It was Laura Fortino's first Olympic Games without winning a medal, and first not representing Canada. They're notable firsts in Fortino's last Olympics, but not as notable as the impression she made with her play.
Laura Fortino, 35, is now a three-time Olympian. She won gold gold in 2014, and silver in 2018, when she was also named an Olympic tournament All-Star while representing Canada.
Fortino, by all accounts, could be midway through her third season in the PWHL playing in the top four for any team in the league. But she's not. Fortino spent four seasons in the PWHPA leading up to the PWHL's founding, including finishing second in defensive scoring in the circuit's final season as a member of Team Harvey's. Her totals topped players like Megan Keller, Renta Fast, Erin Ambrose, and Ella Shelton. She also finished with more points than players like Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter.
Instead of entering the PWHL, Fortino embarked on a different journey - one leading back to the Olympics, but this time as a member of Team Italy.
To gain her eligibility, Fortino had to play in Italy. She played a handful of games in 2023-24 with EV Bozen, then jumped to Neumarkt/Egna in 2024-25, and this season played a pair of games with Real Torino.
While Fortino only dressed in 12 games over three seasons, she was on the ice and in the gym regularly, including as the first woman ever to serve as an assistant coach in the OHL, where she coaches for the Brantford Bulldogs.
Without the PWHL, without a full time team or league to play in, Fortino prepared herself as any professional would, and her impact at the 2026 Games was evident. Fortino led all players in the women's hockey tournament in time on ice averaging 27:55 per night. Accustomed to the long standing rivalry, albeit as a member of Team Canada, with the United States, Fortino capped off her Olympic journey playing 29:55 against Team USA in an incredibly competitive 6-0 quarterfinal loss.
Fortino was an anchor on Italy's blueline. Still, three years into the PWHL existence, and with only a dozen games in a league that would fall outside the top ten most competitive in globally in that span, Fortino could still step into a PWHL roster next season and contribute.
That however, is unlikely. What's more likely, is that the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, and Italy's historic performance that saw the nation's first Olympic women's hockey wins, and first quarterfinal berth, will be Fortino's final games, or close to them. It's believed Fortino, who was married in September, plans to continue coaching, and potentially start a family. It's possible that Fortino could represent Italy at the Division 1A World Championships in April to help them look for promotion to the top group. Even if she does, Fortino's playing career is now in its final chapter. With the coaching resume she's already amassed, it could however, be in the cards for Fortino to join the PWHL in another role in the future.
The three-time First Team All-American, and former CWHL Defender of the Year has done it all, for two nations. She was, and is, considered among the best in the world.
If the 2026 Olympics were the hockey world's final opportunity to watch Laura Fortino play, at least on a large stage, it was a fitting end. Fortino starred, as she always has; was a visible leader, as she's always been; and left a national program in better standing than it was when she arrived, just has she's done before.