Some Gaps Closing, While Others Widen In International Play

Sweden remains on the rise, Czechia and Finland are holding strong, while Switzerland is in a free fall in international women's competition.

Depth. It's what has continued to keep the machines that are Canada and USA's women's national teams thriving for decades. When one star ages, another is ready to step in. 

It's also the aspect that has kept other nations behind. While teams like Finland, Czechia, Switzerland, and Sweden have been able to field teams featuring a few elite players, the depth has never caught up and the gap in the middle and bottom lines of teams has been what has kept these European nations from catching up.

But, some nations are making progress.

Sweden has invested in women's hockey, and have continued to evolve their plans. The SDHL has become the best league in the world outside the PWHL by a landslide, and the league is the only location outside the NCAA with a group of players who could step directly into the PWHL tomorrow. Many of those players aren't Swedish, but the league's level remains strong enough to help domestic players develop. Sweden implemented body checking in the SDHL to help close the gap, and they have plans to reorganize the SDHL and NDHL in the coming seasons that will further support the pathways for women in Sweden. The nation is also showing more support for players to go to the NCAA which has helped the development of prospects like Josefin Bouveng, Thea Johansson, Sara Hjalmarsson, and Ida Karlsson in the last few seasons, and they have another wave including Mira Jungaker and Nicole Hall making positive strides in North America as well, a group which will soon include Hilda Svensson. But it's the next group in Sweden that is even more promising to change the fate of the nation internationally. Players like Elin Svensson, Wilma Sundin, Hanna Thuvik, and youngsters Ebba Hedqvist, Jenna Raunio, Mira Hallin, and Edit Danielson all look ready for more. Add in Hanna Olsson who could be in the PWHL should she choose to make the move, and current PWHLers Lina Ljungblom, Anna Kjellbin, Maja Nylen Persson, and Emma Soderberg, and Sweden is a nation that looks ready to upset one of the top four nations on the international stage soon.

The Finns already have a talented group of players in the PWHL including Susanna Tapani, Ronja Savolainen, and Noora Tulus. It's a group that will soon include Viivi Vainikka. Petra Nieminen could be there now and a force as well, and so could Michelle Karvinen. But they also have another wave of players who will challenge for PWHL roster spots in the coming seasons including defender Nelli Laitinen, Sanni Ahola, Elisa Holopainen, Sanni Rantala, and Emilia Vesa. Where they're continuing to show growth is through their players coming to the SDHL and NCAA. Sanni Vanhanen, Sofianna Sundelin, and Julia Schalin are just a few of the players benefitting from their NCAA time. Finland does need to revamp their domestic league, which has become one of Europe's weakest despite the fact they continue to produce talented players. It's not a development plan that will last long term unless action is taken to support youth development domestically.

Aside from perhaps Japan, there is no nation in the world falling faster than Switzerland in competitiveness. The problem for the Swiss is, outside of the aging Lara Stalder, current PWHL star Alina Muller, and netminder Andrea Brandli, they have no one able to compete at an elite level. There are a few youth coming like Ivana Wey and Naemi Herzig, but they aren't enough to move the dial. The PostFinance Women's League took a positive stride forward this season, particularly in EV Zug moving into the league, and the attraction of more foreign talent. Switzerland may need to loosen import rules further and sink more national money into bringing in outside players to help accelerate their national program. Women's hockey has remained an afterthought in Switzerland, a fact that changed slightly when Stalder chose to return to Switzerland to help steer the ship. But like any ship, it's a slow process to change course and Switzerland has already fallen outside of the world's top five teams.

Sweden and Czechia are two nations experiencing growth. Czechia has found their way into constant medal contention through their ability to develop elite players. Czechia currently has nine players in the PWHL, a number which will hit double digits next season as Kristyna Kaltounkova and Natalie Mlynkova join the league. Both are anticipated to be top 10 picks in the PWHL Draft. If Michaela Pejzlova declares Czechia's PWHL presence will hit a dozen. Czechia has some solid secondary players, including youth in Sara Cajanova, Tereza Radova, Andrea Trnkova, Adela Sapovalivova, and Tereza Plosova that should keep the nation moving forward, but there is a point where the bottom drops out. That point is resting somewhere in Czechia's fourth line, and it's a hole the nation will need to plug quickly. Czechia has ignored girls hockey for years, with the nation's top young players competing in boys leagues and if they're serious about a future in the sport, they need to leave Czechia as young teens for North America or Sweden. It is an issue that further damages Czechia's depth. Their women's league is the weakest of any nation in the top division of the World Championships meaning any athlete who stays in Czechia will be leaps and bounds behind. It was a point evident in the Women's Euro Hockey Tour. Czechia sinking money into the U-16 and U-18 girls programming would go a long way to ensuring the nation continue their upward trajectory.