USA's women's hockey team came home from the 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina with gold medals. The program will say goodbye to captain Hilary Knight, but remains in good shape heading to the 2030 Olympics.
Team USA are the 2026 Olympic women's hockey gold medalists. And while the team will say goodbye to some of the brightest stars the nation has ever seen, USA's women's hockey team remains well positioned for the 2030 Olympics in France.
Prior to the 2026 Olympics, captain Hilary Knight announced this would be her final Olympic Games.
When the 2030 Olympics arrive, a handful of current Americans, including Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hayley Scamurra, Alex Carpenter, and Lee Stecklein will all be over 35.
The bulk of USA's roster however, will still be squarely in the middle of their prime. At this Olympics, USA featured many young players. It's a group that includes netminders Ava McNaughton (21) and Gwyneth Philips (25); defenders Laila Edwards (22), Caroline Harvey (23), Haley Winn (22), and Rory Guilday (23); and forwards Hannah Bilka (24), Britta Curl-Salemme (25), Joy Dunne (20), Taylor Heise (25), Tessa Janecke (21), Abbey Murphy (23), and Kirsten Simms (21).
While there will undoubtedly be turnover, it won't be as significant as following the 2022 Olympics when USA took silver. From that team, 12 players were replaced, primarily with USA's youth, in time for 2026.
Looking at USA's current roster, it's more likely that the team will be looking for a line of new players, at most.
USA's collegiate select team has been strong in recent seasons, and this year their U-18 national team captured World Championship gold. Young members of their collegiate team who stood out in this summer's series against Canada include Kelly Gorbatenko, Maggie Scannell, Bella Fanale, and Laney Potter, among others. At the U-18 level, forward Jane Daley set a new single tournament goal scoring record at the U-18 World Championships. She was joined by standouts including Chyna Taylor, Maggie Averill, Kylie Amelkovich, and Morgan Stickney.
At the professional level, USA has other options, which will soon include Lacey Eden, who is a projected first round pick for the 2026 PWHL Draft, as well as others such as Jesse Compher and Casey O'Brien who were omitted from USA's roster this season.
No matter how you look at it, Team USA will remain the favorite for the next four years, and heading into the 2030 Olympics with their talented roster than will, for the most part, remain intact.