{"time":1786816754583,"blocks":[{"id":"Itibpkv5RO","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The 2026-27 international women’s hockey season begins next week in Kloten, Switzerland with the first stop on the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour. Even though it’s just six months after the Olympics, none of the four participating teams will look the same."}},{"id":"b0gIwMM6_g","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Switzerland, Sweden and Czechia all enter the international cycle with new head coaches. Finland has retained its coaching staff, but will arrive without several established veterans. Across all four rosters, younger players will get opportunities alongside veterans as teams begin the unusually short runway toward November’s IIHF Women’s World Championship."}},{"id":"EG4N5c_8sB","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"For women’s hockey analyst and consultant Laura Rollins, that combination makes the August 19-22 tournament particularly intriguing."}},{"id":"E53UxCZ9GS","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“There is such a mix of experienced and younger players on all of these teams that we might see a little bit of rusty hockey,” Rollins said. "}},{"id":"1eGbxpVjF4","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“We’ll see a lot of nerves. Even though it’s not ‘an important tournament,’ it is an important tournament. You’re playing for your national team.”"}},{"id":"CJcFp4XtUo","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Here are the biggest questions surrounding each team heading into Kloten."}},{"id":"DvBL2io4Ra","type":"header","data":{"text":"Switzerland: What Comes After Olympic Bronze?","level":3,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"XofflWxXzC","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Switzerland enters as the host nation and an Olympic bronze medalist, but also as a team in transition."}},{"id":"BEKox3ttkx","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Shannon Miller has replaced Colin Muller behind the bench, returning the former longtime Minnesota Duluth coach and Canadian Olympic coach to a prominent international role."}},{"id":"iw3psWmgy8","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"She inherits a Swiss team that showed exactly how dangerous it can be in February. Switzerland finished last in its preliminary-round group at the Olympics before defeating Finland 1-0 in a quarterfinal in which it was outshot 40-14, then eventually stunned Sweden in overtime to capture bronze."}},{"id":"trrQkbPkkf","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That tournament was an extreme example of the identity Switzerland has built: keep games tight, rely on excellent goaltending and wait for elite offensive players such as Alina Müller and Lara Stalder to capitalize on their opportunities."}},{"id":"mAfahon10R","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“When they do get a scoring chance, it’s an Alina Müller or it’s Lara Stalder, and when [Andrea] Brändli’s on her game — anything can happen,” Rollins said. “They have talent. The question is their depth now.”"}},{"id":"Q6-zBAhuiv","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That question got larger after the Olympics when several Swiss players retired from international competition."}},{"id":"S654cwOqgL","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Among the most consequential departures is defender Lara Christen, who played major minutes during Switzerland’s Olympic run despite being only 23."}},{"id":"L4hT0aQ26a","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“How do you find someone to replace her? Can you?” Rollins asked. “How does the team rally to figure out filling these holes? Where are they going to find the players?”"}},{"id":"oPjHUx_uJE","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"There are younger options. Northeastern’s Ivana Wey and Alessia Baechler are among the NCAA players on the roster for the WEHT, and Wey was directly involved in Müller’s Olympic bronze-medal-winning goal."}},{"id":"Zy4luef85Q","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Switzerland also remains unusual among the top women’s hockey nations for how many of its players develop domestically rather than leaving for the NCAA or Sweden."}},{"id":"yuXmgzdXhK","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“The Swiss hockey education and coaching education and player development model is really good for a small country,” Rollins said. “They take coaching seriously, they take the art and the science of coaching seriously, and that means that they’re producing high-end players."}},{"id":"89kw3cSeT6","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Are they producing enough of them to stay at the top level of women’s hockey for the next five years, six years? I think that remains to be seen.”"}},{"id":"QwQeydufAG","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"What to watch: Miller’s influence on Switzerland’s established defensive identity; who absorbs the minutes vacated by retiring players; and whether the Swiss can generate more offense without sacrificing the style that just won them an Olympic medal."}},{"id":"UTwhFKO-Lk","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Their first test is appropriate: Switzerland opens August 19 against Sweden in a rematch of the Olympic bronze-medal game."}},{"id":"4ChyCVG1nt","type":"header","data":{"text":"Finland: Can These Pieces Fit Together?","level":3,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"7MsHU2ihNT","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Finland enters Kloten with a different problem. The talent is not difficult to find. Making all of it work together has been."}},{"id":"BN7Fv5BFLc","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Finland endured a miserable offensive Olympics while also allowing too many dangerous chances defensively."}},{"id":"KbCjJv8jTn","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“I hope that the Olympics were kind of a one-off,” Rollins said. “They only scored three goals in five games at the Olympics, and all three of those goals were in one game. So they were shut out four times in five games. Uncharacteristic of the Finns.”"}},{"id":"gbFn2icOHb","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The roster in Switzerland will not provide a complete preview of the team Finland is likely to take to the World Championship. Michelle Karvinen, Ronja Savolainen and Emma Nuutinen are among the notable players absent, creating opportunities for Finland to evaluate younger players."}},{"id":"IXqgdjNLh8","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But there is still significant experience, including Susanna Tapani, Noora Tulus and captain Jenni Hiirikoski. For Hiirikoski, the largest concern may simply be health after an upper-body injury forced her out of the Olympics."}},{"id":"zdyTB0q5XD","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“I think that’ll be the biggest question for Hiirikoski — if she is really healthy now,” Rollins said. “She is a physical specimen. Although she’s short, she’s muscle. So much of her game is the ability to be relentless.”"}},{"id":"kByEl61JLN","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"If healthy, Hiirikoski can stabilize a blue line that also includes Hamilton defender Nelli Laitinen, Vancouver’s Sini Karjalainen and several NCAA players."}},{"id":"b4fKD_ZK9b","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Then there ’s Sanni Ahola, the Ottawa goaltender who appears positioned for a major role in Kloten, but Rollins believes evaluating her requires looking at what happens in front of her as much as what happens in the crease."}},{"id":"YZFf2Ilv4p","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Like any goalie, even the very best goalies in the world, if the chances that are coming against her are always high-percentage scoring chances, of course she’s going to look like she’s struggling,” Rollins said."}},{"id":"g8BCakahha","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Finland needs to give her goal support, but they do need to give her defensive support and be a little bit more aware of what’s going on behind them. Give the girl a chance to cook.”"}},{"id":"_60BrJ-OZN","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"For Rollins, the solution begins at the opposite end of the ice from Finland’s scoring problem."}},{"id":"JzEDFrlHec","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“They have all the pieces, but they need buy-in,” she said. “Their systems, especially defensively, everything’s built out of the back end. So if they can get their defense figured out and under control and not get stuck in their zone for too long, then their offensive talent will have a chance to have the puck, possess the puck, create chances, wear the other team down.”"}},{"id":"2BRFvMnC5w","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"What to watch: Hiirikoski’s health and workload; how Finland protects Ahola; whether its defensive structure allows its forwards to spend considerably more time attacking than they did at the Olympics; and which younger players make a case for November."}},{"id":"IdfoJFV9CH","type":"header","data":{"text":"Sweden: Is The Rebuild Ready To Produce?","level":3,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"QnXs-Hvvzr","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Perhaps no team at the tournament has a clearer upward trajectory than Sweden."}},{"id":"5bR8lBUmmb","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Erika Holst takes over behind the bench from Ulf Lundberg, who helped oversee the program’s recovery from one of the lowest points in Swedish women’s hockey history."}},{"id":"N-ZeeW6v8n","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Sweden was relegated from the top division in 2018 and had to work its way back. By February 2026, it had advanced from Group B at the Olympics all the way to overtime of the bronze-medal game."}},{"id":"Dqah95nA-D","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“I think Ulf Lundberg did an excellent job kind of rebuilding Sweden,” Rollins said. “They’ve done a really good job of rebuilding and using and developing young players. And those young players are now really coming into their own, and they’re exciting to watch.”"}},{"id":"KsBDbabwe3","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Hilda Svensson is one of the most obvious examples of that emerging generation, while Thea Johansson was among Sweden’s offensive standouts at the Olympics."}},{"id":"eOloOgVpYi","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Rollins also pointed to Brynäs forward Hanna Thuvik as a player whose development may not be as familiar to North American audiences."}},{"id":"boXSSxMSKF","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“She was maybe a little bit of a late bloomer,” Rollins said. “Always talented, good hands, but was a little bit slow to react sometimes, read the play well but made the pass late kind of player."}},{"id":"jq_8-7DUuR","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Last season, I think she really took a step forward in the SDHL. Plays were being made much quicker. She’s moving the puck hard. She can score. She’s a player that I think can make a big difference for Sweden moving forward.”"}},{"id":"bKoxhWIRcG","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Sweden may also have the most intriguing goaltending story in Kloten. Ebba Svensson Träff emerged during the Olympics after entering the tournament behind Emma Söderberg on the depth chart. Svensson Träff finished with a .939 save percentage and helped carry Sweden to within one goal of an Olympic medal."}},{"id":"_ixZDeF-yi","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“She’s not a big goalie. She’s only 5-foot-5, but her positioning is incredible,” Rollins said. “Very cool, and is a goalie that can win games by herself.”"}},{"id":"Ta8GTERTWC","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"What to watch: Holst’s first imprint on the team; Svensson Träff’s continued emergence; whether younger players can assume larger roles; and how Sweden replaces some of the edge and leadership missing from this particular roster."}},{"id":"Aofa1n2AvP","type":"header","data":{"text":"Czechia: How Far Ahead Is Brian Idalski Looking?","level":3,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"sn_LhGt607","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Of the four teams, Czechia may be the one for which the Kloten results matter least. That does not mean the tournament is unimportant."}},{"id":"mstuko89","type":"video","data":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/21872f18-5893-48b8-92a7-1dcc5b9bafd0/mp4","caption":"Laura Rollins on what Team Czech needs to do to win the Women's Euro Hockey Tour","autoplay":false,"controls":true,"muted":false,"stretched":true,"width":0,"height":0,"image":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/21872f18-5893-48b8-92a7-1dcc5b9bafd0/thumbnail"},"cdn":{"videoId":"21872f18-5893-48b8-92a7-1dcc5b9bafd0","libraryId":"372172","collectionId":"30032062-eefd-4041-a355-12ad05bc987b","cdnBaseUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net","mp4Url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/21872f18-5893-48b8-92a7-1dcc5b9bafd0/mp4","thumbnailUrl":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/21872f18-5893-48b8-92a7-1dcc5b9bafd0/thumbnail","previewAnimationUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net/21872f18-5893-48b8-92a7-1dcc5b9bafd0/preview.webp"}}},{"id":"GPLjB5s1U-","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It’s just that new head coach Brian Idalski appears to be measuring success on a much longer timeline. After replacing Carla MacLeod, Idalski has publicly discussed building toward the next Olympic cycle and developing a Czech team capable of eventually challenging Canada and the United States rather than simply targeting bronze."}},{"id":"GwtYG_stCJ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“He’s come out in the media and said that, in a way, he’s playing chess right now,” Rollins said. “He’s looking four years in the future. He feels that they have, in Czechia, four years to develop a group that can challenge Canada and the U.S."}},{"id":"0dXkuKvVUD","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Their goal is not bronze. Their goal is to put themselves in a position that they can actually knock off one of the big two.”"}},{"id":"vvfTH0HxUK","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That philosophy is reflected in his first WEHT roster, where a collection of younger players will get an opportunity to be evaluated."}},{"id":"UyukdrEFH5","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Rollins highlighted Maine freshman Julie Jebousková as one of the most intriguing."}},{"id":"4NyjhSt3_m","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Just offensive fire, like a spark plug,” she said. “Can score, can skate, a little bit cocky — just the kind of cockiness that you need when you’re going to be a goal scorer.”"}},{"id":"gLX7rPQC-Y","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Another is Tereza Gildainová, a Cornell commit currently playing at Lovell Academy who produced 114 points in 62 games at the U19 AAA level last season."}},{"id":"qgl2mSIWWM","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Is she an offensive player? Certainly,” Rollins said. “Do I think that she’s going to step in and immediately make a huge difference? No. But she’s a player that’s going to be fun to watch and fun to follow along with as her college career inevitably comes up."}},{"id":"qicBoyNtxU","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“The Czechs, I think, have one of the most interesting groups of junior players coming up. Not only the U18 crop, but the ones below them, the U16s.”"}},{"id":"CPuwP6axBm","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Idalski has a more immediate problem to solve. Czechia has demonstrated enough skill to establish itself among the world's leading programs, but has not converted that talent into recent tournament results. It lost the 2025 World Championship bronze-medal game to Finland and suffered another Olympic quarterfinal exit in February."}},{"id":"PSG7CveYIY","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Kristýna Kaltounková, Kateřina Mrázová, Denisa Křížová and Dominika Lásková are among the established players absent from Kloten."}},{"id":"eewxKUpCuR","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Rollins sees defensive commitment and game management as the next step."}},{"id":"RNsM0qTDT7","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“They need to be able to seal the deal,” she said. “They’re so talented and they’re so physical that I believe if they play with the same sort of panache and pizzazz when they’re up by one goal in the final minutes that they do at the beginning of the game, I think this team can be very, very successful.”"}},{"id":"HEcJweLLnu","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"What to watch: Idalski’s defensive changes; how aggressively he uses his youngest players; which prospects survive the evaluation process as the World Championship approaches; and whether Czechia can begin turning its considerable talent into consistent results."}},{"id":"StZ2Z0QN9p","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"There is no obvious favorite among the four European nations. Each roster combines proven international players with experiments, omissions and young players trying to establish themselves. Any of these teams could win the whole thing, and equally, any could finish last. "}},{"id":"g6Hz6SEyXK","type":"delimiter","data":{}},{"id":"OqEOa52XYo","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The first stop of the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour runs August 19-22 in Kloten, with Czechia facing Finland and host Switzerland meeting Sweden in an Olympic bronze-medal rematch on opening day."}},{"id":"fHlEfkhRJ7","type":"delimiter","data":{}},{"id":"P-BstRAmHb","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Follow C Benwell on X @gamedayhky on YouTube @gamedayhockey and on Instagram @gamedayhky "}}],"version":"2.31.6"}

Prospect Watch: Meet Addison Spitz