The 2026 Olympic women's hockey tournament has once again showed the depth of women's hockey's talent pool globally. While the United States and Canada remain forces at all levels, other nations continue to make inroads.  Sweden and Switzerland punched their tickets to the semifinals eliminating favored Finland and 

Ahead of the semi-finals, six teams have already been eliminated from medal contention. While the tournament may not have ended with their flag flying and hardware around their necks, many athletes left a lasting impact on fans, the sport, and on their own careers.

Here are the top performers from the six teams eliminated ahead of the women's hockey medal round.

She took a lot of critique for her hit against Marie-Philip Poulin, but Kristyna Kaltounkova is just a big, physical force, who plays a nearly identical game to Poulin in many ways. She didn't score at the rate Czechia hoped, but her impact is felt across all 200-feet, and the opposition always showed reverence to Kaltounkova when she was on the ice putting extra focus on the star. Defender Sara Cajanova took another step forward on the blueline showcasing her smooth skating, puck moving game that despite Czechia's PWHL experienced depth on the blueline, Cajanova emerged as Czechia's stalwart. Up front Natalie Mlynkova scored a trio of goals, the most ever by a Czech woman at the Winter Olympics. She also flashed her hands and creativity. 

Including Finland in this list of eliminated teams seems odd, but they were upset by Switzerland in the quarterfinals. After scoring only three goals in five games, Finland's offense was stifled to a record level. Elisa Holopainen was their top threat up front showing her spee, creativity, and quick release. She also looked far more comfortable in physical situations, which was the knock on Holopainen in previous seasons. Holopainen led all players from Finland with 16 shots in the tournament. Defender Nelli Laitinen led all Finns in time on ice and she was their best player in many situations, including special teams. She'll be a first round pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft. Forward Viivi Vainikka showed a lot of compete for the Finns, but it was her play in the corners and on both sides of the puck that stood out.

France didn't have a lot of success at the 2026 Olympics, but they remained respectable in large part due to the goaltending of Alice Philbert, a Canadian who played at Concordia University before spending recent seasons playing men's hockey in France. She faced an onslaught from the competition, but held her ground. Up front Estelle Duvin was consistently France's top player and best offensive threat, while Grabrielle de Serres faced a lot of time on the blueline, and scored a pair of big goals for the French.

Laura Kluge might be carrying some extra swagger when she returns to the PWHL's Boston Fleet later this month. She put Germany on her shoulders and carried. Things might have turned out very differently for the Germans without the performance on both sides of the puck from Kluge. Nina Jobst-Smith is another player who is going to return to the PWHL better than she left. After missing 10 games to open the season with injury, the Games provided a fantastic opportunity for Jobst-Smith to step into a top pairing role, and she did not disappoint. She led Germany in time on ice, and had two of Germany's 10 goals. The rest of Germany's roster was typical of the nation, everyone worked, everyone competed, but there weren't any stars that lept off the page above others.

Veteran defender Laura Fortino was a rock. She led all players in the tournament averaging 27:55 per night, including playing 29:55 against what might be the best American Olympic women's hockey team in history. All that helping Italy earn their first ever Olympic win, then another leading to Italy's first ever quarterfinal appearance. She looked like a veteran who was in midseason form in the PWHL. Italian captain Nadia Mattivi was stellar for her nation. Her play confirmed what a handful of PWHL teams believed, that Mattivi is going to fit in well. She'll have options to join the PWHL immediately when her season ends in Sweden. Young forward Matilde Fantin made a positive name for herself, and of course fans will remember Gabriella Durante's performance against USA.

Captain Rui Ukita led the team in time on ice playing 22:28 per night. She was Japan's most consistent threat alongside Akane Shiga and Mei Miura, and her veteran presence was noticeable. Ukita scored twice for Japan, the only player to score more than one in the tournament. Japan started to transition to a younger group at many positions, and although she's been a member of their women's national team for years, Kohane Sato is one of the leaders of that movement who looks like she'll be the backbone of Japan's blueline for years to come.