We look at the needs, top players, and future stars from each of the IIHF's Top 20 ranked nations. From Canada to Poland, here's a look.

The IIHF World Rankings will get another shuffle soon, but for now Canada remains on top. With the Olympic Qualifiers having recently completed, even more nations from across the women's hockey sphere played visible games against tougher competition.

Here's a look at the top 20 nations, as ranked by the IIHF, their biggest needs, top players, and future stars.

1. Canada

Still the best in terms of depth of talent and coast to coast development, but USA is bound to have their run when Canada's current superstars age out.

Biggest Need: A funded nation-wide junior system similar to Ontario's OWHL. Top players are scattered and some provinces don't have good enough teams or leagues to produce top players without them leaving home very early.
Top Players: Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Sarah Fillier, Renata Fast
Future Stars: Chloe Primerano, Stryker Zablocki, Caitlin Kraemer, Rhyah Stewart

2. USA

Their current NCAA cohort and those in their first years of pro are an elite generation that should send USA to a windfall of gold in the near future. Their skill development and identification model is producing players who are outperforming Canada's top talents, but without the same depth. The NCAA is the best league in the world outside the PWHL.

Biggest Need: Similar to Canada, there is no single league for top junior aged players prior to the NCAA. Programs like Bishop Kearney and Shattuck St. Mary's are incredible, but a league similar to the USHL for women would skyrocket USA's success.
Top Players: Caroline Harvey, Taylor Heise, Alex Carpenter
Future Stars: Maggie Scannell, Bella Fanale, Morgan Stickney

3. Finland

Still seeing success at the top but other nations are catching up. Auroraliiga has lost all of the top players who once stayed, as they've gone to Sweden and Switzerland for better pay and better competition leaving Finland's domestic league gutted. At the world stage, Finland continues to house some of the best players and be in constant medal contention.

Biggest Need: Funding for the Auroraliiga to make it more professional. An alternative would be to work with Sweden to bring 1-2 Finnish based teams to the SDHL.
Best Player
Top Players: Petra Nieminen, Michelle Karvinen, Susanna Tapani, Ronja Savolainen
Future Stars: Sanni Vanhanen, Emma Ekoluoma, Tinja Tapani, Tuuli Tallinen

4. Czechia

They just keep climbing and their national program will continue to get better for the next few seasons as more players turn pro and gain experience against the best in the PWHL. Czechia will remain in the hunt for bronze for years, and could get lucky in an upset at some point for a medal of a different color, especially as their next wave of players improve in the NCAA.

Biggest Need: There is no league for girls in Czechia. It's a tremendous gap that will keep them clawing for legitimacy until their top brass decide to invest in women and girls.
Top Players: Katerina Mrazova, Daniela Pejsova, Kristyna Kaltounkova, Natalie Mlynkova
Future Stars: Adela Sapovalivova, Barbora Jurickova, Linda Vocetkova, Tereza Plosova, Tereza Pistekova, Dani Brezinova

5. Switzerland

Switzerland is trying. They went from medal contender to a nation who is fighting to stay in the world's top six. Right now it's a losing battle but the nation is putting more money into their domestic league, and if Switzerland is willing to open the door to a few more imports, the PostFinance League could quickly challenge the SDHL in Europe. The biggest improvement in Switzerland will come through making their women's league better.

Biggest Need: Switzerland is teetering at an uncomfortable spot. They need to send players to Sweden to get better, but if they send their top players their domestic league won't improve. Right now they need international help in the PostFinance League.
Top Players: Alina Muller, Lara Stalder, Andrea Brandli
Future Stars: Naemi Herzig, Ivana Wey, Laure Mériguet

6. Russia

The gap in international play and being unable to send players to leagues in Europe is crushing their program. Actually, it's Russia's unlawful invasion of Russia that is crushing their program. Ilona Markova looked to leave, but when she didn't crack the PWHL, and since the SDHL was not an option, she had to go back to Russia where there are certainly good players, but not enough to keep the number of teams they have playing competitive.

Biggest Need: End the war.
Top Players: Anna Shokhina, Nina Pirogova, Olga Sosina, Vita Poniatovskis, Valeria Ivanova
Future Stars: Afina Patmanidis, Alexandra Nesterova, Yulia Nuyaksheva

7. Japan

It's hard to see Japan's plan for improvement. Last year their best players went overseas. This year, that reduced to only a pair of players competing outside Japan.

Biggest Need: More competition. Japan needs to find a way to expose their players to better competition, and get them physically prepared for bigger, strong teams.
Top Players: Akane Shiga, Haruka Toko
Future Stars: Umeka Odaira, Kohane Sato, Azumi Numabe

8. Sweden

There may be no nation in women's hockey improving as rapidly as Sweden thanks to the planning and investment their clubs and governing body are making. The waves of talent entering the SDHL and heading to the NCAA are evident, and this nation will only be getting better.

Biggest Need: Make sure their top youth get to the NCAA and don't stay in the SDHL permanently. The SDHL is a fabulous league, but players need to go to the NCAA to continue their progress.
Top Players: Lina Ljungblom, Anna Kjellbin, Emma Soderberg, Mira Jungaker, Josefin Bouveng
Future Stars: Ebba Hesselvall, Ebba Westerlind, Edit Danielsson

9. Germany

Germany has a solid group of players in the NCAA right now, although the one thing they lack is offensive talent. Germany succeeds on their team game, but eventually they'll need to find more.

Biggest Need: Skill development early. Germany is producing solid depth, but they aren't bringing along elite level players on the women's side. Whatever the nation has done for their men's players has paid dividends. It's time they duplicate it for girls.
Top Players: Laura Kluge, Nina Jobst-Smith, Sandra Abstreiter
Future Stars: Charleen Poindl, Hanna Weichenhain, Alexandra Boico, Isabell Manns, Tara Bach

10. Hungary

The EWHL continues to improve and Hungary is at the core of that. The league has so much potential not only for international play, but to support the PWHL. Hungary is close to bigger things, but needs a few stars to step forward.

Biggest Need: Continue to find ways to make the EWHL more competitive by luring teams from other nations.
Top Players: Fanni Gasparics, Taylor Baker, Alexandra Huszka
Future Stars: Reka Hiezl, Lili Hajdu, Boglarka Bahiczki-Toth

11. Denmark

Denmark is piggy backing of Sweden's second league to have a decent place for women to play. They aren't sending a lot of talent overseas, but they're a nation with immense potential.

Biggest Need: Find a way to put a team in the SDHL, or sink substantial money into their own girls and women's programs.
Top Players: Nikita Bergmann, Nicoline Jensen, Emma Sofie-Nordstrom
Future Stars: Nikita Bergmann, Olivia Ranum, Frederikke Foss

12. China

It's hard to say what direction China's national team is going. They could face the risk of relegation from the Division 1A tournament again after dumping all of the dual passport players who helped get them there.

Biggest Need: Bring back their dual passport players, or recruit more international players to the WCIHL outside of Shenzhen.
Top Players: Jiaxin Wang, Baiwei Yu, Xin Fang
Future Stars: Jiaxin Wang, Grace Zhan, Yifan Wang

13. France

France is preparing for the 2030 Olympics. They don't look like they'll get competitive in time, but they have made some very wise decisions as a nation, specifically sending several young players to Quebec to play.

Biggest Need: France needs a team of players competing in another European league against stronger competition. Sending a team into the PostFinance League or DFEL would go a long way. More European nations should look at regional partnerships to increase competition, and France would benefit from this.
Top Players: Clara Rozier, Estelle Duvin, Chloe Aurard
Future Stars: Manon le Scodan, Jade Barbirati, Marleen Origlio, Domitille Ratto

14. Norway

They made the climb to the top division of the World Championships for 2025 which will help their world ranking, but missed qualifying for the Olympics. Norway has never kept up with neighbors like Sweden, Finland, or even Denmark in women's hockey. They should be partnering with Sweden to form a better pro league.

Biggest Need: Skating is a norm in Norway, but it doesn't always result in hockey players. The opportunity for this nation is significant, but there really isn't anywhere for their best players to play domestically. Norway needs to put some of the same funding into hockey they do into other winter sports.
Top Players: Emma Bergesen, Ena Nystrom, Millie Rose Sirem, Andrea Dalen
Future Stars: Kajsa Braten, Ida Haave, Tilde Simensen, Tiril Arntzen

15. Austria

Austria is heading in the right direction. They have a good group of players competing in the NCAA and other young players on the way. They also have the role models in Anna Meixner and Theresa Schafzahl in the PWHL.

Biggest Needs: With six teams in the EWHL, Austria could become a hotbed for the growth of women's hockey. Finding strategic partners to complete that task, working with surrounding federations, and supporting the EWHL are the needs.
Top Players: Anna Meixner, Theresa Schafzahl, Annika Fazokas, Antonia Matzka
Future Stars: Emma Lintner, Laura Nagy, Vanessa Picka

16. Slovakia

Slovakia is making great strides, the next task is finding a way to make it sustainable, not a small cohort that is an aberration. Nela Lopusanova put the nation on the map, now it needs to stay there.

Biggest Need: There is no girls league in Slovakia. They need a youth program to keep the tank full and get more girls involved.
Top Players: Nela Lopusanova, Lucia Haluskova, Janka Hlinka
Future Stars: Nela Lopusanova, Ema Tothova, Natalia Gero, Tatiana Blichova, Michaela Paulinyova, Livia Debnarova, Nela Tischlerova

17. Netherlands

The Netherlands were completely outclassed at the 2025 Olympic Qualifiers and there's not much hope for them to move forward. Reentering the DFEL should be the goal.

Biggest Need: A handful of Dutch players are making it on to the SWHL and EWHL, but they need skill development from the grassroots up. Their program lacked the skating ability and puck skills needed to compete
Top Players: Kayleigh Hamers, Savine Wielenga, Eline Gabriel
Future Stars: Maylin Hooijmans, Danique Koghee, Emily Olsthoorn

18. South Korea

A nation that has shown improvement recently, and with a pair of players hitting NCAA D1 hockey next season, things continue to look up.

Biggest Need: A few stars. With a handful of players in North America developing and heading to the NCAA, South Korea will have a stronger senior team soon.
Top Players: Jong Ah Park, Su Yeon Eom, Ji Yeon Choi
Future Stars: NaYeon Kim, Taeyeon Kim

19. Italy

Currently bolstering their lineup with dual passport players, it would not be surprising to see Italy have an above average performance at Worlds. They've got PWHL and CWHL experience, NCAA veterans, there's a lot coming together for them right now ahead of hosting the 2026 Olympics and finally getting to face the top nations in the world.

Biggest Need: Tougher national team competition ahead of 2026. Italy should have found a way to join Finland, Switzerland, and Czechia during the most recent international break. Their lack of play against top teams will be a massive detriment. Laura Fortino, Kristin Della Rovere, Justine Reyes, Jacqueline Pierri, and Kristen Guerriero are among those who will appear as members of Team Italy for the first time this year, bolstering their best domestically trained players (listed below)
Top Players: Nadia Mattivi, Anna Caumo, Martina Fedel
Future Stars: Matilde Fantin, Manuela Heidenberger, Maddalena Bedont, Laura Lobis

20. Poland

Poland has never had a star. That could change with their current U-18 group that has players who could be top players skill-wise with the senior nationals.

Biggest Need: Funding. There was a question if Poland would be able to attend Olympic Qualifying. You can see the lack of funding this program receives, but there's a chance that a few young players on their way up could earn the program more attention.
Top Players: Julia Zielinska, Wiktoria Sikorska
Future Stars: Malgorzata Zakrzewska, Matylda Stepien