Players from a plethora of leagues including the SDHL, PostFinance League, DFEL, EWHL, NDHL, NCAA, PWHL carried their teams to Milano-Cortina Olympic Games in 2026.
Players from a plethora of leagues including the SDHL, PostFinance League, DFEL, EWHL, NDHL, NCAA, PWHL carried their teams to Milano-Cortina Olympic Games in 2026.
Sweden, Germany and Japan punched their tickets to the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics this past weekend, each sweeping their respective tournament. Leading the way to the most prestigious competition in international hockey were a slew of stars currently competing in Sweden’s SDHL and Switzerland’s PostFinance Women’s League (PFWL), while handfuls of players representing smaller leagues also stood out.
In Group G, which was eventually won by Japan, France’s Clara Rozier took the scoring title, tallying seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in her team’s three games. Rozier plays for Switzerland’s current league leaders, SC Bern. She has 22 goals and 35 points in 25 games this season, her first in the Swiss league after four standout years with Finland’s HIFK. Bern and France teammate Estelle Duvin, always dangerous, tallied five points in the Olympic Qualification tournament as France finished second to Japan. Akane Shiga, familiar to SDHL fans as Luleå’s dynamic playmaker, led the Japanese in scoring with six points in ten games. Her vision, skating, and anticipation gave opponents fits as she drove possession and created scoring chances seemingly out of nothing. Teammate Yumeka Wajima, who last competed for DK Peregrine of the Japanese league, led the tournament in goals, with five.
Group H, featuring Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, was dominated by SDHL stars. Sara Hjalmarsson, Linköping’s captain, did what she does best, and used her size and skating to win battles, maintain possession and generate prime scoring opportunities. Not only did she score three goals and a pair of assists in three games, she was +6 and won an incredible 71 percent of her faceoffs — good for third place, behind fellow SDHLers Ebba Hedqvist (76% FOW) and Sofie Lundin (72%). Teammate Lisa Johansson, who at 32-years-old was Sweden’s oldest player, put to rest any notion that she might be slowing down. Johansson, who has been a joy to watch for SDE this season, was consistently the hardest working player on the ice. Johansson is a chippy grinder who can dangle, hit, pass, and score goals too. She is 5’3 and plays like someone a foot taller. Johansson leads by example and is a large part of the reason why Sweden’s young, talented roster performed so well. SDHL defenders Paula Bergström, of Frölunda, and Jenna Raunio, of HV71, also stood out, tallying seven points between them in three games. Norway’s top scorer was defender Emma Bergesen of SDE, who put up four assists as Norway finished third out of four teams. The Swedish league also produced the top Dutch scorer, Savine Wielenga, who plays for Linköping with Sara Hjalmarsson. Denmark was led by Lilli Friis-Hansen who plays for Rødovre, a Danish team competing the Sweden’s second-tier league, the NDHL.
In Group I, the scoring title was won by Austria’s Annika Fazokas, a defender who plies her trade for EV Zug in the Swiss league. The rest of the tournament leaders came from leagues far and wide, including the PWHL (Anna Meixner and Theresa Schafzahl), the NCAA (Germany’s Welcke twins, Lilli and Luisa, as well as German teammate Svenja Voigt), the European Women’s Hockey League and the German league, DFEL. Indeed, Germany won the group with a roster heavily represented in the German domestic league: 17 of 25 rostered players currently compete in the DFEL.
That so many leagues are fostering top talent is a testament to the rapid growth and development of women’s hockey in recent years. The level of play at this year’s Final Olympic Qualification tournaments was outstanding. Players born in the early 2000s are just beginning to enter their prime, and are helping to usher in a new era that is deeper, faster, more skilful and harder-hitting than any that came before. Fans have a lot to look forward to. The 2026 Olympic Games begin next February 6.