For the first time since 2011, the 2026 IIHF women's World Championships will abandon the antiquated tiered groupings and welcome balanced groups. It means nations will have new opportunities to face the best, develop, and prove themselves. Here's a look at how the format could change the event.
The IIHF moved away from balanced groups at the women's World Championship in 2011. Instead they spent the next 15 years keeping the top five teams in the world almost entirely isolated from the rest of the competition.
It is a debated move that many feel hurt the development of women's hockey, and was done for the wrong reasons.
Now, for the first time since 2011, developing nations will have a legitimate opportunity to prove themselves, for new stars to emerge, and for a realistic measuring stick to be present in the sport.
The move will have impacts on the outcomes at the tournament, and will change how things play out, but it's an overwhelmingly positive moment for international women's hockey.
Growing Nations Will Get To Test Themselves
Under the previous format, it was nearly impossible for the promoted nations from the Division 1A tournament to get the chance to play Canada or USA, and the chance to play the next tier in Finland, Czechia, and Switzerland were limited as well. Now however, teams like Austria and Denmark who were promoted for this tournament, will have to play the world's top teams. It's a measuring stick for those federations who can use the lessons learned, likely resulting in a tough loss, to reimagine their development, deploy additional funding, and follow proven methodology to build out stronger women's hockey landscapes domestically. It also avoids the risk of seeing a nation like Finland have their medal hopes dashed due to a poor showing at one event, like when they briefly slipped into Group B at the tournament in 2023. And it will allow other nations, like Sweden, who have already been strong enough to be in Group A for years, to take the next step. The numbers crunch is gone, it's now all about performance, and nations outside the top 4-5 in the world will now be able to test themselves annually against competition they'd otherwise have no access to.
New Stars Will Be Born From Unknown Places
Without the opportunity to face the best in the world at the 2026 Olympics, Gabrielle Durante would never be on the PWHL radar. Instead, the former U SPORTS netminder, who went to Italy to gain dual passport eligibility for the 2026 Olympics, was a PWHL Draft pick, and will have a legitimate chance to earn her spot in Seattle. The same could be said for undrafted Alice Philbert, another Canadian-born U SPORTS alumni who represented France and turned it into a two-year PWHL contract with Detroit. It's an unprecedented opportunity for the best from nations outside the top pool to show that their best players can compete. For nations like Denmark and Austria, that opportunity is now. PWHL teams will be looking for hidden gems, and the opportunity for players to step into the annual World Championship and wow scouts and opponents is real. The pathway has been paved by those who used the Olympics as a stepping stone. It's a list that also includes Nadia Mattivi, and others such as Justine Reyes who will also be in PWHL training camp this year.
More Scoring Could Mean More Records Fallling
One of the concerns that resulted in the now former tiered groupings was the risk of lopsided results. There will be games with seven or eight goals scored, and there will be some where double digits are reached. It will be part of the process, but it could also change the ability for players to hit new scoring records, and challenge previous marks set prior to the tiered groupings. Lopsided games can happen between anyone, which is why Team USA put up 10 goals against Canada last season in the Rivalry Series. It's not a reason to exclude developing nations. For Canada and USA, young players beginning to chase down legends will have games where they can show their offensive skills more clearly. It will also give nations like Canada and USA time to open the door for younger players and give more ice time. But seeing how high the individual scoring totals reach in 2026 and the coming tournaments will be a story to watch.
How Will It Look In Denmark?
Group A at this year's tournament will feature USA, Czechia, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Group B will feature Canada, Finland, Sweden, Japan and Denmark.
Prior to this year, Group B would have included Austria, Denmark, Japan, Germany, and Sweden, with the remainder in Group A.
The new format no longer dooms teams in one pool to remain there indefinately, needing a single game
