Non National Team PWHL Members Who Could Play Their Way Onto 2026 Olympic Rosters

The 2026 Olympic cycle is underway with teams hosting camps and qualifying tournament's being scheduled. One place Canada and USA will watch is not only the Rivalry Series and their own camps, but the PWHL as well.

In years the NHL participated in the Olympics, there were always surprise picks based on a player having a hot season. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but the longer the PWHL is around, the more the league will be relied upon to populate national teams, not only from Canada and the USA, but also from European nations like Czechia, Finland, and Sweden who are seeing more players join the PWHL.

With that in mind, some players will inevitably use the PWHL to crack national team rosters that have seemingly been uncrackable aside from young NCAA players stealing spots. Here's a look at some players who could use the PWHL to earn back a spot, or earn a first time chance in time for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

For team USA, there are a group of players with legitimate chances to make this happen in time for the Olympics. Perhaps no player did more to raise her stock this season than Grace Zumwinkle, whose Rookie of the Year performance still wasn't enough to earn a physical roster spot on Team USA. She travelled to Utica as a reserve, but didn't get into the lineup. If she can put together another season like this one, USA will have a hard time ignoring PWHL Minnesota's Grace Zumwinkle. Abby Roque wasn't on USA roster long, and nor has she been off it long. The problem is, Roque's year this season in the PWHL didn't help her chances. She has the skills to turn it around and return to being a point-per-game player with Team USA. Gabbie Hughes has only represented USA once, and it was in a limited, albeit gold medal winning, role. USA went with all flash and dash this year, but Hughes' grinding game and net front presence would lend well to diversifying USA's attack. While she was confusingly left off USA's summer festival roster, Kali Flanagan was a top blueliner in the PWHL this season. With the calibre of player increasing alongside the PWHL, it will become harder and harder for top college players to defend pros, and Flanagan skates like a college player, with the experience of defending the best in the world. And with her intimate knowledge of PWHL Toronto's style, it actually would set her up better to face Canada in big games. The wildcard in this whole story is Amanda Kessel. No one knows if she'll even play in the PWHL this season, but if she does, she'll immediately be in the mix for a Team USA roster spot.

Team Canada's list of returnees who could earn a spot is much shorter, and less likely to take a roster spot. Micah Zandee-Hart was a regular on Canada's blueline prior to her omission from the 2024 World Championship roster in a year where her recovery from injury was the primary goal. She'll need a massive turnaround from this year however to take a spot back on Team USA. The defender more likely to use the league for a comeback to the national team is Claire Thompson. Thompson will be a rookie with PWHL Minnesota this year, but an experienced one who has starred on the international stage for Canada. It will be interesting to see if Canada will break up their gold medal winning back end. The only other Canadian who performed at a level that could earn looks from Team Canada this year was Jessie Eldridge. She can still produce, but to steal a top six job with Canada is a stretch. 

USA's list is a line long including PWHL Montreal's Maureen Murphy, PWHL Toronto's Izzy Daniel, and perhaps PWHL New York's Elle Hartje, along with PWHL New York's Ally Simpson and PWHL Boston's Sydney Bard. Only Murphy is a PWHL veteran, and arguably she's the closest of the bunch to earning a roster spot, although ruling out any of the others would be a mistake. They all bring diverse skill sets to the table, and the added two-way capabilities of the forwards in this group, and the defensive acumen of the blueliners could add a little magic to USA's mix.

Canada's group of players in the PWHL to watch could and should actually crack Canada's lineup. Daryl Watts will be the name every Team Canada fan is watching with PWHL Toronto this season. She was lured away from Ottawa with a national team spot on her mind, and playing for Canada's coach and GM in Toronto was part of the plan. Jennifer Gardiner will make her debut as a rookie next season with PWHL Montreal, and she's the type of versatile player coach Troy Ryan likes to insert into his bottom six. If she can show the same attributes at the pro level as she did with Ohio State, it would bode well for her chances. On the blueline, a disastrous Rivalry Series and Fall selection camp doomed Sophie Jaques' chances for a Team Canada spot this year, and it wasn't until she was traded to Minnesota that those hopes started to shift. She has a long way to go to push out Thompson or Nicole Gosling, but could threaten Jaime Bourbonnais, Ashton Bell, or even an aging Jocelyn Larocque by 2026. A wildcard to watch on the blueline is steady Montreal defender Kati Tabin. She's underrated, and would help provide the defensive presence Canada needs. Finally, if there's one player that Canada will be unlikely to hold off their roster much longer, it's netminder Corrine Schroeder. She could step in and start for Canada today, as could Canada's third goalie Kristen Campbell. Both outplayed Canada's current top duo this year in the PWHL, and that's bound to start shifting Troy Ryan and Gina Kingsbury's allegiances if it continues.