Olympic Women's Hockey Power Rankings: USA Lead As Quarterfinals Are Set

The quarterfinals are booked at the 2026 Olympic women's hockey tournament in Milan, Italy. 

Team USA enters as the top team in Milano Cortina, and they’ll face hosts Italy, which had a historic performance but will be no match for the American juggernauts. 

Canada will have a chance to regroup against Germany in the quarterfinals, but beyond those two games, there is no guarantee who else will punch their ticket through to the medal round. Czechia could face an upset from Sweden, and Finland and Switzerland will play another closely matched contest.

The quarterfinals get underway on Friday. Here's a look at the Olympic women's hockey power rankings heading into elimination games.

There's no question this is the top team in the world right now. No one has come up with an answer for the young speed and tenacity of Team USA's lineup, including Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy, Hannah Bilka, Tessa Janecke and Laila Edwards. They made history with the largest win over Canada in men's or women's hockey at the Olympics, ever. They will face Italy in the quarterfinals.

The continued absence of Marie-Philip Poulin from Canada's roster is concerning, and the team has not played consistently. Their blueline in particular has been porous. They've been slow, out of position and playing a style that does not match their opponents. Still, the Canadians have some bright spots in Julia Gosling, Sarah Fillier and Daryl Watts. Are they able to win gold? Or is this, at best, a silver-medal roster? They will face Germany in the quarterfinals.

Finland were the only team to put together sustained zone time against Canada to a point where it looked like their gap wasn't as large as the scoresheet suggests. It's hard to know how much the norovirus outbreak the team dealt with early affected their early performances, such as their loss to Czechia. Team Finland has the big names, they have the depth, and they have Sanni Ahola, who has been solid in net. It's going to take more for an upset, but if any team can do it, it's the Finns. They will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Kristyna Kaltounkova is a force on the puck and on the body, and Montreal Victoire rookie Natalie Mlynkova has shown her flash. The team hasn't found a consistent answer in the crease, and questions remain about the health of No. 1 defender Sara Cajanova. This team is never outworked, but it has struggled to consistently generate offense. They'll face Sweden in the quarterfinals.

Sweden should be playing in Group A. Luckily, that won't be an issue in the future, as international women's hockey is doing away with tiered groups. This team continues to get better tournament by tournament and game by game. When you watch their blueline, including Mira Jungaker and Maja Nylen Persson, and when you see their current NCAA cohort surrounded by the speckling of PWHL players up front, the promise is all there. Sweden took Canada to overtime in the World Championship quarters in 2024. Facing Czechia this time around, they're a distinct threat to upset the Czechs.

There's a lot to like about this roster. Alina Muller has been spectacular up front, and their goaltending, led by Andrea Brandli, has kept Switzerland in games. They also have some of the brightest young talents in the tournament, Ivana Wey and Alessia Baechler, who will be at Northeastern next season. The problem for the Swiss is that if the trio of Muller, Wey and captain Lara Stalder can't score, this team doesn't have the offensive depth to challenge a top team. They'll face Finland in the quarterfinals.

Laura Kluge has been their best player and sits among the tournament leaders after Group B action. Kluge can certainly elevate her game, but doing so against a top-ranked team is not something she is expected to do. For Germany to challenge Canada, they'll need a historic performance from netminder Sandra Abstreiter. Germany have a ton of work ethic and compete, but the skill level isn't there. This nation needs to send more players to North America to develop.

Two things are true here. First, Italy has been more competitive, more skilled and more successful than almost anyone predicted. Domestically trained players, such as Matilde Fantin and Nadia Mattivi, have been the nation's top players, but their dual-passport additions, including Justine Reyes, Kayla Tutino, Kristin Della Rovere, and Laura Fortino, are the difference between where Italy was and where they can be internationally. The second truth here is that Italy has no chance against the USA and will look to simply avoid a historic trouncing.

Eliminated, Japan must rethink their girls' and women's hockey plans. They have a good group of young players who are smooth skaters and puckhandlers, but they don't face strong enough competition, and they have no national team players in North America at any level. They are moving in the wrong direction.

France have four years to figure something out before they host the 2030 Olympics. They have a line of players capable of competing, but no depth. Their girls' and women's hockey program doesn't sink the training or support into players, and they don't have a team in a competitive European league.

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