World Championship Power Rankings: USA Favored For Gold, Hosts Hope To Avoid Relegation

The 2026 women's IIHF World Championships drop the puck from November 6-16 in Denmark with 10 nations in competition.

Headlining the group are the reigning World and Olympic championships Team USA, who unsurprisingly land atop The Hockey News' pre-tournament power rankings. How does the rest of the world line up? Here's a look.

Caroline Harvey and co. are headed to Denmark as the unquestioned favorites. Yes, they dropped their pre-tournament opener to Canada proving that on a given night, they can be beat, but building steam toward the final, this team remains a behemoth with depth at every position. The absences of Kendall Coyne Schofield and Britta Curl-Salemme will be felt, or could be an opportunity for new leaders to emerge.

Canadian fans want gold, but understand that any outcome is possible with their young roster that now includes four teens and another group of players in their early 20s. No Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse, Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque, Emerance Maschmeyer, Natalie Spooner and others. But Canadian fans are about to see a team that is getting better each time they play. It's an upward trajectory, but they'll be a team that can be beat, and even upset.

No nation in the world is improving as quickly as Sweden. They'll welcome another new group of PWHL players to their lineup, but it's their youth, players like Mira Jungaker, Hilda Svensson, Ebba Svensson Traff, and Mira Hallin who have Sweden trending up. It's their time to claim bronze. Could Czechia or Finland beat them? Certainly. Should they? Not anymore. 

It's becoming a now-or-never situation in Finland. Their national pipeline is nearly empty, their development system has collapsed, and they have no prospects knocking at the door to make a major impact. It's a fall that has included the relegation of their U-18 team for the first time in the nation's history in men's or women's hockey at any level. Still, the current core is strong and loaded with PWHL talent. But as their veteran group ages, this Olympic cycle will be the last Finland remains among global powers unless something changes rapidly. Winning a medal at this tournament could help propel the nation forward.

Czechia had a strong finish to their pre-tournament competition, where they finally found their scoring. They'll look to youth at this event to step in and play a game built on speed, albeit one that looked like they were moving away from the possession game favored by former head coach Carla MacLeod, toward a chip and chase game under new bench boss Brian Idalski. Czechia still has medal hopes, but will compete without a quartet of crucial veterans in Tereza Vanisova, Denisa Krizova, Andrea Trnkova, and Dominika Laskova. Can the new crew get it done?

Switzerland did not look good in pre-tournament action. With no Lara Stalder and Lara Christen, their lack of national depth has been exposed. Alina Muller needs their youth, players like Ivana Wey, Naemi Herzig, and Norina Muller, to step forward significantly at this event and contribute. The reigning Olympic bronze medalists tend to rise to the challenge, but this challenge might be too much for the Swiss.

Always competitive, never contending. Germany needs to beat a higher ranked team at some point, which in this tournament, could be Switzerland. They bring their typical hard working depth, without a superstar in the bunch. Laura Kluge, Nina Jobst-Smith, the Welcke twins, and Sandra Abstreiter need to carry this team. There should be no risk of relegation, but there's also only a tiny hope of reaching the semi-finals.

After months of unrest and threats of boycott from their top players over lack of pay and poor conditions, Austria enters with new hopes and a new contract. It's their first ever trip to the top division, and the only way they can avoid playing to avoid relegation is to beat Germany or Switzerland, which is a heavy lift. With Theresa Schafzahl and Anna Meixner up front, and strong goaltending from the Luggin sisters, Austria has some pieces capable of making their mark. Even if it comes to relegation play, Austria will be favored to stay.

Japan is always a hard working team with speed, but nationally, they haven't taken a step forward in how they develop or promote their players. They do have Akane Shiga headed back to the PWHL, two young prospects playing in North America, and a handful in Europe. It's a positive development, but this is a team that could plummet at any moment, or, they could continue to surprise. Despite their rank at 9th here, Japan is likely headed to the quarterfinals to avoid relegation play, so long as they beat Denmark in group play.

The hosts will be in tough. They re-enter the top division in a year where tiered groupings are gone meaning their preliminary play will be against Canada, Sweden, Finland, and Japan. Beating Japan is Denmark's only hope to avoid playing to avoid relegation. Otherwise, this tournament will be about small goals, like scoring a goal against any of Canada, Finland, or Sweden, and giving Japan a run for their money.