One Burning Question For Every Women's Hockey Nation At The Olympics

The 2026 Olympics are almost here. The women's hockey tournament gets underway February 5 with gold, silver, and bronze scheduled to be handed out on February 19. This year, the perennial medal contenders return. In seven tournaments since the inaugural women's hockey event in 1998, only five nations – Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland – have ever medalled at the tournament. Canada has won five gold medals, including in 2022, while the USA has a pair of gold medals. Finland is next with four bronze medals, followed by Sweden with a silver and bronze, and Switzerland with a lone bronze.USA enters as the heavy gold medal favorite after dismantling Canada at the Rivalry Series and as the reigning World Champions.Here's one question facing each nation as they prepare for the women's hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympics.

Forget making it to the medal round. While that will be the goal vocalized by this team, a true mark of success for the French would be earning a win at the tournament. France was gifted a spot in the tournament when the IIHF and IOC decided to ban Russia from the games. France will have a. chance against Italy, Japan, and perhaps Germany. They have a growing number of players in the NCAA, and their top line of veterans, including Estelle Duvin, Clara Rozier, and Chloe Aurard, remains capable. The French do not have a strong blueline, which could be their breaking point. One win will be a success; anything more would be cause for celebration.

Canada's roster is aging. By the time the gold medal game is played, they'll have as many as 11 players on their team in their 30s, and many of those players are seeing time take its toll. Canada has continued to roll out a nearly identical lineup over the last three or four years of international competition, allowing NCAA players to wait and hope, typically with little to no chance for inclusion in the national team. Meanwhile, other nations have gotten younger and faster. This will be Canada's final Olympic Games with its current core together. Will that experience be enough to earn one more gold?

Two years ago, Lara Stalder left Sweden to return to Switzerland. When the PWHL launched, Stalder maintained her path in Switzerland. She was there to grow the game, improve conditions for women's hockey players, and make her nation more competitive. While it didn’t look like a plan that would work, Switzerland actually is seeing a mark of improvement. The biggest boost for the Swiss is that, beyond Stalder, Alina Muller, and Andrea Brandli, there's a group of promising players who are beginning to contribute. Switzerland needs to gain a win, or wins, against Czechia, Finland, and any team from Group B that works their way up, to show the plan is working. Switzerland also launched a development team that will play in a six nations tournament during the Olympics against teams from non-Olympic nations.

When China hosted the 2022 Olympics, they built a roster through similar pathways to what Italy has done ahead of 2026. The host nation found dual passport players, rolled them out at lower-level World Championships, and arrived not as a contender, but at least as a competitor. Within a year, however, China had dumped those players and saw an immediate collapse in competitiveness. No one expects Italy to play for a medal, but they do have a number of promising players, from homegrown talent like Nadia Mattivi and Matilde Fantin to their dual passport players like Laura Fortino and Kristin Della Rovere. The question is whether Italy will continue to lean into developing its women's and girls' hockey system following the games, or if they'll abandon it like past nations have?

The Americans are the gold medal favorite by a landslide. Combining the veteran presence of players like Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hilary Knight, Megan Keller, and Lee Stecklein, with the dynamic skill of college players like Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy, and Laila Edwards, this team is stacked from top to bottom. They have two of the best goaltenders on the planet, their defensive depth is unrivalled, and they've proven they can score in a plethora of ways. The question is: can this team deliver under pressure? In 1998, Canada entered the tournament with similar dominance and USA took gold. Will we see a reversal of fate in 2026, or can USA continue its dominance?

Beyond Canada and USA, Finland remains the most consistent and talent-laden nation in women's hockey. They have a wealth of elite players, including Susanna Tapani, Michelle Karvinen, Jenni Hiirikoski, Petra Nieminen, and Ronja Savolainen. Finland has the players to be competitive against the North American superpowers, but at the Olympics, they've yet to earn a coveted upset. It will require spectacular goaltending and an elevated performance defensively, but if there's a team positioned to give USA or, in particular Canada, a scare, it's Finland.

Yes, Sweden has quality veterans like Anna Kjellbin, Hanna Olsson, and Sara Hjalmarsson. This time around, however, Sweden's hopes for a step forward rest with its youth. Rising stars from Hilda Svensson to Mira Jungåker must bring their best and be prepared for the pressure. Sweden's best players are coming in this cohort, one that also includes young players in, or soon to be in, the PWHL like Lina Ljungblom and Thea Johansson. If there's one other significant question mark for Sweden, it's who they start in net. Is it Emma Söderberg, who has continued to struggle internationally since a breakout performance in 2023, or will they hand the team over to up-and-comer Ebba Svensson Traff?

Japan has taken a unique stance in its women's hockey program. It's likely less about hockey and more about life decisions for the Japanese players, but after sending some players abroad in recent seasons, this year, almost the entirety of Japan's roster has been playing domestically in Japan's women's league. It's not a league that draws international talent, and outside of Japan's national team players, the talent pool isn't deep. With other nations putting more emphasis on building pathways for women in hockey to advance, will this be the year Japan regresses, or will they remain the fast, intelligent, and pesky team of the past?

In 2022 and 2023, Czechia appeared to be a nation on a meteoric rise. When they added Kristýna Kaltounková to the roster last year, and watched the evolution of a group of college players, expectations climbed again. The problem for Czechia is that they're a team playing without structure. They're a motivated group, one filled with confidence instilled by head coach Carla MacLeod, but confidence may have taken this team as far as it can go. The team has more PWHL players than any nation outside USA and Canada, and should be in the bronze medal conversation every year. In the last year, Czechia's growth has not resulted in medals. Have they hit a wall, or will they win their first ever Olympic medal in women's hockey? According to recent comments from Kaltounková, she's tired of hearing people discuss women's hockey as a two-nation tournament, and believes others, including Czechia are ready to challenge for more than bronze.

Germany's top players, including Nina Jobst-Smith, Laura Kluge, and Sandra Abstreiter are now in the PWHL. But they haven't played a ton. Kluge is playing fourth-line minutes, albeit important ones on a competitive Boston Fleet team. She remains an incredibly valuable pro at the PWHL level and will be the offensive centerpiece for Germany. Nina Jobst-Smith missed a significant portion of the year, but she's back now. And goalie Sandra Abstreiter has spent the bulk of her season on the bench. Will their stars be rusty or rested? Germany needs to win their round robin games to set up a hope in the quarterfinals, so there's no time to feel it out.