For the first time in women’s hockey history, the best in the world spent the bulk of their Olympic cycle competing with and against one another in a single league, the PWHL.
For the first time since women’s hockey was introduced at the Olympic Games in 1998, all of the best athletes on the planet competed in the same league, the PWHL.
It means the competitive level in Italy this year is expected to be higher than ever as players enter the tournament, more prepared and sharper.
“PWHL players are going into the Olympic Winter Games more prepared than ever as a result of the resources and support the league has provided and the competition the players experience on a daily basis in the PWHL,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and a five-time Olympian.
“From a game perspective, we have 61 players competing for eight countries, and that impact is going to be significant in raising the speed, skill and physicality to a level above what we've seen at a previous Olympics.”
In total, 67 PWHL players representing eight of the ten nations in the women’s hockey tournament will being Milano Cortina. Japan and France also have former PWHL players in Akane Shiga and Chloe Aurard-Bushee respectively, meaning all ten nations have past or present PWHL connections only three seasons into the league’s existence.
“The Olympic Winter Games are one of the most powerful moments for women’s ice hockey, and for the PWHL, they represent a pivotal opportunity,” said Amy Scheer, PWHL Executive Vice President of Business Operations.
“For the first time, fans who discover the excitement of the sport during the Olympics can immediately follow many of the same elite players during a season-long professional league. That continuity matters, and together with the growing fan base built through the PWHL, the Olympics allow us to deepen fandom, expand our audience, and accelerate the global momentum of the game well beyond a single event.”
All eight PWHL teams have athletes competing at the Olympics with veterans Marie-Philip Poulin, Hilary Knight, and Michelle Karvinen set to compete in their fifth Olympics each.
Team Canada leads the way with all 23 players selected to their 2026 Olympic women’s hockey roster coming from the PWHL followed by USA with 16.
While the Olympics will be an opportunity for PWHL stars to showcase their talents, it will also be an opportunity for members of the 2026 PWHL Draft class to catch the attention of PWHL teams. Many of the top prospects in the world heading into the 2026 Draft will be competing this year. Among those players are Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy, Laila Edwards, Petra Nieminen, Tessa Janecke, Kirsten Simms, Nelli Laitinen, Viivi Vainikka, Andrea Brandli, Sofie Lundin, Josefin Bouveng, Thea Johansson, Nadia Mattivi, and others.