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips as their goaltending duo, two players who are second and third in the PWHL in goals saved above expected this season, according to hockeystats.com. Frankel will likely get the biggest games this tournament, but it wouldn’t be a surprise for Philips to start a few games herself, as she played three games at the 2025 World Championships.

This team is really good, but maybe more importantly, they’re fun. They will force the opposing team into turnovers in the neutral zone and have the puck in the back of their net before anyone even blinks.

Recent fans of women’s hockey or those who primarily watch the PWHL may feel overwhelmed looking at Group B and seeing rosters with few recognizable faces. Even if you followed the World Championships last year, two new teams are making an appearance.

The likelihood of any of these teams medalling is slim, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t storylines to follow and triumphs to be had: France and Italy are searching for their first Olympic wins, Germany/Sweden/Japan fighting for the top spot in Group B, and Sweden is aiming for their return to Group A.

So who are these teams? And what does a realistic, successful tournament look like for them?

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ITALY

Previous Appearances: 2006 (host bid)

Previous Results: 8th

Current Ranking: 18th

Goal: Win a game, keep it close in group stage

Top Five Players: Nadia Mattivi, Laura Fortino, Matilde Fantin, Martina Fedel, Justine Reyes

Roster

Team Italy is a mix of Italian-born players and North American-born players who are dual Italian citizens. Some of the North American players (Amie Varano) have been with the team for years. Others (Kristen Guerriero, Kristin Della Rovere, and Kayla Tutino) joined last year for the World Championships. Then there’s the group of Laura Fortino, Jacquie Pierri, Justine Reyes, and Gabriella Durante, who will be playing for Team Italy for the first time, but have spent time training with the team or playing with Italy’s main club team, the EV Bozen Eagles, in the years leading up to the Olympics. Fortino is the highest-profile passport player, having won an Olympic gold medal playing top defensive minutes with Team Canada.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking the North Americans are carrying this team on their own. The home-grown Italian players have their own rising stars, particularly in the trio of Martina Fedel, Matilde Fantin, and Nadia Mattivi.

Mattivi might be Italy’s biggest weapon, especially playing alongside Fortino. Most Group B teams are weak on defense, but Italy should not have that same problem with Mattivi leading the way. The 25-year-old, five-foot-ten defender is the most recent winner of the SDHL defender of the year award, an award that’s been won only by Maja Nylén Persson, Sidney Morin, and Luleå teammate Jenni Hiirikoski since its creation. Mattivi’s time at Luleå has seen her improve on her physicality and offensive instincts, translating into 21 points in 20 games in her sophomore year. It’s hard not to draw similarities between her and Ronja Savolainen, who played in the same role as Mattivi on Luleå, are a similar build, and had similar production.

Matilde Fantin is Italy’s most promising forward prospect. The 19-year-old was Italy’s leading scorer at the Division IB Women’s World Championship last year, with ten points in five games. She outscored her Italian teammate and PWHL reserve player Kristin Della Rovere and experienced opponents like Krista Yip-Chuck before even starting her NCAA career. Now playing for Penn State, she has put together a solid rookie campaign with eight goals and ten assists in 21 games. While she’s played more wing than center for Penn State, she’s a killer at face-offs and has shown it when she’s gotten a chance up the middle. One of the main things that makes Fantin such a dangerous goal scorer is the quick release on her wrist shot, which catches defenders and goaltenders alike by surprise.

The final player in our trio is Martina Fedel, a goaltender who’s spent the last five years at the University of Guelph and won USports goaltender of the year in 2023-2024. In her previous two collegiate seasons, she’s posted a save percentage over .950. She also went the entire 2025 World Championships without giving up a goal, although she benefited from a strong Italian defense that meant she barely had to make any saves in the first place. Still, she’s more than capable of standing on her head when under siege, as seen here:

Martina Fedel with the University of Guelph

Other notable Italian players include: Manuela Heidenberger, who will play for Holy Cross next year, Laura Lobis, a young defender who’s played primarily in Sweden, and Carola Saletta, a 14-year veteran of Team Italy.

Italy’s performance will be somewhere between China’s 2022 performance (which had more passport players at the time than Italy does now and ended up with a regulation and overtime win) and Korea in 2018 (went without a win and was largely outmatched every game). Italy’s main goal is to play close, competitive games in the group stage and get one win. Their best chance at doing so will be their first game of the tournament against France, the team ranked closest to them.

FRANCE

Previous Appearances: never

Previous Results: n/a

Current Ranking: 15th

Goal: Win a game

Top Five Players: Estelle Duvin, Clara Rozier, Choé Aurard, Lore Baudrit, Alice Philbert

Roster

France made it to the Olympics through a complicated series of events: Russia was banned, opening an additional spot for the next best team at the final qualification tournament. France and Denmark had the same record, but France had the better goal differential, leading them to qualify for France’s first-ever Olympics.

This is a team that has a very good first line and a very shaky everything else. Estelle Duvin is one of the all-around best players in Group B, winning MVP in the Swiss league two years in a row, along with just about every offensive award one can win. During France’s last appearance in the top division of the World Championships (2023), she was their top scorer with two goals and two assists in four games. On her wing will be fellow Swiss league players Clara Rozier and Chloé Aurard. Rozier had a heroic performance last January, practically willing France into the Olympics with a seven-point game on the final day that gave France the goal differential needed to beat out Denmark. This line can compete with just about anyone in Group B.

Duvin’s incredible single effort goal at the 2025 DIA World Championships

After the big three, there are some gems in the forward group, although many aren’t quite as polished, save for long-time veteran Lore Baudrit. Both Manon le Scodan and Jade Barbirati are having good seasons in the ECAC division of the NCAA, and 17-year-old Clémence Boudin had a statement 11-point performance at the DIA U18s to win best forward. The main concern for this group, beyond lack of roster depth, is that they don’t have the physicality to keep up with Germany or Sweden or the speed to keep up with Japan. In fact, Japan ran them over in the qualification tournament, beating them 7-1 and outshooting them 41-24.

France’s defense is dire. No player really stands out as a top-four caliber defender currently or in the future. Sophie Leclerc and Gabrielle De Serres form a decent third-pairing but will be expected to play top minutes.

In net is the recently added Alice Philbert, who came in at the World Championships for the first time and gave France the best goaltending performance they’ve had since Caroline Baldin retired in 2022. She’s likely not at the level to compete with the likes of Abstreiter or Träff and is unlikely to steal a game, but she won’t lose France a game, either, which had been their problem in previous competitions.

Germany

Previous Appearances: 2002, 2006, 2014

Previous Results: 6th (2002, 2014), 5th (2006)

Current Ranking: 9

Realistic Goal: Finish at the top of Group B

Top Five Players: Nina Jobst-Smith, Laura Kluge, Sandra Abstreiter, Luisa Welcke, Lilli Welcke

Roster

Germany is one of the two teams that have zero players with previous Olympic experience. Despite the long layoff between Olympic tournaments, they’ll have their eyes set on the top of Group B and the quarterfinals.

Nina Jobst-Smith is the most important player on this team after Abstreiter. Most of the defenders on this team will be committed to playing a conservative defensive structure, with defenders staying back and taking as few risks as possible. Jobst-Smith is the exception. She’s the defender with the highest offensive ceiling and will be relied on to carry pucks and generate offense when she’s on the ice.

Laura Kluge will transition out of the fourth-line grinder role she plays in the PWHL and play as Germany’s 1C, where she’s consistently been one of the highest-scoring forwards. She’ll likely center veteran Nicola Hadraschek-Eisenschmid and Emily Nix while Svenja Voigt centers the Welcke twins for an all-NCAA line. The top end of the forward group is a high floor low ceiling kind of affair, that lacks a Duvin level star they may need to be more of a threat in the quarterfinals but contains a complete two lines of trustworthy offensive players who work extremely well together stylistically, allowing them to be safe favorites to make the quarterfinals out of Group B. They’ll have their games against Japan and Sweden circled in the group stage, especially after Japan beat them 1-0 last year at the World Championships.

Abstreiter hasn’t found consistent playing time in the PWHL as a backup the last few years, but that hasn’t stopped her on the international stage. She posted a .923 save percentage at the 2025 World Championships and a .950 in 2024. Fans can expect another big performance from her again. Her best game in 2025 came against the eventual gold medal winners, Team USA, where a 48-save performance led to a 3-0 loss, much closer than it had any right to be.

Japan

Previous Appearances: 1998, 2014, 2018, 2022

Previous Results: 6th (1998, 2018, 2022), 7th (2014)

Current Ranking: 8

Realistic Goal: Finish at the top of Group B

Top Five Players: Akane Shiga, Haruka Toko, Rui Ukita, Makoto Ito, Aoi Shiga

Roster

Some people will be quick to write off Japan due to the lack of recognizable names or players competing in North America or Europe. Do not do that. This is an incredibly well-coached team, with a clear identity of rush-based offense and consistent ability to find their way to high-danger areas. When Haruka Toko and Akane Shiga, their two best forwards, were unavailable at the 2025 World Championships, they still finished second in Group B due to players like Rui Ukita, Makoto Ito, Mei Miura stepping up.

Mei Miura scores the first-ever team Japan goal against Canada at the 2025 World Championships

A lot will depend on 24-year-old goaltender Miyuu Masuhara. She played out of her mind in the last calendar year, including a .926 performance at Worlds that, in my opinion, should have won her the top goaltender award. The 2025 World Championships were only the second time she’s competed as a starter for Japan’s senior team in a major tournament. Her biggest performance came against Germany in the group stage, where a 34-save shutout secured a 1-0 victory and a 7th-place finish in the tournament. If she can continue to perform at that same level and steal a game or two against the other top Group B teams for Japan, they’ll be in good shape.

Aoi Shiga, meanwhile, is rising as Japan’s top defender as Ayaka Hitosato and Akane Hosoyamada begin to age. Which is nothing against Hitosato and Hosoyamada, two defenders who are still very good and will play big minutes for Japan, but rather a testament to how far Aoi Shiga has come in the past two years. She has transitioned nicely in her first season with Sweden, playing major minutes for a contending SDHL team and contributing offensively. In 34 games, Shiga is MoDo’s highest-scoring defender, with a goal and fifteen assists.

Circling back to the forward group, Haruka Toko and Akane Shiga are ready to play and are the two top players to watch for Japan. Toko has struggled again with injuries, playing only 11 SDHL games this year, including three just before the Olympic break. Still, Japan’s star forward should never be counted out, especially after her three goal and three assist performance at the last Olympics. Akane Shiga, meanwhile, is ninth in SDHL scoring with 34 points in 34 games and has stepped up for Luleå after several players went down with injury. Surrounding them will be some of the aforementioned familiar faces: Ukita, Ito, Miura, Yumeka Wajima, and Suzuka Maeda. Wajima was a major part of Japan making the Olympics, scoring five goals during the qualifiers in what was a breakout tournament for her. The forward group will also include two very young players: 16-year-old Nana Akimoto and 17-year-old Umeka Odaira. Both have been top scorers for the U18 team, with Odaira making the senior team at the last World Championship.

Sweden

Previous Appearances: all Olympics

Previous Results: silver (2006), bronze (2002), 4th (2010, 2014), 5th (1998), 7th (2018), and 8th (2022)

Current Ranking: 7

Realistic Goal: Finish at the top of Group B, upset someone in the quarterfinals and make it to the semifinals

Top Five Players: Hilda Svensson, Maja Nylén Persson, Ebba Svensson Träff, Mira Jungåker, Hanna Thuvik

Roster

Unlike the World Championships, there will be no placement game for Sweden to try to find its way back into Group A. They’ll have to do it the hard way: try to finish at the top of Group B and upset whoever is in third place in Group A. Their chances aren’t impossible - this is a team that only lost 3-2 to Finland in the quarterfinals at the World Championship last year, after all, but it is going to be an uphill battle.

Making matter worse is injury is keeping them without some of their top players: Linneá Johansson (the leading scorer at the World Championship last year) and Wilma Sundin are both missing the tournament due to injury, and it’s unclear whether Ljungblom will be 100% after missing the first two months of the PWHL season with mono and having her playing time carefully managed since (she’d be in my top five players otherwise).

However, what Sweden does have going for them is arguably the best forward in Group B and one of the most promising prospects in women’s hockey. Hilda Svensson is setting the world on fire right now, with 44 points in 26 games at Ohio State. She is eighth in points in the NCAA and doing so as a 19-year-old freshman who hadn’t played outside of Sweden before. Svensson has already had her big moments on the international stage, including a game-tying goal with seconds left on the clock against Canada at the 2023 World Championship, and is bound to have another.

Hilda Svensson’s game-tying goal at the 2023 World Championship

Also in the forward group are three senior NCAA players with good chances of being drafted to the PWHL: Thea Johansson, Josefin Bouveng, and Nicole Hall. Several SDHL top scorers, such as Hanna Olsson, Sofie Lundin, and Hanna Thuvik, will round out the group. Sweden has the depth to run away with Group B, but in previous years, they haven’t been able to reach their full potential due to frequently uninspiring and basic offensive systems that don’t match the quality of personnel. Still, if Hilda Svensson can get going, all bets are off.

Defense is another major strength for Sweden. The top four of Jungåker, Nylén-Persson, Raunio, and Kjellbin can compete with anyone. Jungåker is the young defender with the highest potential, a true future number one who makes playing against her an absolute nightmare for opponents with the physical edge she brings to her game. She’s not a finished product, and Nylén-Persson and Kjellbin will likely take on the toughest defensive tasks for now, but the upside for her is huge, and she’s getting closer to it every year. Raunio is more similar to Nylén-Persson, a transition-focused defender and strong skater who played a major role in last year’s World Championship and has put together a nice freshman year alongside Jungåker at Ohio State. Kjellbin is Sweden’s veteran leader and has quietly put together a nice year in the PWHL. Playing third-pairing minutes, she’s the only Toronto defender not completely underwater at five-on-five with a +4 goal differential and is tied for second in points by Toronto defenders.

The last few tournaments have seen Emma Söderberg start for Sweden, but there’s a good chance Ebba Svensson-Träff will get the nod. The 21-year-old is having an insane year in the SDHL. She’s the only goalie to start more than 25 games (32) and has a .933 save percentage while seeing an average of 30 shots a game. Söderberg is having a nice year herself, with a .931 save percentage through 16 games, but she’s only seeing around 23 shots a game. With all respect to Söderberg, it would make the most sense for Sweden to ride the hot hand and play Svensson-Träff.

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PWHL (America and Canada)

Headlines

• PWHL sees first ever PWHLPA challenge on a suspension

  Taylor Girard was suspended for four games after leaving the bench at the conclusion of a game on January 8th, joining a fight that broke out after the final whistle. The PWHLPA successfully challenged the suspension, lowering it to three games. The full press release can be found here

• Washington, D.C. Takeover Tour breaks U.S. attendance record for a women’s hockey game

  The crowd of 17,228 recorded at Capital One Arena is the highest ever for a women’s hockey game in the U.S. The game was played on January 18th between Montreal and New York, breaking a record of 16,014 previously set by Seattle in 2025.

Transactions

• Mia Biotti and Loren Gabel sign standard player agreements with the Boston Fleet

  Shortly before the Olympic break, the Fleet activated reserve players Mia Biotti and Loren Gabel. Previously, Biotti was signed to a ten-day contract on Januart 3rd.

• Minnesota signs forward Kaitlyn O’Donohoe to a standard player agreement

  Following a season-ending injury to Dominique Petrie, the Frost activated reserve forward Kaitlyn O’Donohoe. She previously played nine games with the Frost last season.

• Malia Schneider signed a ten-day contract with Vancouver

  Vancouver signed reserve forward Malia Schneider on January 22nd to provide more roster depth before the Olympics

Injuries

Currently out on LTIR: Dominique Petrie (Minnesota), Sophie Shirley (Boston), Riley Brengman (Boston)

Currently day to day: Aneta Tejralová (Seattle), Anne Cherkowski (New York),

Returned this month: Nina Jobst-Smith (Vancouver), Dayle Ross (New York), Lina Ljungblom (Montreal), Jade Downie-Landry (Montreal), Sarah Nurse (Vancouver), Allie Munroe (Toronto), Sanni Ahola (Ottawa), Olivia Knowles (New York)

Additional Disciplinary Action

• Montreal forward Abby Roque was suspended for one game for an illegal check to the head that occurred on January 11th against Vancouver. The press release can be found here

SDHL (Sweden)

Headlines:

• Hanna Thuvik and Sára Čajanová sign one-year extensions with Brynäs
  Thuvik is a 23-year-old forward in her sixth season with Brynäs and eighth in the SDHL. The Swedish Olympian has been one of the top forwards in the SDHL this year, racking up 35 points in 32 games played.
  Čajanová is Brynäs highest-scoring defender, playing top-pair minutes for the club and also representing the Czech national team. She is in her fifth SDHL season and has played all five with Brynäs.

• Skellefteå AIK fires head coach
  After five straight losses, Skellefteå AIK fired Martin Lindh. The head coach was hired in 2024 after Skellefteå AIK’s promotion, having spent seven years coaching Troja-Ljungby. Assistant coach Mikkel Ry Nielsen will take over for the rest of the season, with Skellefteå AIK looking to add to its coaching staff. With two games to go in the regular season, Skellefteå sits in sixth place.

• Paula Bergström extends with Frölunda for another season
  Bergström joined Frölunda in 2024 after graduating from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and has been a top-pairing defender for the team ever since. The 27-year-old is also an assistant captain for Frölunda and has made several appearances for the Swedish national team.

• The regular season is nearly concluded, and several seeds are set

  HV71 and Linköping are stuck in the final two spots in the standings and will play two NDHL teams in the qualifying rounds.

  Frölunda currently sits in first place, but with only four points separating Frölunda, Luleå, and Brynäs, a regular-season champion won’t be decided until after the Olympics.

  Both recently promoted teams, Färjestad and Skellefteå, have clinched a playoff spot

Other Transactions:

• Ema Tóthová and HV71 mutually part ways
  The Slovak forward will not be with the team for the remainder of the season. Tóthová was only able to start in 18 games due to injuries and will now return home before leaving Slovakia again to join Ohio State next season. Meanwhile, HV71 will prepare to play the relegation round in hopes of staying in the SDHL.

• Slovenian goaltender Pia Dukarič comes out of retirement to join Brynäs

  Dukarič initially announced her retirement in 2025 after graduating from Yale, where she had a .926 save percentage across four years. However, after an injury to Brynäs goalie Ena Nystrøm left them in need of another goaltender, Dukarič returned to hockey and joined the contender. Dukarič has not indicated that she would resume play on the international stage, where she was known for heroic 60+ save performances for Slovenia in the Division IB World Championships.

• Ellen Wigermo leaves Lindenwood, joins HV71
  The 19-year-old center played 24 NCAA games before departing to join HV71. She is the second player to leave the NCAA to rejoin the SDHL this year, after Tuva Kandell did so earlier in the season.

• Matilda Henriksson Ribeiro signs three-year contract with Färjestad

  Only 15 years old, the young prospect signed a long-term deal with Färjestad after a strong showing in Sweden’s U16 regional tournament, TV-Pucken. Matilda Henriksson Ribeiro had eight goals and four assists for Värmland in the tournament. She’s played five games at the senior level for Färjestad this year, alongside playing their developmental teams in the NDHL and U19 league.

Injuries

Please note that, as the SDHL/teams don’t often publish injury reports, this is likely incomplete

Currently out: Mimmi Gill (Luleå), Lucy Morgan (MoDo), Laura Lerchová (Skellefteå AIK), Wilma Sundin (MoDo), Linnéa Johansson (Luleå), Astrid Lindeberg (Luleå), Ena Nystrøm (Brynäs),

Returned this month: Haruka Toko (Linköping)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines

• SC Langenthal is trying to save their women’s team, Lausanne looking to enter the league

  After SC Langenthal announced it would dissolve late last year, the women’s team began searching for a new men’s league partner to save their program. They will have until the end of January to find a new club, but nothing has materialized yet.
  Meanwhile, Lausanne, a team in the second-tier league (SWHL B), reportedly has interest in promotion and would be the front-runner if SC Langenthal cannot find a men’s league partner. They sit second in the SWHL B standings. (source)

• Alina Marti signs a one-year extension with EV Zug
  The forward has 34 points in 25 games with Switzerland’s top club this year, and will represent Switzerland at the Olympics. She joins Lara Stalder, Rahel Enzler, Luisa Waser, and Nina Harju as core EVZ players who have already signed to return next year.

• Noemi Ryhner to miss the rest of the season, Olympics

  A fibula fracture will keep the EV Zug forward out for the remainder of the year. She was named shortly after being named to the Swiss Olympic team.

• Switzerland breaks attendance record for a domestic women’s hockey game
  A game between EV Zug and ZSC Lions broke the record for highest attendance at a Swiss women’s hockey game, with a crowd of 4,997 people at Swiss Life Arena.

photo from Postfinance Women’s League on Instagram

• Swiss Ice Hockey Federation launches Girls Development Fund, New Programs
  The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation announced new initiatives to encourage women’s hockey domestically, including a girls junior league launching this fall with U13-U16 categories. This is the first girls junior league in Switzerland, as up until now girls trained by playing in all-ages women’s leagues or by joining boys leagues.

• Liliane Perreault joins Neuchâtel Hockey Academy
  Perreault spent the last two seasons going between the SDHL and the PWHL, the latter of which she was a reserve player. With Tatum White’s season-ending injury, Neuchâtel Hockey Academy signed Liliane Perreault as a replacement for the remainder of the year. Currently, Neuchâtel sits last in the standings, but won’t have to play a relegation round due to the situation with Langenthal

• Laura Fuoco signs with EV Zug for the remainder of the year
  With a mix of injuries and Nicole Vallario signing with the New York Sirens, EVZ shored up their roster by signing Canadian forward Laura Fuoco, who just graduated from Dartmouth.

• Playoffs set to start after Olympic break

  The regular season wrapped up last week for the PostFinance Women’s League. EV Zug and SC Bern have a bye to the semifinals as the top two teams. Fribourg-Gotteron Ladies (4th seed) will play the ZSC Lions (5th seed) and Ambri-Piotta (3rd) will play HC Davos (6th) in a best-of-three quarterfinals that will start on February 28th.

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Headlines

• Auroraliiga will become an eight-team league in 2027-2028
  Auroraliiga will move from nine to eight teams in the 2027-2028 season. In preparation, the 2027 playoffs will feature the top six teams, while the teams in the eighth and ninth spots will play a best-of-five series. The loser of that series will be relegated, and the winner will face the top Mestis team in another series to determine promotion and relegation. The announcement can be read here.

• Sophie Lupone and Erica Fryer join RoKi

  After losing their previous North American reinforcements, RoKi gains forward Sophie Lupone and Goaltender Erica Fryer. Lupone previously played in the EWHL and for Sacred Heart University. Erica Fryer was invited to Goldeneyes training camp and has experience in the SDHL and USports. RoKi is the league’s last-place team and will have to play in a qualification round.

• Kiekko-Espoo clinches top seed
  Although Auroraliiga still has a few games remaining, Kiekko-Espoo has already won the regular season title. The reigning champions are one of the league’s most successful clubs and have only lost 2 of their 28 games this year.

Other News

• U18’s Wrap Up with record-breaking tournaments

  • In the top division, the United States won gold, Canada won silver, and Czechia won Bronze. Finland was relegated, the first time a Finnish team has ever been relegated out of the top division at any level, after losing to Hungary, who will stay in the top division for a second year. United States forward Jane Daley broke the record for most goals in a single tournament with 12 and won MVP, while Slovakia forward Nela Lopušanová tied Kendall Coyne’s record of most goals (22) and points (33) by a single player in tournament history.

  • Germany won promotion to the top division in the DIA tournament, while Italy was relegated. France’s Clemence Boudin was awarded best forward, with eight goals and three assists in five games.

  • China was promoted from the DIB tournament, and Australia was relegated. The top scorer was Polish prospect Małgorzata Zakrzewska, who had 11 goals and 3 assists in five games.

  • South Korea was promoted from DIIA, and New Zealand was relegated. The DIIB tournaments will finish up today

  • The DIII tournament, which was supposed to take place in Bangkok, was cancelled due to safety concerns. Thailand, Croatia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Iran were set to play

• Olympics start on February 5th

  The biggest women’s hockey international tournament will start on the fifth, several days before the men’s tournament. The tournament page with rosters, schedules, format, and more can be found here, and stay tuned for a preview!

  Thanks for reading Shrinking the Game! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

While women’s hockey has multiple developmental paths and leagues, the NCAA is by far the biggest and most prominent. Being an American institution, players born in the United States make up the majority of athletes in Division I hockey, with Canadians firmly in second place. However, as women’s hockey grows, more players from overseas are being recruited to play NCAA hockey.

But where, when, and how many players outside the United States and Canada play Division I women's hockey? Have there been any changes or trends we can examine in NCAA recruitment of overseas players?

To answer those questions, the following charts show how many overseas players enter the NCAA each year, which years they entered the league, which schools and conferences they attended, what countries and cities they came from, and where they played immediately before entering the NCAA.

Data collection and method

Data was obtained from individual college databases, EliteProspects, and USCHO. Some early NCAA data may be missing.

Now defunct conferences were counted as the conferences they transformed into today. For example, the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association, where Mercyhurst and Findlay University played, will be classified as the AHA.

Three defunct/former Division I schools are included: Findlay University, the University of North Dakota, and Niagara University (now Division III).

The “overseas players by school recruitment” only counts the school they were initially recruited by, not any transfer instances. However, there is a sheet that shows which schools accepted transfers who were international players. Not a ton of cases, but it gives a little bit of insight.

The data excludes players such as Nina Jobst-Smith or Rachel Llanes, who hold dual citizenship or play for an overseas national team. This is not intended to be a commentary on citizenship, and this project is not meant to be a comprehensive look at nationality or international representation in the NCAA. The purpose is to examine recruitment trends for players born outside the United States and Canada.

The data does not include future commitments.

Limitations

As mentioned previously, only the year immediately before entering the NCAA was used for their “development” country, which definitely does NOT tell the whole story. We can’t know for certain where they were playing when they were first recruited or account for every step of their journey to playing high-level hockey. Many players played in multiple leagues and countries during their high school years, and this data set does not fully account for that.

We also had a few edge cases. Once again, this is not meant to be a statement on any player’s nationality, just where they were born or grew up and how that may have affected their NCAA career.

• Emma (Laaksonen)Terho is the only player who was actually born in the United States. She lived her very early years here in D.C. while her Finnish father was in the U.S. for work, but grew up in Espoo, Finland, and thus has that listed as her hometown

• If there was conflicting information for birthplace, I typically deferred to the place their college had them listed under

• Stefanie Wyss (Denmark) was recruited by Clarkson but did not play a game. She was ultimately recruited and on the roster for a year, so she was included in the data set.

• Alexandra Vafina was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, a year before the USSR’s dissolution. She played for the Russian national team, grew up in Chelyabinsk, and seems to consider herself Russian based on interviews and was counted as such.

Graphs and Conclusions

You can click each link to interact with the data on your own

Sheet one: Total NCAA overseas players by country

Unsurprisingly, Sweden (79) and Finland (59) are the most represented countries, followed by Czechia (29), Switzerland (21), and Germany (19).

Japan and Russia are the two countries that have consistently been in the top division of women’s hockey, but haven’t reached the ten-player mark in the NCAA. This trend is mirrored in pro leagues over the years, with only a select few star Japanese and Russian players leaving their domestic leagues. Both Japan and Russia have women’s hockey teams at select universities (including some that participate in the All-Japan Women’s Ice Hockey Championship and play against non-University clubs). However, the best players tend to play for non-collegiate club teams in their respective countries’ elite league even when enrolled in university.

New Zealand is the most surprising country on this list. Grace Harrison is the first New Zealand-born player to play Division I hockey, regardless of gender. A joint program between the New Zealand National Team and youth women’s hockey in Canada awarded her the chance to play for the Toronto Leaside Wildcats, and then for St. Lawrence in the NCAA, as reported by Jared Clinton for The Hockey News. She now plays professional men’s hockey in New Zealand.

The Netherlands and Kazakhstan are the only Division I teams (Group A or B) that are not represented in the NCAA.

Sheet Two: Total NCAA overseas players by city

Stockholm has the most representation on this list, with 11 players. Tampere, Finland, is the only other city with more than five players represented, with six total.

While major cities and their greater metropolitan areas are the most common data points, a few smaller cities were highlighted as well. Örnsköldsvik is the 46th largest city in Sweden, but five NCAA players were born there, making it one of the most common cities on this list. The city is known as a hockey hotbed, but it has a long history of women’s hockey in particular. The local club, MoDo, formed a women’s program in 1968 and took part in the first organized women’s hockey game in Sweden.

Most French and Italian players were born close to Switzerland, which has one of the top national teams and domestic leagues. Most German players are from Bayern (Bavaria), closer to Czechia, Austria, and Switzerland. Surprisingly, few German players come from the northern region where they’re closer to their Scandinavian neighbors.

Sheet three: Foreign-born players entering the NCAA each year

Sheet Four: Foreign-born players entering the NCAA timeline

Both sheets present the same information, just with different visualizations, and allow viewers to filter by country to explore further.

The number of overseas recruits rose in 2018, then fell just before the pandemic hit in 2019, and continued to decrease until 2022 likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Czechia’s rise to a top national team is reflected in recruitment trends, from their first player entering the NCAA in 2009 to multiple players being recruited in the same year starting in 2015 (around the time they were promoted to the top division).

Recruitment for countries outside the top division (Sweden, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Czechia, Denmark) has seen a sharp increase since 2022, from two recruits to four in 2023, seven in 2024, and 12 in 2025. If we add the two bubble teams, Austria and Denmark, the number is less drastic, going from six in 2022 to 14 in 2025.

Slovakia had no players recruited between 2008 and 2025, where they all of a sudden had three with more future recruitments on the way.

Number of players recruited from outside top division teams

Sheet Five: Number of Overseas Players by Schools

Sheet six: Number of Overseas Transfers by Schools

Sheet Seven: Number of Overseas Players by Conferences

Minnesota-Duluth is the school that’s had the most overseas recruits by far. They were one of the first schools to take on top European talent, starting in their inaugural season with players like Maria Rooth, Erika Holst, Tuula Puputti, and Hanne Sikiö. Of the eight overseas-born players in the 1999-2000 season, UMD had four. They are still a top destination for European talent, particularly Swedish and Finnish players, today.

Boston College is the biggest school missing on the list. Wisconsin only recruited its first overseas-born talent this year with Adéla Šapovalivová (and will have Nela Lopušanová joining her next year). Besides Yale, most Ivy League schools also have low numbers.

Filtering by country, Maine has taken on the most players outside the “big three” countries of Finland, Sweden, and Czechia. If we filter out top division teams, Lindenwood has taken on the most players, including the only Croatian and Spanish players in NCAA history. Maine has the most variety in countries, with twelve.

The conference sheet gives us broader recruitment trends by country. Finnish players overwhelmingly go to the WCHA, while Czechs have been more likely to play in the East or ECAC. Swedish players are primarily represented in the WCHA but are still spread out between conferences. Austrian and Danish players are most common in Hockey East as well. NEWHA unsurprisingly has the fewest players. The conference was only founded in 2018 and is primarily made up of smaller schools that are less likely to draw in big name recruits.

Sheet Eight: Where Overseas NCAA Players Developed

Sheet Nine: Where Overseas NCAA Players Developed - filter by school or country

Most players, regardless of birthplace, are playing in Sweden, Finland, Canada, or the United States prior to the NCAA, with a select few scattered elsewhere. While every Finnish player develops in Finland, not many players from other countries go to Finland to develop. The same can be said for Switzerland, and to a lesser extent, Austria and Germany (although more Austrians and Germans develop elsewhere than Finnish or Swiss players do). Outside the United States and Canada, Sweden is the only country that sees numerous players enter their domestic league directly before the NCAA. Czech NCAA players primarily play in North America before enrolling. Players from smaller/less recruited countries (Norway, Latvia, Hungary, Austria, France, Denmark, Germany) are pretty split between the United States, Canada, and Sweden for where they played before the NCAA.

Hungary

Last Year’s Performance: Promotion from Division IA

Highest tournament finish: last and only appearance in the top division was in 2013

Goal: Get first win since 2013, Avoid relegation

Roster

Hungary has only been here once before, and its priority is making sure it returns next year.

The star of the show for Hungary is Réka Hiezl, who will have the opportunity to fully showcase her talent on one of the biggest stages yet. Hiezl isn’t a stranger to major tournaments; she already appeared at a senior World Championship with Hungary last April, but barely touched the ice due to her young age. At the 2024 and 2025 Division IA U18 World Championships, she was a point-per-game player despite only being in her age 14 and 15 seasons. Her performance was enough for Shattuck St. Mary’s to take interest and offer her a spot on their U19 team. Quinnipiac also noticed Hiezel’s skill, recruiting her for the 2027-2028 season.

Réka Hiezl is one of those players where it feels like everyone else on the ice slows down when she has the puck. You’ll watch her and think, “There is no way she can cut through these defenders,” and then she does it anyway. Here is her overtime winning goal against Austria in the Olympic Qualifiers. When you watch, please keep in mind that this is a sophomore in high school going against grown women.

Joining Hiezl will be Petra Polónyi and Krisztina Weiler, two other U18 players who were invited to the senior team last year and are currently playing in North America. Weiler will be one of the oldest players at this tournament, and will be playing in her fourth U18 World Championship before heading to Lindenwood in the fall.

In net will be Noémi Zoé Takács, whose near-perfect performance at the U18s last year helped Hungary earn its promotion, and is someone Hungary sees as the future of the senior program. Takács has gotten starts in exhibition games with the senior team recently, splitting with veteran goaltender Anikó Németh and holding her own well.

Hungary will be fighting an uphill battle, having 0 experienced players in the senior level of this tournament. While they’re an underdog, they’re also a team full of exciting players with national team futures.

Slovakia

Last Year’s Performance: Seventh place

Highest tournament finish: finished in sixth place three times, most recently in 2024

Goal: Avoid relegation

Roster

Slovakia has arguably the best prospect in this tournament in Nela Lopušanová, the University of Wisconsin college commit who has been named MVP of this tournament twice and created multiple highlight reel moments. There is little I can say about Lopušanová that has not already been written, and not much I can express in words that wouldn’t be better understood by watching her, as she is one of the few players in this tournament with an easy-to-find highlight reel. You know a player is generational when major news outlets actually give women’s hockey prospects the coverage they deserve. All I can say is that if you’re wondering if she lives up to the hype, the answer is yes. However, the supporting cast around her is weaker than in years past, with fellow top prospect Ema Tóthová aging out. Lopušanová will have even more of a target on her back without Tóthová on her line to take some of the heat off.

Forward Lenka Karkošková is one player expected to see an increased role this year. Last season, she was the MVP of Slovakia’s women’s league and has split her time this season between Slovakia’s league and the EWHL, where she’s scored five goals in nine games. On defense, Nela Tischlerová is the name to watch. She’s returning for her second tournament and has spent the season training with Bourget Collège Varsity. At the most recent European Youth Olympic Festival, she had two goals and an assist in four games, helping Slovakia win Bronze.

In net will be Mariana Sumegová, who has started for Slovakia at the last two U18 World Championships. Sumegová has played well under pressure in previous years, but will need to find another gear to keep a younger and less experienced Slovakian team from relegation. Only two of their defenders - Livia Nogová and Nikita Krištofíková - are age 17. Slovakia has the youngest average age of any team in this tournament at an even 16 years old.

Finland

Last Year’s Performance: 6th place

Highest tournament finish: Won bronze in 2011, 2019, 2022

Goal: fifth place

Roster

Last year was a down year for Finland. The majority of their players were under the age of 16, which put them at a disadvantage. They did have some strong showings against Japan and Sweden, whom they took to overtime and earned a crucial point against. Most of last year’s team are returning for in 2026, a little older and bigger now, but there are still only nine players born in 2008. Additionally, all three goaltenders will be making their tournament debut.

Finland does have more established offensive players to build around this year. Emmi Loponen has had a breakout year in her first season with Auroraliiga’s Kärpät, and is second in team scoring with 25 points in 25 games as a 16-year-old. Loponen has been a part of Finland’s U18 team twice now and has yet to score in the tournament, but I would put money on that changing this year. Here is her scoring one of her first national team goals at an exhibition game two months back:

Joining Loponen up front will be Julia Kuhta, the 5’9” forward who was Finland’s leader in points during the U18 European Hockey Tour, and Tinja Tapani.

Another interesting piece for Finland is defender Viivi-Maija Ruonakoski, who was named captain for the U18 exhibition games this year and will likely wear the letter again. Ruonakoski is in her first year in Auroraliiga with Kärpät, but has already earned enough trust to wear an “A” for them. During the last year, Ruonakoski has been able to add strength to her shot and could be crucial for Finland’s special teams.

Finland is unlikely to make any big jumps this year, but moving up a spot in the rankings is a reasonable goal if their goaltending is solid.

Switzerland

Last Year’s Performance: fifth place

Highest tournament finish: fifth

Goal: stay in fifth place

Roster

On one hand, Switzerland’s fall games have me a little worried. They struggled in their exhibition games leading up to the tournament, failing to score a goal against Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, and Sweden, losing to Finland and Division 1A team Japan. Every team handles these exhibition games differently; some are more experimental with it rather than focusing on winning. Maybe that’s the case here, but it doesn’t give me a confident feeling heading into Worlds.

On the other hand, Switzerland didn’t bring several of its best players to those tune-ups, as those players were practicing with the senior team. Norina Müller wasn’t there for the games against Slovakia, Japan, and Germany, and defender Laure Mériguet missed all the tune-up games. While their addition is likely not enough to help Switzerland defeat Sweden or Czechia, it could be the difference between fifth or sixth place and playing for relegation.

Norina Müller, the top center for the team and the only player to score multiple goals for Switzerland last U18 WWC, is the star of the show. She’s gone from a solid second liner in the PostFinance Women’s League last year to one of Fribourg-Gottéron’s best forwards, sitting twelfth in total league points with 28 points in 24 games. When Switzerland was facing relegation at the 2024 U18s, Müller scored the goal that gave them a 3-2 victory over Germany and secured their spot in the top division.

Laure Mériguet is returning for her fourth U18 WWC and is Switzerland’s biggest prospect on defense. The 5’8” defender has already made the senior team for last year’s World Championship and recorded a point, a crucial assist on Rahel Enzler’s game-winning goal that ensured Switzerland would stay ranked within the top five teams. The fact that Mériguet was on the ice in that situation and played over 15 minutes in that game says a lot about how much Switzerland believes in her. If that wasn’t enough, she was also named to the upcoming Olympic team.

Another strength for Switzerland is goaltending. All three goaltenders are good options to start. Anne-Eugénie Gendre is performing at an above-average rate in the PFWL. Switzerland’s domestic league is limited in goaltending statistics, but Gendre has the starting job for Fribourg-Gottéron and owns a goals against average similar to national team goaltender Saskia Maurer. Lia Rubin and Norina Schrupkowski are both playing well in boys developmental leagues, with Schrupkowski returning to the U18 WWC’s after serving as a backup last year.

Switzerland lacks depth and high-end scoring outside of Müller, but has enough experience and fundamentals that treading water is the likely good outcome.

Sweden

Last Year’s Performance: fourth place

Highest tournament finish: silver (2018, 2023)

Goal: Return to the gold medal game

Roster

Sweden will be missing one of its prospects, Tillie Ytfeldt, due to health reasons. Despite this, it still has one of the better rosters.

On Sweden’s roster are four must-watch prospects: Ebba Hesselvall, Moa Stridh, Ebba Westerlind, and Tilde Sundas Grillfors.

Ebba Hesselvall is returning for her second U18 tournament. Last year, she debuted at age 15 and scored two goals and two assists in four games. The left-winger has dominated every junior competition she’s played at domestically - she is the all-time point leader in the U19 women’s league in Sweden since its inception in 2019, with 148 points in 35 games. Her dominance barely slowed in the NDHL, Sweden’s second-tier league below the SDHL, where she had 26 points in eight games. Her 3.25 points per game pace in the NDHL last year was only exceeded by Emma Murén, a 27-year-old Olympian with over 10 years of SDHL experience. Now in her age 16 season, Hesselvall made her SDHL debut on a stacked Brynäs team, starting almost every game and contributing three goals this year as a depth forward. One of Hesselvall’s most standout traits is her hand-eye coordination and control of the puck. Here is one of her goals at the SDHL level this year:

15-year-old forward Moa Stridh also made her SDHL debut this year after signing with champion-winning Frölunda through 2029, and has started in about half their games. At TV-Pucken, Sweden’s regional U16 tournament, Stridh had ten goals in four games, second for best in the tournament. Stridh has a wrist shot that gives her the ability to score from anywhere and will be an offensive weapon for Sweden.

Forward Tilde Sundnäs Grillfors and defender Ebba Westerlind are the two “older” prospects who are both returning for their second World Championship, both in their final year of eligibility at 17. Westerlind is another Frölunda player who helped both the senior team and U19 development team win a championship, playing significant minutes in the playoffs for both. In the 2025 U18 WWC, she was third in the tournament in points by a defender with a goal and five assists. Tilde Sundnäs Grillfors is returning as another key piece of last year’s World Championship team. She’s currently playing with Brynäs and has provided depth scoring for the championship contender with nine points in 28 games. While Tilde Sundnäs Grillfors is more than capable of scoring, she’s at her best when playmaking and setting up her teammates. Both players are committed to play at Ohio State next year, where former U18 teammates Raunio, Svensson, and Jungåker currently play.

Czechia

Last Year’s Performance: bronze

Highest tournament finish: silver (2022)

Goal: Return to the gold medal game

Roster

Czechia does not have a Šapovalivová-esque superstar this year like when they won silver, but still have several high-level players with offensive upside and a deeper roster than most teams in this tournament. What they may lack in a player that can completely take over the game, they make up for in having a top six and top four you can feel comfortable putting out there in any situation.

The core of this team will consist of Julie Jebousková, Adéla Pánková, Johanna Tischler, Tereza Gildainová, Ellen Jarabková, and Andrea Kantorová. Julie Jebousková is arguably the most complete player on her team right now, although Tereza Gildainová has made a lot of significant strides since enrolling in Lovell academy in 2024

On defense, Johanna Tischler will likely take on number one defender duties with Adéla Fromová aged out of the group. She was phenomenal in the U18 European hockey tour and similar exhibition games, showing an offensive side that we haven’t seen at the international level for her yet. Alongside her is Ellen Jarabková, who will be returning to her third tournament despite being only 16 years old. The 5’8” defender has spent the past three seasons playing primarily in the highest division U15 Czech boys league and has excelled at every girls tournament she has played in. Despite returning to this tournament for the third time, she’s flown a little under the radar due to playing in a league that’s less scouted for women’s hockey, but she’s a strong defender with an excellent hockey sense.

For Czechia to make the finals or at least defend its bronze, the focus should be on fast, rush-based offense that makes the most of scoring opportunities in games where they may get outshot or spend more time defending.

United States

Last Year’s Performance: Silver Medal

Highest tournament finish: Won championship nine times, most recently in 2024

Goal: Gold

Roster

USA’s roster had some major shakeups. The most surprising roster decision was leaving off Mary Derrenbacher, who was second in points on last year’s team. She is currently second in points at Shattuck St. Mary’s Prep and will play college hockey at the University of Wisconsin next season. Derrenbacher has the exact resume that USA hockey tends to look for in this tournament, so her omission is extremely surprising. She was also not present on the selection camp roster in October.

Another change for the United States is the clubs they’ve recruited from. Last year, only three players came from Minnesota high school teams, while this year’s roster features nine. Several of the high schools have seldom, if ever, been represented on a U18 roster before: Proctor/Hermantown High (Taylee Manion), Northfield High (Mia Miller), and Bemidji High (Bailey Rupp). All three are representing the U.S. in a tournament for the first time after standout seasons. Additionally, for the first time in a while, there are no players from Bishop Kearney on the roster (although they will be represented on Slovakia’s roster with Nela Lopušanová).

In net for the United States will be Morgan Stickney, who started six games last year and made the tournament all-star team. The Penn State commit is one of the most hyped goalie prospects after becoming the first American woman to be drafted by a CHL team, although she stayed the prep school route and has been the number one goaltender for various Shattuck teams since 2022.

The forward group has no shortage of players to watch, especially among returning players, but one exciting newcomer is Jillian McLaughlin. She made the jump from her San Diego 19U team to RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna U18 Prep, playing alongside Team Canada players Hayley McDonald, Kennedy Sisson, and Alida Korte. She’s stood out as an all-around offensive talent on a crowded team, and netted the game-winning goal in the U18 series against Canada back in August. While she was arguably good enough to be on this team last year, the steps forward she’s taken in the 12 months have put her in a position to have a true breakout tournament.

Jillian McLaughlin at the USA National Championships

Returning on defense are Maggie Averill, Sloane Hartmetz, and Chyna Taylor, the latter of whom I wrote about last tournament. Now 16 years old, Taylor will be given more minutes and responsibilities this tournament to get a better glimpse of the high ceiling she possesses as a two-way defender.

Canada

Last Year’s Performance: Gold

Highest tournament finish: Won gold eight times

Goal: Another gold

Roster

You can take your pick of star-powered forwards for this tournament, but one worth shouting out is Rosalie Tremblay. Returning for her second tournament, she’ll form a dangerous 1-2 punch down the middle for Canada with fellow returnee Caleigh Tiller. The past year has seen Tremblay hit another level. Her MVP-winning performance led Quebéc to its first-ever Canadian National Championship gold with one of the greatest all-time individual showings. She’s a player who’s exceptional at cutting to the net from tough angles and working in small spaces.

Megan Mossey is one of the most hyped newcomers to Team Canada. The Prince Edward Island native won defender of the tournament at the U18 Canadian National Championships this fall after helping the Atlantic win their first-ever silver medal. Her ability to collapse into the slot from the blue line seamlessly and dangerous shot will earn her some time on the power play unit, where she already scored one goal in a U18 exhibition game against the USA a few months back.

All three goaltenders are first-time attendees. Léa-Rose Charrois has played primarily in boys leagues in Quebéc, and will be one of the oldest players at this tournament at 18 years old. She is one of the first women to play in an M18 AAA Hockey Development League, joining Ève Gascon. Also in net is Maija St-Pierre, an emerging top goaltending prospect who is likely thought highly of enough to already be considered for next year, and Rowan Houweling, who shares goaltending duties at Shattuck St. Mary’s with Team USA goaltender Stickney.

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PWHL (America and Canada)

Headlines

• Boston Fleet to play at TD Garden on April 11th

  The Fleet will play at TD Garden for the first time this spring in a game against the Montréal Victoire.

• Charline Labonté joins the Vancouver Goldeneyes as a player development consultant
  The Canadian Olympic gold medalist will now be a part of Vancouver’s hockey operations staff. The press release can be read here

Transactions:

• Ottawa Charge signed Olivia Wallin to a ten-day contract on December 15th
  Following a day-to-day injury to Gabbie Hughes, Wallin was temporarily activated from the reserve list

• The New York Sirens sign Olivia Knowles to a one-year SPA
  Knowles was with the Sirens last year, and adds defensive depth with Dayle Ross still injured

• Hanna Baskin signed a ten-day contract on December 27th for the Toronto Sceptres

  With Allie Munroe and Renata Fast both missing time, the 2025 PWHL draft pick was activated

Injuries

Currently out on LTIR: Nina Jobst-Smith (Vancouver), Dayle Ross (New York), Lina Ljungblom (Montreal), Jade Downie-Landry (Montreal), , Sarah Nurse (Vancouver)

Currently day to day: Daniela Pejšová (Boston), Sanni Ahola (Ottawa), Allie Munroe (Toronto), Sarah Fillier (New York), Jenna Buglioni (Seattle), Claire Thompson (Vancouver)

Returned this month: Liz Schepers (Boston), Daryl Watts (Toronto), Jaime Bourbonnais (New York), Aneta Tejralová (Seattle), Gabbie Hughes (Ottawa), Renata Fast (Toronto)

Disciplinary

• Aneta Tejralová was suspended for two games following an illegal check to the head in the game against New York on December 28th. She received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit as well

SDHL (Sweden)

SDHL standings going into the new year, via Instagram

Headlines

• Frölunda signs Elisa Holopainen, Emilia Vesa, Nathalie Lidman, and Sanni Rantala to one-year extensions

  Holopainen is the SDHL’s current top goal scorer with 23 goals in 28 games, and won forward of the year and league MVP last year. The Finnish forward is the centerpiece of a Frölunda team looking to defend their first-ever championship.
  
  Emilia Vesa is a top-six winger for Frölunda. In her third season with the team, she has four goals and 11 assists in 28 games.
  
  Nathalie Lidman, despite being only 24, is a veteran SDHL defender in her 11th year in the league and second season with Frölunda. She provides shutdown defense and is a stabilizing force on the team’s backend.
  
  The final extended player is Sanni Rantala, one of the top defenders in both the SDHL and the Finnish National Team. Rantala can provide offense from the blue line, with 23 points in 35 games last year and 11 points in 27 games.

• Elin Svensson activates contract option to return to Brynäs in 2026-2027
  Svensson is one of the best young Swedish forwards and a crucial part of Brynäs’ lethal offense. After five years with HV71, she signed a deal with Brynäs for one season plus a player option for an additional year and decided to return in 2026-2027.

• Linköping fire coach Jan Bylesjö, women’s junior team coach Christopher Hamell will take over for the rest of the season

  After eight straight losses, Linköping fired third-year head coach Jan Bylesjö. The team has been fighting to stay out of regulation and faced difficulty with losing top players Haruka Toko and Eve Savander for most of the year, as well as losing Sara Hjalmarsson to the PWHL.

Transactions

• Emma Bergesen joins Brynäs

  Bergesen started the season with HV71, then left to attend Ottawa Charge training camp. After being cut from the Charge, Bergesen returns to the SDHL and joins one of the league’s top teams. Last season was Bergesen’s rookie year, where she had 19 points in 33 games with SDE.

• Julia Shaunessy signs with HV71

  Shaunessy was invited to the Boston Fleet after graduating from Boston University, but signed with HV71 after being cut at camp. The rookie defender is best known for her transition game and 6-foot-1 frame.

• Färjestad signs Karley Garcia and Kelly Babstock
  As Färjestad tries to stay out of relegation, they bring more North American reinforcements. Karley Garcia is a Penn State graduate and Vancouver Goldeneye camp invite who’s already scored her first pro goal in the SDHL.
  
  Kelly Babstock is a veteran forward in her tenth professional season. She’s spent the last two years with the Boston Fleet and played in the PHF, CWHL, PWHPA, and Postfinance Women’s League, but this will be her first SDHL season. Babstock’s career has also been surrounded by controversy due to repeated suspensions on the ice and a racist incident during her time in the PHF.

• Chanreet Bassi signs with Linköping
  Bassi was the final draft pick in the 2025 PWHL draft but ultimately did not make the Vancouver Goldeneyes roster. She graduated from the University of British Columbia, where she earned USports First Team All-Star honors in 2024, as well as USports West First Team All-Star honors three times.

• Amanda Johansson returns to the SDHL with HV71
  The majority of Johansson’s recent seasons have been in the third division of Swedish men’s hockey, with a few short SDHL stints with Brynäs. Johansson returns to the league, this time with HV71, where she signed for the rest of the season with a player option for another year. Johansson will also continue to play with her men’s league team, Tidaholms, according to an interview with Ronnie Rönnkvist.

Injuries

Please note that, as the SDHL/teams don’t often publish injury reports, this is likely incomplete

Currently out: Mimmi Gill (Luleå - season ending injury) Lucy Morgan (MoDo), Laura Lerchová (Skellefteå AIK), Wilma Sundin (MoDo), Haruka Toko (Linköping), Linnéa Johansson (Luleå), Astrid Lindberg (Luleå),

Returned this month: Nadia Mattivi (Luleå), Eve Savander (Linköping)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines:

• EV Zug extends Lara Stalder, Rahel Enzler, Luisa Waser, and Nina Harju for two years
  Lara Stalder and Rahel Enzler are the first and second highest scorers in the Swiss league this year. After spending ten years abroad establishing herself as one of the best offensive players in the game, Stalder returned to her home country to captain the new EV Zug team and grow Swiss women’s hockey. Enzler, Stalder’s teammate on the Swiss national team, is in her second post-collegiate season and has scored at over a point per game pace.
  
  Luisa Waser is a middle-six forward who’s provided secondary scoring in the middle six for a deep EVZ team. Nina Harju is one of the team’s top four defenders and has had increased responsibility after Vallario’s departure.

• SC Langenthal Damen will fold after the 2025-2026 season
  The team cites financial struggles and the inability to compete with other teams for players as the reasons for ending operations. As a result, there will be no relegation in the PostFinance Women’s League this year, and they will work with the second-tier league (SWHL B) to figure out a promotion scenario (source)

• Jakob Kölliker will step down as sporting director of SC Bern after January 2026
  Kölliker oversaw the team as they went from EV BOMO Thun to integrating with and becoming the women’s team for SC Bern. As a result, they’ve been able to move into the PostFinance-Arena, sign star players like Clara Rozier, and win their first championship. While Kölliker is stepping down as sporting director, he will still be present as an advisory board member.

• ZSC Lions defender Janine Hauser suffers season-ending knee injury
  Janine Hauser was the highest-scoring defender for ZSC and has been a fringe defender for the Swiss national team.

• Neuchâtel Hockey Academy forward Tatum White out with ACL tear
  The last-place team will now be without its top scorer, Canadian forward Tatum White. The Syracuse University graduate had 11 goals and three assists in her rookie year before suffering from injury.

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Headlines:

• Team Kuortane will continue in Auroraliiga next season
  After the announcement that the Finnish Ice Hockey Association will no longer run Team Kuortane, there were questions about whether Kuortane would be able to continue in Auroraliiga (though possibly under another name). The Kuortane Sports Institute, Kuortane Sports High School, and the Alavuden Peliveikko (APV) have come together to take over the team and ensure women’s hockey stays in Kuortane and competes in Auroraliiga next year. The announcement also confirmed Juuso Nieminen will remain the coach. The full statement can be found here.

• Jenna Wessman signs Team Kuortane
  More good news for the team in Kuortane, 17-year-old defender Jenna Wessman joins from TPS. Wessman has played several exhibition tournaments for the U18 Finnish National Team and has two assists in her first two games with the team.

Auroraliiga standings going into 2026, via Instagram

Other

• The U18 Women’s World Championships begin this month
  The top division play from January 10th to the 18th in Cape Breton, and a full list of all U18 tournaments can be found here. Iran will play for the first time at the U18 level in the third division. I will have a full preview in the coming days!

PWHL (USA/Canada)

Headlines

• The City of Ottawa votes to redevelop Lansdowne Park, replacing TD Place with a smaller, 5,850-capacity arena
  Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford and Senior Vice President of Business Operations Amy Scheer have voiced disapproval of the decision that will move the Charge into an arena with over one thousand fewer seats than TD Place, going as far as to say that they will not play in the new arena. However, Elisha Côté of the Ice Gaden outlines why TD Place is no longer viable, either.

• PWHL aims to expand to 12 teams as soon as next season

  Amy Sheer’s interview with Front Office Sports writer Annie Costabile states that the league could expand by two to four teams this offseason. Even if the PWHL is not able to do a four-team expansion this offseason, the league will still aim to grow to 12 teams as soon as possible

• New Rule Changes Ahead of Season Three

  The PWHL will no longer allow for coaches to challenge a goal, and will have all goal reviews initiated by either the PWHL Central Review Room or the referees on the ice.
  Another rule change requires a team to carry three goaltenders on its roster, so that if a goaltender is injured in a game, the third goaltender will dress and join the bench while the backup goaltender goes into the game. This rule will aim to eliminate any “EBUG” situation if both goalies who initially dress for a game are hurt.

• Ottawa Charge and Czech Women’s National Team coach Carla MacLeod shares statement regarding MacLeod’s breast cancer diagnosis

  MacLeod and the Ottawa Charge’s comments, which can be read in full here, include the following: “One of my biggest concerns, outside of my own health, was the possibility of not being able to fully support the two programs that mean so much to me. I finally exhaled when my medical team assured me that my treatment should have minimal impact on being present for the Charge season and that I’ll still be able to coach Czechia at the Olympic Winter Games in February”.

Transactions

• PWHL teams finalize their roster after training camps with the following moves:

  • Boston Fleet Additions: Abby Newhook, Olivia Mobley, Riley Brengman, Amanda Thiele, with reserves Loren Gabel, Mia Biotti, Olivia Zafuto (activated immediately on ten-day contract due to injury)

  • Boston Fleet Cuts: Chloé Aurard-Bushee, Kelly Babstock, Julia Shaunessy, Mia Biotti, Kaitlyn Ross, Julia Nearis, Olivia Muhn

  • Minnesota Frost Additions: Madison Bizal, Brooke Becker, Peyton Anderson, Vanessa Upson, with reserves Kaitlyn O’Donohue, Ana Rinker, and Élizabeth Giguère

  • Minnesota Frost Cuts: Alyssa Machado, Madison Mashuga, Cameron Sikich

  • Montréal Victoire Additions: Natalie Mlýnková, Skylar Irving, Megan Warrener, Dara Greig, Kelly-Ann Nadeau, with reserves Claire Vekich, Tamara Giaquinto, and Maya Labad

  • Montréal Victoire Cuts: Audrey-Anne Veillette, Tricia Deguire

  • New York Sirens Additions: Casey O’Brien, Anna Bargman, Maddi Wheeler & G Kaley Doyle, Nicole Vallario, with reserve Olivia Knowles

  • New York Sirens Cuts: Kira Juodikis, Alexis Paddington

  • Ottawa Charge Additions: Alexa Vasko, Peyton Hemp, Kathryn Reilly, Kendra Woodland, with reserves Olivia Wallin, Vita Poniatovskaia, and Reece Hunt

  • Ottawa Charge Cuts: Élizabeth Giguère, Logan Angers, Jessica Adolfsson, Emma Bergesen, Alexandra Huszák

  • Seattle Torrent Additions: Brooke Bryant, Marah Wagner, Lily Delianedis, Lyndie Lobdell, and Anna Wilgren (2-year deal). Reserve players Jada Habisch, Sydney Langseth, Emily Zumwinkle

  • Seattle Torrent Cuts: Olivia Wallin, Lily Yovetich

  • Toronto Sceptres Additions: Kiara Zanon, Sara Hjalmarsson, Clara Van Wieren, and Jessie McPherson (2-year deal). Reserve additions Hanna Baskin, Kristin Della Rovere, and Lauren Messier

  • Toronto Sceptres Cuts: Anneke Rankila, Sarah Coe

  • Vancouver Goldeneyes Additions: Katie Chan, Kimberly Newell, and Darcie Lappan, with reserves Brianna Brooks and Malia Schneider

  • Vancouver Goldeneyes Cuts: Chanreet Bassi, Taylor Lind, Madison Clough, Karley Garcia, Kennesha Miswaggon

• Vancouver Goldeneyes trade Denisa Křížová back to the Minnesota Frost for Anna Segedi
  Just before rosters were finalized, Vancouver sent expansion draft pick Denisa Křížová back to her original team in exchange for rookie Annna Segedi. Křížová played with the Frost for two seasons and was an integral part of their two championships. Segedi was selected by Minnesota in the third round out of St. Lawrence University and signed to a two-year deal before being traded.

• New York extends Jaime Bourbonnais through 2026-2027 and Kayle Osborne through 2027-2028
  Bourbonnais is in her third season in New York, with 20 points in 56 games as a defender. Osborne was drafted by the Sirens last year and has taken over as the starting goaltender this season.

• Toronto Sceptres extend Ella Shelton for one year
  The Sceptres traded for Shelton at the draft, acquiring her from New York in exchange for a first and fourth-round pick. Shelton is one of the PWHL’s top defenders, being named to the First All-Star Team in 2024 and Second All-Star Team in 2025

• Ottawa Charge sign Gabbie Hughes through 2026-2027 and Ronja Savolainen until 2027-2028
  Hughes was initially signed to a three-year deal after being drafted by Ottawa in the fourth round of the inaugural PWHL draft and has been a mainstay in their top six. Ronja Savolainen joined last season after several seasons in the SDHL and on Team Finland, and has helped anchor Ottawa’s blue line.

Injuries

Currently out: Nina Jobst-Smith (Vancouver), Dayle Ross (New York), Lina Ljungblom (Montreal), Jade Downie-Landry (Montreal), Liz Schepers (Boston), Daryl Watts (Toronto), Jaime Bourbonnais (New York), Aneta Tejralová (Seattle), Sarah Nurse (Vancouver)

Disciplinary

• Micah Zandee-Hart was fined $250 for a check to the head against the Ottawa Charge on November 22nd. Zandee-Hart was also assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct during the game.

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SDHL (Sweden)

Headlines:

• Five SDHL Players announce college commitments, including four Frölunda players
  Goaltender Maja Helge and defender Nellie Svensson, who currently play for Frölunda, will head to St. Lawrence University next year. The first-place SDHL team will also lose defender Ebba Westerlind to Ohio State University and forward Edit Danielsson to Minnesota Duluth. Joining Westerlind at Ohio State is Brynäs forward Tilde Sundnäs Grillfors. All five players also played for Sweden’s U18 National Team.

• Värmland wins its first TV-Pucken women’s title, with multiple SDHL prospects shining in the tournament

  TV-Pucken is a national, regionally based tournament in Sweden for U16 players. The women’s TV-Pucken began in 2019 and has featured stars like Hilda Svensson, Mira Hallin, and Ebba Hedqvist. One standout player from this year’s tournament is fifteen-year-old Matilda Henriksson Ribeiro, who led the scoring for Värmland and made her SDHL debut with Färjestad this month. Henriksson Ribeiro had eight goals and four assists in seven games, including scoring in the championship game. Jonatan Pinheiro Diamant, Viktor Andersson, and Elise Abramsson reported on her tournament for Sportbladet.
  The tournament’s leading scorer was Tilia Lindgren, who played for Västerbotten and had thirteen goals and three assists in seven games. Lindgren, also fifteen years old, made her SDHL debut with Skellefteå AIK this season and has two goals in two games.

• Frölunda sits in first place in the SDHL, but Brynäs and Luleå are within striking distance

  Frölunda, Brynäs, and Luleå are all within four points of each other at the top of the standings, with Brynäs and Frölunda having a game in hand on Luleå. At the bottom of the standings, HV71 sits firmly in last place, but Djurgårdens, Färjestad, and Linköping are all within two points of each other and trying to fight to stay out of the ninth-place spot that will send them to the relegation tournament.

Transactions:

• SDE signs Anneke Rankila and Jessica Adolfsson
  Adolfsson is a veteran Swedish defender who previously played for Linköping and HV71, and spent the last season and a half with the Ottawa Charge. Rankila played with Djugårdens two seasons ago and had 31 points in 36 games before joining the Toronto Sceptres as a reserve last season. Rankila has the option to add another year to her contract.

• Defender Cameron Sikich joins Luleå
  After being cut from Minnesota Frost’s training camp roster, Brown University graduate Cameron Sikich joins Luleå. With the recent injury to Nadia Mattivi, who will be out for several weeks with a fractured hand, Sikich will help strengthen Luleå’s blue line as they try to catch Frölunda in first place.

• Färjestad signs forward Madison Mashuga
  Another Frost training camp invite, Mashuga will now join Färjestad for the remainder of the season. She last played for Minnesota State University and had 29 points in 37 games last year.

• Forward Alexis Paddington signs with MoDo
  Paddington had a career year with Minnesota State University last year, with 22 points in 32 games, earning an invitation to the New York Sirens training camp. After being cut from the final roster, she joins MoDo for the rest of the season, helping them bolster their forward group after losing Wilma Sundin for the year.

Injuries

Please note, as the SDHL/teams don’t often publish injury reports, this is likely incomplete

Currently out: Lucy Morgan (MoDo), Eve Savander, (Linköping), Laura Lerchová (Skellefteå AIK), Wilma Sundin (MoDo), Haruka Toko (Linköping), Linnéa Johansson (Luleå), Astrid Lindberg (Luleå), Nadia Mattivi (Luleå)

Returned this month: Nicoline Söndergaard Jensen (Skellefteå), Petra Nieminen (Luleå), Maude Poulin-Labelle (Brynäs), Sara Lindqvist (Skellefteå AIK)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

• Chloe Aurard-Bushee signs with ZSC Lions
  After spending the last two years in the PWHL with the New York Sirens and being cut from the Boston Fleet roster, Aurard-Bushee signs with the PFWL’s fifth-place team. Aurard-Bushee will add needed offense to a ZSC Lions team that has strong defense and goaltending (they have the second-lowest goals against in the league), but has lacked the star power upfront to make them a contender.

• Sonja Inkamp commits to Mercyhurst
  The HC Ambrì-Piotta Women and Switzerland U18 National Team defender will join the NCAA next year, alongside the four current Swiss-born players in the NCAA.

• EV Zug signs Kristina Kontny after losing Noemi Ryhner to injury

  Noemi Ryhner had 11 points in 15 games this year before sustaining a shoulder injury that will take her out of the lineup for several weeks. Kontny started the year with the ZSC Lions, playing six games and scoring one goal, and will now be with EV Zug for the rest of the season. EVZ is still looking to add another piece to its roster after losing Nicole Vallario to the New York Sirens.

• Vanessa Ryhner to miss the remainder of the season due to pregnancy

  Veteran EV Zug forward Vanessa Ryhner has not played a game this year, and will remain out for the rest of the season after announcing her pregnancy.

• Standings solidify more than halfway through the season

  EV Zug is all but locked into first place, with Ambrì-Piotta holding a comfortable lead in second place. The third through sixth spots are between SC Bern, HC Fribourg-Gottéron, ZSC Lions, and HC Davos, with only six points separating the four teams. Neuchâtel Hockey Academy and SC Langenthal are stuck in the two last-place spots.

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Headlines

• Five Auroraliiga players announce college commitments
  Defender Maddalena Bedont, who plays for Team Italy and TPS, will go to Lindenwood University next year. In her first year in Auroraliiga, she has seven points in 12 games.
  
  Barbora Dalecká, a Czech-born goaltender for RoKi, is headed to Sacred Heart University. While her numbers on the year aren’t great, she’s had a significantly harder job than most goaltenders in Auroraliiga, seeing an average of 55 shots a game on the league’s youngest team.
  
  Tuuli Tallinen, a defender for HPK, and Pauliina Salonen, a forward for HIFK, have committed to Minnesota Duluth. Both Tallinen and Salonen are fringe players for the Finnish National Team, and were invited to the European Hockey Tour games.
  
  Barbora Juříčková, who plays for the Czech national team and HPK, is headed to St. Lawrence. She is currently second in Auroraliiga for scoring, with 41 points in 22 games.

• Claire Peterson to leave RoKi at the end of the calendar year
  RoKi’s reinforcements were short-lived, as American defender Claire Peterson will leave the team in 2026, according to Lassi Seppa of Jatkoaika. Peterson joined the team in October and has six points in fourteen games.

• Kiekko-Espoo and HPK battle for first place
  HPK sits six points behind Kiekko-Espoo, but Kiekko-Espoo has a game in hand, and star player Emma Nuutinen is scoring at over a goal per game pace with 24 goals in 21 games. The middle of the standings is contested by HIFK, TPS, Ilves, and Team Kuortane. The final two playoff spots will likely go to Kärpät and KalPa, while RoKi stays at the bottom of the standings.

But if you’re like me and thought that their offense felt a lot worse than their league-average output, you’re not entirely wrong. The website pwhl-statistics confirms the Fleet ranked last in high-danger scoring chances last year, with 34 fewer chances than the Sirens above them. Their -93 scoring chance differential was a league worst, as was their -145 Corsi and their 25 shots per game average. Boston’s -1 goal differential was achieved primarily from their good defense/goaltending and Tapani’s 19% shooting rate, the highest of any player who played more than ten games in the PWHL. Pretty much all of Boston’s main offensive pieces, save for Shay Maloney, had a shooting percentage either in line with their career high or higher, which is more than teams like Toronto can say. In other words, luck was relatively on their side, but as a team, they weren’t producing the number of quality scoring opportunities to take full advantage of it.

There were times last year when the roster Danielle Marmer assembled and the style that Courtney Kessel wanted to play felt misaligned. Talented players got stuck playing a style of hockey that was good enough defensively to make them an average team, but severely limited their offensive upside. Bilka-Tapani-Knight seemed to be the only line that clicked, scoring 31 of Boston’s 75 goals this year.

Arguably, the player most affected by the Fleet’s offensive structure was Loren Gabel.

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A Brief Introduction to Loren Gabel

Boston chose Loren Gabel in the fourth round of the initial PWHL draft. She had 213 points in 160 NCAA games with Clarkson University and is 22nd all-time in NCAA goals with 116. Her play was enough to earn her the Patty Kazmaier Award and a spot on Team Canada at the 2019 World Championship, where she scored six goals in seven games. After graduation, she’d play with the PWHPA for three years before joining the PHF’s Boston Pride in 2023, and tied Jillian Dempsey for the best single-season point total in PHF history. Her 20 goals and 20 assists in 20 games led to her winning league MVP and Newcomer of the Year. The expectation when she declared for the PWHL later that year was that she’d be a top-six player for whichever team she joined.

Why Haven’t We Seen More of This Loren Gabel?

It’s no secret that Gabel hasn’t produced in the PWHL as expected. She has only ten points through her first two seasons, averaging just about ten minutes per game. Frequently, she was a healthy scratch or listed as the thirteenth forward. She has gotten some time on the power play, but outside that (and especially in the 2024-2025 season) her opportunities have been slim.

The immediate reaction for some may be to point out that in a new league with tougher competition, she may not be as effective as she once was. I have a hard time buying that. When she has played, she’s rarely looked outmatched or overwhelmed, and we’re talking about a player who excelled in the NCAA, PWHPA, PHF, and international stage.

The problem seems to lie in the role Courtney Kessel cut out for Gabel, or rather, the lack of one. The Ice Garden’s Lydia Murray called this out back in February in her Boston Fleet notebook:

“In the vein of players being asked to fill the wrong role, let’s talk about Loren Gabel. She is not a perfect player, but for a team struggling with offense, it’s baffling to see someone with such a lethal shot healthy scratched five times and mostly buried on the fourth line when she does play. She does not play the physical game Kessel covets, but that makes her presence on the fourth line–which is typically supposed to be your checking line–even more inexplicable. This whole situation benefits no one, so it’s time to make a decision.”

What does it really mean to be in the wrong role?

You might notice that in the highlight reel of Gabel posted above, most of Gabel’s goals come off the rush, either in an odd player situation she created with her speed or immediately upon zone entry in a breakout. If you watched Fleet games this year, you may also know that rush-style hockey is not really what the Fleet played.

As Murray mentions above, Kessel prioritized a physical game in which offensive zone time focused on dumping the puck deep, winning it back along the boards, and setting up a low cycle. With some of the bigger forwards in the league and quality forecheckers, it’s an offensive strategy that had its upsides and helped players like Knight and Tapani have successful seasons. However, it’s also a style that limits the points you’ll see from someone like Gabel (and to a lesser extent, Müller, Shirley, etc.)

It’s easy for me to post a bunch of highlights of Gabel scoring sick goals and go “get her to do that,” but what does that mean in practice? Since we don’t have access to some of the more advanced stats like zone starts, quality of teammates, controlled entries, etc. that could help us dig deeper into the Fleet’s offensive attack characteristics and its impact with Gabel on the ice, let’s watch some film. With eight clips from two select games, we can see what it means to effectively utilize Gabel or not utilize her, and how Boston’s game plan affects that.

April 28th vs. Montreal

The first game we’ll look at will focus more on Boston’s system working against Gabel. She started on a line with Theresa Schafzahl and Hannah Brandt in this game, playing right wing. She played 10:59 and had two shots. Here are four shifts occuring either in the offensive zone or during an attempt to transition to offense.

CLIP #1: On the breakout, Brandt receives the puck, but a mix of Montreal’s pressure, Schafzahl not skating forward with Brandt/Gabel and ending up behind the play, and Gabel being on the off-wing leaves little option other than just skating the puck in deep. Believe it or not, this is one of the Fleet’s better-structured counter-attacks, but the stagnation/lack of coherent speed ahead and predictable paths of the Boston skaters make it ineffective, and Gabel has to slow herself down to stay onside. Schafzahl and Brandt go to win the puck back in the corner, while Gabel stays outside to either receive a pass back if Boston wins it or prepare to defend if Montreal does.

CLIP #2: The shift starts with Pejšová trying to dump the puck out quickly rather than executing a more controlled breakout by passing to her defense partner behind the net to escape the Montreal forecheckers. Montreal stops the breakout attempt, and Gabel has to circle back to the defensive zone to win the puck back. Schafzahl gains possession and dumps the puck in, keeping it in the offensive zone for the line change and for the new players coming on to capitalize. Gabel never gets an opportunity to shoot, like she might have in a controlled breakout, especially when she was already setting up in the neutral zone for a long diagonal breakout pass from Morin. All of this may seem pretty far removed from Gabel, and dumping out the puck and trying to grind it out to get in the offensive zone is not a terrible thing in a vacuum to do with your fourth line. However, it illustrates a systematic coaching decision that prevents Gabel from using her best assets.

CLIP #3 Gabel gets in the passing lane to give Boston possession after the lost face-off, but another lackluster neutral zone regroup leads to a quick dump and chase play. They never get clean possession in the offensive zone and spend the shift trying to gain control. Gabel tries to stay near the middle of the ice in case the two checking forwards win the puck cleanly and jumps in when Montreal looks like they’re going to exit the zone. There are a couple of things a less risk-averse Boston team could have done differently on the regroup, such as having Morin pass back to Emily Brown and having Morin sprint up ice with Brandt and Gabel and run a three-high play out of the zone.

CLIP #4: In the initial breakout attempt, Gabel sets up for a diagonal pass ahead, but Brown is pressured too much by Montreal’s defense (in part due to the number of Boston players not skating forward, meaning Montreal’s defense can collapse around her), leading to a straight pass up before exiting the zone and a turnover. They keep Montreal along the boards in the defensive zone, and Gabel recovers the puck when a Montreal forward tosses it to the middle of the ice. She passes it up to Morin, and despite Morin having a step on her, Gabel still needs to slow down to stay onside. At the red line, Morin can make the high-risk, high-reward play of passing back to Gabel before she slows down, who has more Montreal defenders on her but the speed and skill to get around them, or take it to the line and dump it in. She ultimately does the latter, which is pretty understandable given it’s the end of the shift. The bigger issue comes more from Brown’s initial outlet pass and Boston’s insistence on using the simplistic routes in transition, moving the puck into the offensive zone through grind alone.

One common thing in these clips is that more often than not, Gabel is in the right area for Boston to execute more creative, speed-focused plays. Whether it’s being the first forward up ice when they gain possession in the defensive zone, making herself available for either a cross ice pass or center lane rush in the neutral zone, or finding a spot in the slot behind the defense in the offensive zone, the opportunities are there. But the passes to her rarely materialize, and when they do, they come with little support.

March 15th, vs. Ottawa

Gabel started on a line with Jill Saulnier and Susanna Tapani, playing right wing. She had 9:23 of ice time and two shots on goal. Despite not scoring, this is one of Gabel’s better games of the year.

CLIP #5: As soon as it looks like Boston is going to get possession, Gabel breaks for the cross-ice breakout pass, but Morin loses a handle on the puck, and a turnover happens. Gabel backtracks to the defensive zone, then heads ice again when Tapani gets possession for the two-on-one. She gets a shot off, albeit on a late pass, then can get the rebound to pass to Tapani behind the net. When one of her teammates recovers the puck, she’s able to get in a mid-danger area and make herself available for the pass, getting the shot off despite three Ottawa defenders in front of her.

One thing to note, which can also be seen in the first four clips, is that Gabel is pretty hesitant to get into board battles. She’ll stickcheck and try to force turnovers when the opposing team is breaking out, but in scrums, she’s much more likely to do what she did here: support on the outside and set up as a passing option if they win the puck back. It’s a little antithetical to Kessel’s whole approach and probably in part why she saw less ice time, but when you see Gabel’s ability to get a good shot off in the lower faceoff dot with multiple defenders on her, you can understand why she does it.

CLIP #6: Boston has just finished their penalty kill, and Gabel pounces on the Ottawa defense’s mistake to get possession and makes a beautiful backhand pass to set Müller up for the shot. When that doesn’t work out, she uses her stick to get the puck back from the Ottawa puck carrier and disrupt the breakout. Gabel continues pressuring with her teammates, and eventually the puck gets to Bard, but the lack of quality regroup play hurts Boston again. Charge players close in on Keller, but Maloney and Gabel win the puck back and look for a change. It’s important to note that Gabel does engage in a board battle here, so it’s not as if she’s incapable of it when a linemate needs immediate support; it’s just not her first instinct (nor does it need to be).

CLIP #7: Gabel comes on the ice and immediately sets herself up for the shot in the front of the net. The rebound goes to Ottawa, and as they head up ice, she tries to stay between Ottawa’s forwards and defenders to create a passing option for the defender (Greco) in front of her in case of a turnover. When Greco recovers the puck, she does find Gabel behind her, but Gabel mishandles the puck and turns it over. Gabel and Müller put pressure on Savolainen to prevent her from getting a clean pass or shot off, and as soon as Greco has possession again, Gabel starts heading up ice to make herself a breakout option again. Müller gets the puck and chooses the less risky option of passing to Maloney, especially with the end of their shifts coming up. Maloney carries it up ice with Gabel staying a passing option, ensuring the defense can’t swarm Maloney, who can get a shot off.

Clip #8: As soon as the board battle starts and Boston might have possession, Gabel begins backing up and thinking of the zone exit. When Müller gets the outlet pass, she’s already at the blue line with her, providing an east/west option. After Müller carries it in and is pressured by Ottawa, she cuts through Ottawa defenders, allowing Müller to send it into the zone without losing possession (and of course Müller is talented enough to make that difficult pass without turning it over or overshooting it). Gabel looks for the high-danger pass option to Maloney, then recovers the puck when Maloney’s shot misses and tries for another high-danger pass, although it gets caught in the Ottawa player’s skates. Seeing this, she goes towards the blue line behind Ottawa’s defense. At the top of the zone, she can either recover the puck if it gets tossed up the boards and continue the cycle, or try to impede Ottawa’s zone exit if they come through. The puck comes to Gabel, and a give-and-go with Müller gives Boston clean possession again. Keller gets the puck, and even then, Gabel heads behind the defense and goes to the backdoor of the net to possibly get a rebound if Keller shoots. When Keller doesn’t, Gabel heads behind the net so she can facilitate a shot for Maloney in front.

This whole shift shows what Gabel does best: create high-quality offense by knowing where to be and getting their quick. Her play away from the puck demonstrates she’s a player who knows where the puck will go next, and where she should be to ensure her team maintains possession and gets the best scoring chance possible from it. The problem is when Boston is not playing for the best scoring chance. With someone who has as good a shot and instinct for offense as Gabel, it’s a giant missed opportunity not to provide her with a consistent line mate who’s an elite playmaker and can thread the needle to her, and a game plan that prioritizes letting her lead the rush out of the zone.

So, What Now?

I’m not sure what kind of offensive system Kris Sparre will run, but I do think there are a few things he can do to get Loren Gabel back to her scoring ways.

1. Reunite Gabel and Müller: Müller should be playing center, and Gabel should be on her left wing. For most of the 2024-2025 season, Müller played left wing, and Gabel has started at right wing. I really do not understand how Müller playing wing happened, but that’s besides the point. While Gabel is capable of playing her off wing, you’ll give her the best opportunities to shoot on the left wing, and she and Müller have chemistry (as seen in the clip above), and Müller is the elite playmaker that Gabel needs. If you have to put Gabel on her off wing because Boston has more left-wingers than right-wingers and Gabel is more experienced and comfortable playing her off side, she should at least be with another rush-minded forward. A line of Aurard-Bushee / Müller / Gabel may work, with Aurard-Bushee being another player who has struggled in a grinder role but has previous chemistry with Müller in their college days.

2. Embrace speed and higher tempo breakouts: Boston is a fast team. They have one of the best defense cores in terms of skating ability going into the 2025-2026 season, with Keller and Winn leading the way, but Hartmetz and Pejšová are not far behind. Even MacKinnon, a depth signing, caught the attention of PWHL teams because of her top-end skating mechanics. If Sparre doesn’t take advantage of this by making the Fleet a quicker transition team that lets defenders join the rush and stretches the play, it’ll be a waste of personnel. Once again, this may seem far removed from Gabel, but it’s a team style of play that will lead to her scoring more.

3. Creativity in the neutral zone regroups: As seen in the clips above, Boston’s plan when they’re able to recover the puck in the neutral zone is either 1) get past the red line and dump it in, or 2) have someone carry it in ahead on a clear north-south pass. As covered in my piece about New York, entries with more passes (particularly lateral passes), more skaters alongside or ahead of the puck carrier, and east-west passing options typically lead to more shots on goal. Regrouping in the neutral zone follows the same principle, but with less space and a more aggressive forechecking from the opposing team, it can be harder to execute. Boston (most of the time) does a good job of keeping the forwards skating ahead in numbers and will try to dump the puck in the cross-corner so the weak-side forward can recover it, which is much more coherent than the Sirens’ strategy. However, the Fleet have the personnel to be more creative here. They can run more regrouping plays that prioritize forwards switching lanes, hinge plays on the board, and more active defenders.
   The Fleet could also be more patient in their regroups. Even when the opposing team didn’t have a particular strong forecheck, the Fleet’s first instinct on regroups was to move the puck up ahead immediately, often skating themselves literally and figuratively into a corner. They would stick to the boards until the opposing defense pressured them into dumping the puck. Instead, a more patient approach might see the defenders exchanging the puck until they can get a controlled entry, with a forward swinging back to receive it and carry it in. While that may sound antithetical to playing more up-tempo hockey, it can better facilitate an entry with possession, allowing a team to sustain a quicker pace once in the offensive zone.

Conclusion

Boston enters the 2025-2026 season without the skaters who accounted for 41% of their goals. A mix of expansion, retirement, and free agency took a wrecking ball to the Fleet’s offensive depth. Free agent acquisitions Chloé Aurard-Bushee, Rylind MacKinnon, Zoe Boyd, Liz Schepers, and Laura Kluge combined for only four goals in the regular season last year, leaving the Fleet without an immediate replacement for players like Knight and Bilka. While Marmer’s hope is that their new players will contribute more in bigger roles and the rookies are productive, the Fleet have the chance to elevate returning players like Gabel and reimagine a better offense.

Further Reading

In addition to what was mentioned in the piece, here are a few pieces of writing that served as inspiration for this piece

Tactalytics: Using Data to Inform Tactical Neutral Zone Decisions by Ryan Stimson

Better Late Than Never: Playoffs Post-mortems by Corey S. of All Three Zones

PWHL (North America)

Headlines

• PWHL teams announce training camp rosters

  All training camp rosters can be found here. The 23-player rosters for the 2025-2026 season must be finalized by November 19th. Training camp and preseason games are closed to the public.

• PWHL Vancouver and Seattle unveil inaugural jerseys
  Full photographs of the jerseys are here. The jerseys follow the same branding the original six teams had in year one, with the city name written diagonally across the front. However, Vancouver and Seattle will get their own names and branding before the start of this year, and will be incorporated into the jerseys in season two.

• Vancouver and Boston finalize coaching staff
  Vancouver’s coaching staff can be found here. Boston’s can be found here. The most notable additions are Team USA Kacey Bellamy as Boston’s Player Development Consultant, Kathy Pippy as a Senior Advisor to Vancouver’s General Manager after spending two years as a special advisor for the Ottawa Charge, and Shannon MacAulay as Vancouver’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach after working with the Frost in this role.

PWHL Vancouver and Seattle jerseys, via the-pwhl.com

Transactions

• Montreal Victoire extends Marie-Philip Poulin, Ann-Renée Desbiens, and Laura Stacey through 2027-2208
  All three were foundational signings for Montreal in the inaugural season. Pat Laprade reported that Marie-Philip Poulin took a pay cut to help Montreal sign other players, and further reporting from the Hockey News confirmed Desbiens and Stacey did the same.

• Montreal signs first-round pick Nicole Gosling to a three-year deal
  Gosling is a defender from Clarkson University who also competed with the Canadian Women’s National Team in 2024. During her tenure at Clarkson, Gosling had 148 points in 170 games.

• PWHL Vancouver signs four draft picks: Michelle Karvinen, Brianna Brooks, and Maddy Samoskevich to one-year deals, Nina Jobst-Smith to a two-year deal

  Karvinen is a 35-year-old winger who is one of Finland’s most accomplished players, and most recently won a championship with Frölunda in the SDHL last season. She has won multiple individual trophies and championships across varying leagues and international competitions.

  Brooks is a forward who played for Penn State and the University of New Hampshire in the NCAA, winning the AHA championship with Penn State the last two seasons. She had 109 points in 164 NCAA games.
  
  Samoskevich played five seasons at Quinnipiac University, both as a center and a defender. In 168 games, she had 84 points.
  

  Jobst-Smith is a defender who spent five years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, serving as captain her final year. While a local to Vancouver, she also represents the German National Team and has been their top defender for several seasons.

• New York sign draft picks Callie Shanahan and Dayle Ross to one-year deals, but will be without Makenna Webster

  Callie Shanahan is a goaltender who played for Boston University, starting 30 games last year and posting a .924 save percentage to help Boston grab the Hockey East championship, earning her a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

  Dayle Ross is a shutdown defender from St. Cloud State known as one of the top shot-blockers in the NCAA.
  

  One draft pick the Sirens will not be signing is the 17th overall pick, Makenna Webster. As reported by the Hockey News, Pascal Daoust confirmed she’d be putting ice hockey on pause to focus on her field hockey career and prepare for the Summer Olympics. Daoust also said, “Her dream of wearing the New York Sirens jersey isn’t gone - it’s just waiting for the right time,” and was supportive of her decision. The Sirens will hold Webster’s exclusive signing rights for at least another year

• Britta Curl-Salemme signs a two-year extension with the Minnesota Frost
  Curl-Salemme was originally signed to a two-year deal last season, so this extension keeps her signed through 2027-2028. Curl-Salemme had a successful rookie year production-wise with 15 points in 28 regular-season games last year, but found trouble with suspensions related to her physical play, as well as off-ice controversy for racist and transphobic comments she made on social media.

SDHL

Headlines

• Erika Holst will leave her role as Frölunda head coach after this season to coach the Swedish Women’s National Team

  Holst is one of Sweden’s most accomplished players in history, having captained the Swedish National team to a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics, having one of the highest point totals for a European skater in NCAA history, and winning six club championships in Sweden. In 2022-2023, she took over as Frölunda’s head coach in their inaugural season, helping the team earn promotion from the NDHL to the SDHL and making them an instant contender. Last season, Frölunda won its first SDHL championship, becoming the first non-Luleå team to win since 2017. This year, she has coached the team to a 15-1 record start.
  Once the season concludes, Holst will leave the team and take over as Team Sweden’s head coach for the 2026 Women’s World Championships. Ulf Lundberg, who has coached the team for the past six seasons, will oversee Team Sweden at the 2026 Olympics before departing. The full announcement is here.

• Frölunda starts the season on a historic 15-0 streak before being stopped by Färjestad
  Before this season, no SDHL team in the modern post-2015 era has started the season 15-0. Frölunda’s historic start is led by Forwards Sofie Lundin and Elisa Holopainen, who each have 19 points in 16 games.
  The win streak came to an unexpected end when Frölunda played Färjestad, the league’s ninth-place team. Färjestad picked up its first win since October 3rd, thanks to a 38-save shutout from Ida Boman.

• Defender Tuva Kandell leaves Northeastern University to return to Frölunda
  After starting the season in the NCAA, Kandell will return to the SDHL under a contract that will have her with Frölunda until 2027. Kandell had five points in six NCAA games this year. When she last played for Frölunda in 2023-2024, she had 15 points in 36 games. The announcement can be found here

• MoDo’s Wilma Sundin out for Season, Olympics
  MoDo announced that after sustaining an injury in the game against Luleå on the 26th, Wilma Sundin will not play again this season and will miss the Olympics. The team’s official press release did not confirm what the injury was, but it appeared to be a leg or knee injury, and Sundin required assistance leaving the ice. Sundin, a 22-year-old forward, had 11 points in 15 games to start the year.

• Emil Larsson joins HV71 coaching staff
  Emil Larsson, who previously coached on the boy’s youth teams for HV71, joins the women’s team as an assistant coach. The press release can be read here.

Disciplinary:

• Hanna Thuvik (MoDo) suspended two games for spearing against Luleå on October 26th

• Ella Sköldebäck (SDE) suspended two games for an illegal check to the head against Frölunda on October 26th

• Julie Gough (Färjestad BK) was suspended for two games on October 11th against Modo for an illegal check to the head

Injuries:

Please note that, as the SDHL/teams don’t often publish injury reports, this is likely incomplete

Currently out: Lucy Morgan (MoDo), Eve Savander, (Linköping), Laura Lerchová (Skellefteå AIK), Sara Lindqvist (Skellefteå AIK), Nicoline Söndergaard Jensen (Skellefteå), Maude Poulin-Labelle (Brynäs IF), Wilma Sundin (MoDo)

Returned this month: Sydney Pederson (MoDo), Sophie Helgeson (Linköping), Tea Løkke Nyberg (HV71), Petra Nieminen (Luleå)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines:

• Neuchâtel Hockey Academy fires head coach Philippe Stengel
  Yan Gigon, the club’s technical director, will take over in the interim as they look for a new coach. Neuchâtel Hockey Academy is off to a disappointing 1-12 start and is the youngest team in the league by average age.

• HC Ambrì-Piotta ends EV Zug’s winning streak

  After winning twelve straight to start the season, EVZ were handed their first loss of the season in a 5-3 game against Ambrì-Piotta. Lena-Marie Lutz scored twice for Ambrì-Piotta to help secure the victory, and Michaela Pejzlová had two assists. Pejzlová has been on a hot streak, with 13 points in Ambrì-Piotta’s last five games. On Zug’s side, 19-year-old Ivana Wey scored, contributing to her ten points in the last five games.

• Jael Manetsch (EVZ) is out for several weeks with a foot injury
  Manetsch does not have a timetable for her return and will also need to miss out on playing for Switzerland this upcoming international break

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Headlines:

• Karoliina Rantamäki becomes the all-time leading scorer for Auroraliiga
  Earlier this month, Rantamäki overtook Riikka Noronen’s record of 775 points to become the all-time leading scorer in Auroraliiga history. Currently, Rantamäki has 793 points in 468 games across 22 Auroraliiga seasons. Rantamäki also played in Russia’s league for 12 years, and represented Finland at five Olympics and 13 World Championships. At age 47, Rantamäki is still a top contributor to Kiekko-Espoo and led the team in playoff assists on the way to their championship last season.

• Ilves manager Rami Kujala passes away at age 54
  Kujala served as assistant coach with Ilves’ U-16 girls team for two years before taking the job as manager for Ilves senior women’s team. The league’s announcement can be found here.

• RoKi gets reinforcements from first-place Kiekko-Espoo and international players, earns first win
  Kiekko-Espoo loaned defenders Heta Paasilinna, Hilpi Hohti, and forward Nia Käyhty to RoKi until November 22nd. All three spent time between Kiekko-Espoo’s senior team and their Mestis affiliate, and this will allow them to get more playing time at the Auroraliiga level while RoKi gets roster help. Their presence has already helped RoKi, with Hilpi Hohti recording a goal and Nia Käyhty recording an assist in their first win.
  RoKi also added 24-year-old San Jose native Claire Peterson, who previously spent four years at the University of Connecticut. She joins Mae Olshansky as one of the two international signings RoKi made to help get the team back on track.
  RoKi finally earned its first victory in a 4-3 shootout victory against KalPa. Four of their five new additions appeared on the scoresheet, and captain Moona Keskisarja scored the winning goal in the shootout.

Other News:

• DFEL team HK Budapest win the EWHL Euro Cup, Alexandra Huszák scores winning goal

  The Budapest team beat fellow German league (DFEL) team ECDC Memmingen in the EWHL Euro Cup, with Alexandra Huszák scoring the winning goal. Huszák, a 30-year-old Hungarian forward, will be at the Ottawa Charge training camp this November.

Photo by Henar Gomez

• Women’s World Championship to permanently move to November, new European international competition to be announced

  The IIHF announced that, to accommodate the PWHL season, the World Championships will permanently move to November. The lower divisions will still play in April for the 2026 season before moving to November for the 2027 season. Additionally, a new European championship will take place in April 2027.

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PWHL (North America)

Headlines and Transactions

• PWHL Release 2025-2026 schedule
  The season will begin on November 21st, with each team playing 30 regular-season games. Select games will be neutral site locations as part of the PWHL “takeover tour.” From January 29th until February 25th, the league will pause for the Olympic break. The Boston Fleet will also play four “home” games at Agganis Arena this year in addition to their games at Tsongas Center.

• 2025 First Overall Pick Kristýna Kaltounková signs a three-year deal with the Sirens

  Kaltounková was one of the best players in the nation during her five years at Colgate University. She returned to the Czech National Team last year to play top-line minutes at the World Championship.

• Maja Nylén Persson extended through 2027-2028
  The New York Sirens defender had originally signed a three-year contract after being selected tenth overall in last year’s draft, but restructured her contract to add another year this offseason.

• Anne Cherkowski signs a three-year deal with the New York Sirens

  Another big signing for the Sirens, Cherkowski joins New York after being selected 13th overall in the 2025 draft. The Clarkson forward is the second pick from the 2026 draft to sign with New York.

• PWHL drops salary requirements for draft picks in rounds 1-3

  Last year, the PWHL allegedly added salary tiers that required draft picks in the first three rounds to have certain minimum salaries ($50,000, $42,500, and $40,000) when signed by the team that drafted them. According to the Hockey News, this requirement has now dropped. The initial salary tiers were never publicly announced by the league, nor was the change that draft picks from 2025 onwards would have their rights held by the teams that drafted them for two seasons. The change that the salary tiers have now been dropped has also not been officially disclosed. The only public copy of the collective bargaining agreement is from 2023, which does not feature any amendments.

SDHL (Sweden)

Headlines and Transactions:

• Savine Wielenga Announces Retirement

  Wielenga’s career included seven SDHL seasons with SDE, HV71, Brynäs, Leksands, and Linköping, where she scored 75 points in 174 career games. The center was the first Dutch player to play in the SDHL, and appeared at 16 World Championships and three Olympic Qualifiers with the Netherlands. She would go on to captain Team Netherlands and help them rise in the international rankings, with 95 points in 79 games internationally, enough to make her the all-time points and games played leader for the Netherlands. Congratulations on your retirement, Savine!

• Goaltender Tindra Holm signs with MoDo

  With planned starter Lucy Morgan injured to start the year, MoDo was able to find last-minute help by signing Tindra Holm. Previously, Holm had played for Skellefteå AIK, MoDo, and Luleå in her youth before leaving for the NCAA, where she played for LIU and Minnesota-Duluth. Holm had an impressive .935 save percentage in the NCAA, but was primarily a backup last season and only started nine games. So far, she is off to an impressive start in her SDHL return, with a .934 save percentage and three wins on the season.

• Sabina Eriksson extends contract as sports director with Linköping through 2028 (press release)

  Eriksson joined the club as sports director in 2023 after a long career in the SDHL. During that time, Linköping has been a playoff team that finishes in the middle of the standings.

• Frölunda is undefeated in September, and every team has at least one win

  The first month of SDHL saw the defending champions win every game, with MoDo only two points behind in the standings. HV71 is the clear last-place team, but still managed to get an overtime win this month. The middle of the standings remains tight, with only seven points separating spots three through eight.

Tindra Holm with MoDo, courtesy of the team’s Instagram

Disciplinary:

• Sarah Bujold (Luleå) suspended two games for buttending Sarah Hjalmarsson on September 14th (press release)

• Ella Albinson (Färjestad) suspended two games for abuse of an official on September 14th (press release). Albinson collided with a referee and stated that it was incidental, and while the league seems to agree that the hit was not intentional,

Injuries:

Please note that, as the SDHL/teams don’t often publish injury reports, this is likely incomplete

Currently out: Maja Beverin (Djugårdens), Lucy Morgan (MoDo), Eve Savander, (Linköping), Sydney Pederson (MoDo), Laura Lerchová (Skellefteå AIK), Sara Lindqvist (Skellefteå AIK), Sophie Helgeson (Linköping), Tea Løkke Nyberg (HV71),

Returned this month: Haruka Toko (Linköping), Ebba Berglund (MoDo), Grace Parker (Färjestad)

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines:

• HC Fribourg-Gottéron gets a dedicated women’s locker room (source)

  With the Men’s World Championship coming to the arena in 2026, HC Fribourg-Gottéron has seen investment from the IIHF, which includes a new locker room for the women’s team

• Vanessa Rhyner is out indefinitely, EVZ signs Sinia Gubser
  The 28-year-old forward signed with EVZ after missing most of last season with an injury; however, it appears that she will not be able to return as hoped and is putting her career on pause
  Due to Rhyner’s absence, EVZ signed Sinia Gubser, a 19-year-old who spent the last four seasons training with junior teams in Canada

• EV Zug is dominating the league

  After a finals loss last season, EVZ is looking for revenge and is off to a 6-0 start with a 31-goal differential. Rahel Enzler, Alina Marti, and Lara Stalder have combined for 42 points so far.

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Headlines:

• RoKi in crisis to start the season, looking to international players for help
  RoKi has always been towards the bottom of the Auroraliiga standings since being promoted in 2018-2019, but they are in serious trouble this season. So far, they are 0-6 with a -74 goal differential. The club is unusually young, with an average age of 17.75.
  The general manager of HPK, Jorma Hassinen, stated in an interview that RoKi should not be in the league, as most of the players are under 18 and are better suited for a junior league (source 1, source 2). The President of Auroraliiga, Henni Laaksonen, said that the situation was alarming but that RoKi is in compliance with an Auroraliiga license, though that could change as the licensing gets stricter qualifications in upcoming seasons. RoKi’s coach also assured her that more senior international players were arriving in October to help balance out the roster.

  One of those players appears to be American forward Mae Olshansky, who played five years at SUNY-Plattsburgh.

• Kiekko-Espoo tops the standings, going undefeated in September
  Emma Nuutinen continues her reign as the league’s top scorer with 18 points in 8 games. HPK trails five points behind Kiekko-Espoo for second place

Other News:

• 2026 World Championship has been moved to November, will take place in Denmark

  Herning will be one of the host cities, with the other Danish city TBD. The adjustment takes into consideration the February Olympics and PWHL schedule. At least for 2026, the other divisional World Championship (i.e. D1A, D1B) will still take place in April.

Please note: This is not a comprehensive list or a list of the “best” players. This is just a taster, and geared towards fans unfamiliar with the league or players who have not spent much time in North America.

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1. Viivi Vainikka

Everybody loves watching a star player switch over to their rival team, except their former team. Viivi Vainikka is definitely not the player you want to see leave for your rival.

Luleå and Brynäs are a bit of a one-sided rivalry. Luleå was (is?) the dynasty of the SDHL, winning seven championships since 2015. Brynäs, at least since 2020, is usually the runner-up. Despite being one of the best SDHL teams of the decade, the only thing Brynäs has to show for it is the 2022 regular season championship, a season that still ended with losing to Luleå in the finals. The SDHL has been less of a two-team league and more of a levelled playing field the past two seasons, but the intensity between the two teams hasn’t gone away.

Viivi Vainikka was one of the key players who made up the back half of Luleå’s dynasty, helping them win a championship every year from 2020 to 2024 and working her way up to seventh all-time in points in Luleå’s record books. Most of Luleå’s core players have either stayed with the team for over a decade now (Grahn, Hiirikoski, Karvinen) or, if they did leave, they left for another league first (Savolainen, Fällman, Tulus). Players of Vainikka’s caliber leaving Luleå for another SDHL team is rare, but Brynäs was able to get her on a one-year deal. They’re hoping that by enticing the star player who tormented them for all those playoffs to switch to their side, they’ll finally win a championship. Luleå hopes to prove that just as they have lost star players and maintained success before, they can do so again.

Alongside Vainikka, Brynäs also acquired fellow Luleå alumni Noora Tulus (most recently with the New York Sirens) and Swedish top scorer Elin Svensson from HV71. Brynäs is 5-0-1 to start the year, with Vainikka scoring nine points in six games. Their one loss so far came at the hands of, you guessed it, Luleå.

Video via Brynas

2. Aoi Shiga

MoDo is starting the year with a lot of injuries on their back end, from captain Ebba Berglund to new goaltender Lucy Morgan. They have the makings of a contender, but will need their healthy defenders to help them weather the storm as they wait to get back to full strength. Enter: Aoi Shiga.

If the name sounds familiar, you’ve likely seen her on Japan’s blue line during the World Championship, with Lugano in Switzerland two years ago, or remember her sister Akane from her years in the PWHL and current role on Luleå. Aoi is off to an explosive start for MoDo, already accumulating four points in five games, including a game-winning goal against Färjestad. For MoDo, she’s a crucial puck-moving defender who’s strong on her skates and stays out of the box, and has already earned a spot on the top pairing.

MoDo is not off to the start they want (currently 2-2-1), but the production they’re getting from Shiga and other newcomers indicates that this team could really pick up steam when fully healthy.

Aoi Shiga (white jersey) goes against sister Akane Shiga (red jersey), photo via Aoi on Instagram

3. Edit Danielsson

Frölunda has established itself as a top club since joining the SDHL in 2022, winning its first championship last year. The star-studded offense includes acquired players like Elisa Holopainen, Hanna Olsson, and Andrea Dalen, but what’s equally impressive is the players they’ve been able to develop. Alongside Moa Stridh, Nellie Svensson, and Ebba Westerlind, Frölunda is home to Edit Danielsson, who had the most points of a U18 player in the SDHL last year. This is her last season before going to play in the NCAA next year for Minnesota Duluth, and she’ll have two main goals: win another championship, and make a strong enough impression to make her first senior team for the Olympics.

Everybody likes to be on the ground level for players and say they were there from the early stages of their career, and folks will have that chance if they start tuning in to watch Danielsson now.

4. Michelle Löwenhielm

Most people will not be talented enough to play one hockey position professionally in their life, but Michelle Löwenhielm is on to her second. After over ten years at forward with various SDHL, NCAA, and PHF teams, Löwenhielm is switching to playing defender. And where better to get a fresh start than on Färjestad, a team playing its first-ever SDHL season.

Färjestad's main goal is to stay in the SDHL and avoid relegation, and hopefully, avoid having to play in the relegation tournament altogether. They’re hoping Löwenhielm’s skill and veteran presence will help them establish themselves as an SDHL team and bring more scoring to their defense core. Löwenhielm is one of only two players on the team 30 years or older, bringing 350 SDHL games and 314 points of experience.

Färjestad currently sits in ninth place with two wins and five losses. They’ll need to finish in spots 1-8 to avoid playing in the relegation tournament entirely, with an eighth-place finish being a realistic goal (Skellefteå holds that spot with a 2-3-1 record.) If they’re going to pull it off, though, they’ll need Löwenhielm to excel at her new position.

5. Nadia Mattivi

With respect to those who came before her, we may be watching the best Italian-born player we’ve ever seen in women’s hockey. She holds the record for most points by an Italian-born player in both the SDHL (after one season) and NCAA, and already has a Defender of the Year award under her belt in the SDHL.

Mattivi also has a lot of pressure this year. While she excelled in a first-pairing role with Luleå last year, she’ll have even more responsibility now: fellow defenders Hiirikoski and Fällman are coming off serious injuries and may need more help as a result, and she’ll also be relied on for more scoring with Emma Nordin retiring and Vainikka leaving. On top of that, she’ll also be expected to lead Team Italy as their number one defender headed into their first Winter Olympics since 2006.

Already with nine points in six games, Mattivi will be trying to kickstart the second (third?) phase of Luleå’s dynasty and get them back on track after losing the championship for the first time since 2017 last year, all while preparing to represent her country on home soil.

Nadia Mattivi scores for Luleä

The SDHL, PFWL, and Auroraliiga are set to begin this week, so here is everything you should know that happened in August before the 2025-2026 season begins.

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PWHL (USA/Canada)

Headlines and Major Transactions

• Ottawa, Montréal, Minnesota, New York, and Seattle all add to their coaching staff
  Two women’s hockey legends will serve behind PWHL benches next year with Caroline Ouellette becoming a full-time assistant coach for the Victoire and Brianna Decker being named an assistant coach for the Frost. Seattle rounds out the bench with new assistant coaches Christine Bumstead and Clayton Beddoes, who both have the bulk of their experience in the WHL. Former USports and CWHL coach Valérie Bois joins the New York Sirens as an assistant coach. Finally, Finnish Women’s National Team head coach Juuso Toivola joins Ottawa.

• Boston Fleet first-round draft pick Haley Winn signs a three-year contract
  Winn is a graduate of Clarkson and has appeared at three different World Championships for Team USA. In her final NCAA season, she was ECAC Defender of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award.

• Emily Clark signs a two-year extension with the Ottawa Charge, making her one of the highest-paid players

  One of Ottawa’s initial signings, Clark had a year left in her contract, but had her contract extended through the 2027-2028 season. Clark will reportedly be one of nine players to earn over 100k next year, and has the highest salary for a single season (though Fillier still has the highest overall contract value). Source.

• Ashton Bell extends through 2027-2028 with Vancouver
  Acquired from Ottawa in the expansion draft, Bell was a top-pairing defender last year and has appeared at the Olympics for Team Canada.

• Boston fleet extends Aerin Frankel, Megan Keller, and Alina Müller through the 2027-28 season.
  Like Clark and Bell, all three were originally signed through the end of this year, and had two additional years added on with this extension. Frankel, Keller, and Müller are core members of the Fleet that they continue to build around.

• Emma Gentry signs a two-year contract in Toronto

  Gentry was the second round pick for Toronto, and finished her career at St. Cloud with 90 points in 152 games. Gentry is known for her tall height at 5’11 and ability to get pucks to the net.

• Boston signs Ella Huber for two years

  Another second-round pick signed, Huber is a smaller center who finished her career at the University of Minnesota with 140 points in 158 games played, and has a strong skating ability that aids a two-way game

• Dominique Petrie signs for two years with Minnesota

  Petrie was a rookie for the Frost last year and provided secondary scoring for Minnesota. She finished with 10 points despite injuries keeping her to only 18 regular-season games.

• Boston Fleet forward Jillian Dempsey announces retirement

  After over ten years in her senior career, Dempsey retires as one of the most decorated women’s hockey centers of all time, and arguably the most prolific Boston women’s hockey player. She is the all-time leader in points and games played for the PHF, and had a career that spanned three different North American women’s hockey leagues.

SDHL (Sweden)

Headlines and Major Transactions

• Jenni Hiirikoski returns to the ice in practice with Luleå
  After several months of heart issues that led to her having surgery in June, Hiirkoski is back on the ice for the first time as the SDHL prepares for its season. While Hiirikoski has not played in any game action, she has taken a major first step in her recovery (source).

• Dominika Lásková signs with SDE

  Lásková is a top defender for Czechia, who spent a year with Luleå before joining the PWHL. A knee injury sidelined Lásková for most of her two years in the PWHL, only returning to play last February. She returns to the SDHL on a two-year deal

• Josefine Holmgren signs with SDE

  Another former SDHL defender returning to the league to play for SDE, Holmgren is one of the SDHL’s most decorated players, landing fifth on the all-time games played list with 424 games. Holmgren played most of her career with Brynäs and Djugårdens, serving as captain for the latter, before leaving to play in Switzerland’s PostFinance Women’s League for two seasons.

• Emma Nordin to have number retired with Luleå on September 5th during home opener

  Nordin, one of the SDHL’s and Luleå’s most impactful players in history, will have her number 26 raised to the rafters before Luleå’s first home game. The game is free to attend, and more information can be found in the team’s press release

• Haninge Anchors HC temporarily ceases operations

  Due to a lack of resources, the Haning Anchors announce it will not operate their NDHL team this season, but hope to return for 2026-2027. Haninge has been a mainstay in the NDHL, the league below the SDHL in Sweden. Last year, they made it to the final four for a chance to be promoted to the SDHL.

• Justine Reyes signs with MoDo Hockey

  Reyes is a veteran forward with experience in the NCAA, DFEL, EWHL, PHF, and past SDHL experience. She played for Linköping HC for two seasons, averaging over a point per game. She’s a crucial late signing for a MoDo team looking to rebuild its forward core

• Sara Hjalmarsson will start the season with Linköping
  Although Hjalmarsson was selected in the PWHL draft by Toronto, she will start the season with her old SDHL club before heading to Toronto for training camp. Hjalmarsson has not signed a contract with Toronto yet.

• Dominique Kremer announces her retirement
  Kremer retires at age 28 after six professional seasons across the SDHL, PHF, and PWHL. Highlights of her career include winning the first-ever PWHL Championship with the Minnesota Frost, captaining the Buffalo Beauts during the 2022-2023 season, and winning PHF defender of the year in 2021-2022. In the SDHL, she will be remembered as one of the key pieces that helped SDE make the semifinals after a remarkable quarterfinal upset.

• Magdalena Winbo retires at age 31

  One of SDE’s and the SDHL’s longest tenured players calls it a career after 13 SDHL seasons and an NDHL season. A depth forward, Winbo was a mainstay of SDE as it transformed from a team that struggled to stay in the SDHL to a playoff team.

Other Transactions:

Previous Team/extension in parentheses

• Djugårdens: Andrea Horst Kaspersen (SDE)

• HV71: Evelyne Blais-Savoie (University of Vermont)

• SDE: Nova Åberg (AIK)

• Skellefteå AIK: Millie Rose Sirum (Providence College)

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Headlines and Major Transactions

• Select Auroraliiga games to be broadcast on TV5, Kutonen, and HBO Max

  Warner Bros. has bought the rights to some Auroraliiga games, the league announced on Instagram, allowing them to be broadcast on more accessible channels in Finland. The games not shown on these channels will remain on the paywalled LeijonatTV streaming service that broadcast games last year. With TV5 and Kutonen being free cable TV channels, more Finnish residents should be able to watch Auroraliiga this year

• Kiira Yrjänen returns to Auroraliiga, signs with Kiekko-Espoo

  After three seasons in the SDHL, Yrjänen returns to Auroraliiga. A fringe National Team defender, Yrjänen had 26 points and 20 assists in 28 games in her 2020-2021 regular season campaign with Kiekko-Espoo and will make an immediate impact on their roster.

• Susanna Viitala returns to TPS
  After winning a championship with Kiekko-Espoo last season, Viitala returns to TPS. The 25-year-old center was their highest scoring player in 2023-2024

• Czech defender Magdalena Erbenová joins TPS
  Erbenová played her last five seasons for RPI in the NCAA and has been a stay-at-home defender for most of her career

• Sinna Varjonen signs with Team Kuortane

  Another player returning to their former team, Varjonen returns to Team Kuortane after a strong year with TPS. The young defender had her second-best season last year, accumulating 17 points in 32 games.

PostFinance Women’s League (Switzerland)

Headlines and Transactions:

• Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies partners with Kunlun Red Stars of the Chinese Women’s Ice Hockey League
  A select six players trained with the Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies for two weeks, and the Fribourg-Gottéron Ladies are aiming to participate in a tournament in China during the Olympic break (source)

• Jalena Sonderegger signs with Neuchâtel Hockey Academy
  Sonderegger is a 17-year-old prospect who had two strong years in SWHL B, and was called up for select games for Neuchâtel last season. Now, she’ll start her season on the senior team

Other News:

• Team USA wins gold at first-ever World Para Ice Hockey Women's World Championships
  Slovakia hosted the inaugural championship with six participating teams: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Norway, USA & Team World. USA won gold against Canada, and Norway won Bronze. Team USA's Kelsey DiClaudio was the tournament MVP with her 11 goal performance, including four in the gold medal game. If you missed any of the action, you can rewatch the games here.

Graphic from Para Ice Hockey

• Alexandra Huszák, Mira Seregély sign with HK Budapest in DFEL
  Huszák, one of Hungary’s most decorated players, is leaving MAC Budapest and the EWHL for HK Budapest in the DFEL, the German league that adopted the Hungarian club last year.
  Another top Hungarian player, Seregély, will join Huszák. Seregély spent the last four years at the University of Maine.