Only three nations enter the 2026 Olympics without a teenager on their women's hockey roster. Canada has the oldest youngest player on any roster with Kayle Osborne entering the tournament as a 23-year-old. Only days after gold is handed out, Osborne will turn 24 as she returns to her second season in the PWHL with the New York Sirens. Joy Dunne is the youngest American on their Olympic roster at 20 years old, the same age as Sanni Vanhanen and Julia Schalin for Finland. Here's a look at the teenagers who will represent their nations in women's hockey at the 2026 Olympics SWEDEN Sweden has four very strong teens at the tournament headlined by Ohio State's leading scorer Hilda Svensson (19). Svensson has evolved into one of the best in the sport at any level, and Sweden will need her to take a step forward from 'youth that can contribute' to 'team leader' this time around. She'll be joined by Ohio State teammate Jenna Raunio (19) on the blueline. She's got a strong shot, and has grown this season with the Buckeyes contributing offensively. There's still some points to smooth in her movements, but Raunio will be a cornerstone of Sweden's blueline for the next decade. Two players still in Sweden, Mira Hallin and Ebba Hedqvist will be asked to play more of a depth role, utilizing their speed and forecheck to disrupt opponents, kill penalties, and generate offensive chances through turnovers. JAPAN The Olympics is a strange place to turn over a new leaf for a youth movement, but Japan certainly didn't shy away from opening the door for young players as they'll welcome 16-year-old Nana Akimoto and 17-year-old Umeka Odaira to their roster. Both just represented Japan at the Division 1A World Championships in Italy, and get a chance now to compete on the biggest international stage at the Olympics. Size and physicality will be a challenge for both, but they have the skill sets. Japan will also feature 19-year-old Kohane Sato who has already represented Japan at four World Championships, and Ai Tada (19), who is making her senior national team debut. FRANCE With the Pôle France Féminin program centralizing many of the nation's top players, France is hoping to see some early returns at the Olympics. 17-year-old Clemence Boudin is the nation's top prospect. She led France's U-18 national team in scoring at the recent U-18 World Championships in Italy, and will get her first senior national shot on the world's biggest state. Anais Peyne-Dingival (18) is another Pôle France Féminin who has followed the footsteps of France's recent wave of NCAA commits moving to Quebec to play with John Abbott College. Rounding out France's teens is Violette Pianel-Couriaut (19). The goaltender isn't likely to see game action, but she could be France's goalie of the future and the experience is invaluable. SWITZERLAND It was actually a bit of a surprise Switzerland didn't select U-18 national team captain Norina Muller, and another young player, Ivana Wey will turn 20 the day before the tournament opens. It leaves Naemi Herzig (18) and Laure Mériguet (17) as Switzerland's teenage duo. Herzig has excelled this season as an NCAA rookie with Holy Cross getting a chance to contribute offensively while learning to compete on smaller ice. It will be interesting to see if she can work her way up Switzerland's lineup. On the blueline, Laure Mériguet played for Switzerland at the U-18 World Championships in Nova Scotia in January, and was the backbone of that team. She'll play a much smaller role in Milano Cortina, but has already proven she can play consistent minutes with the senior national team. ITALY Matilde Fantin (19) is one of the best teens in this tournament and got off to a spectacular start with Penn State in the NCAA this season. She was Italy's leading scorer at the World Championships last year, and despite Italy bringing in a larger group of dual passport players for this tournament, she'll still be counted upon to produce. Italy could surprise a few teams in Group B, and Fantin and co will look to represent their nation well on home soil. Matilde Fantin Highlights CZECHIA Linda Vocetkova (18) played her way onto this roster working her way up from captaining Czechia's U-18 roster last season, to finding minutes in the SDHL this season, and next year heading to Colgate in the NCAA. She's a future threat for Czechia up front, and this opportunity will only help her in the future. The same can be said for St. Lawrence commit Barbora Jurickova (19) who has improved considerably in the last year. She has scored nearly two points per game sitting among league leaders in Finland's Auroraliiga. GERMANY Mathilde Heine (16) will turn 17 at the Olympics, a pretty special way to celebrate. Heine wasn't going to be the only teenager on the German roster as they also named Hanna Weichenhain to their roster initially, but the blueliner was hurt in Germany's final U-18 national team tune up ahead of the World Championships in January, and was ruled out immediately and replaced on Germany's roster. Heine has played her way into the top 10 in DFEL scoring this season, a league that has traditionally been difficult for teens to thrive in with Eisbären Juniors Berlin.
