With less than three months until the 2026 Women’s World Championship takes place in Herning and Esbjerg, Denmark, national team preparations are now beginning in earnest.
After the top nations in women’s hockey faced off at the Milano-Cortina Olympics in February, their next best-on-best tournament will be played from 6-16 November. This year, the top-level women’s world championship has moved from its previous timeslot in April.
The 2026 tournament will also see a format change. The 10 qualifying teams are now balanced based on their world ranking and 2025 results, rather than being split into two tiers.
Here’s how the groups will look in Denmark:
GROUP A – Esbjerg
GROUP B – Herning
Over the last two weeks, Canada and the United States have held selection camps for both their college-age and U18 players. Then, they faced off for three games at each level at the Summer Series in Richmond, Canada from 12-15 August.
Here are the results:
Canada National Women’s Development Team vs. U.S. Collegiate Women’s Select Team
12 Aug: Canada 1 – United States 0
13 Aug: Canada 2 – United States 1 (shootout)
15 Aug: United States 5 – Canada 2
Women’s Under-18 Series: Canada vs. USA
12 Aug: Canada 5 – United States 2
13 Aug: Canada 5 – United States 1
15 Aug: United States 5 – Canada 4
The other teams from Europe and Asia have their own training camps and preparation tournaments scheduled. Here’s the latest on each participating nation:
Coming off gold at both the 2025 Worlds and the Olympics, John Wroblewski was back behind the bench for the U.S. Collegiate select team last week. His veteran roster included nine players born in 2004 and one Olympic gold-medalist, goaltender Ava McNaughton.
The 21-year-old senior from the University of Wisconsin was the third goalie in Milan and at the 2025 Women’s Worlds in Czechia. She saw a bit of game action on her way to claiming gold in both tournaments.
Amid the success of the U.S. program, Wroblewski is open to adding new faces in Denmark if players earn their way onto the team.
“We’re going to name a couple more spots to our camps and we left them open to see if something would surface out of these games,” he said. “We’ve utilized that very well in our program, the idea of introducing open spots and giving opportunities to players that we felt deserved it, and they they’ve taken them and run with them. We’re not immune to that with this next four years as well, and we want to keep pushing the envelope as far as our internal competition is concerned.”
Wroblewski was cautious about making definitive judgements on his players during a summer tournament.
“It happens a little bit too fast, frankly,” he said after Game 2. “You find out a couple things about some players, and then you try not to over you try not to overcook the evaluation. It’s August and you want to see players compete, but you also want to be a realist to what they're encountering.”
Team Canada is in the midst of an overhaul, with Montreal Victoire general manager Daniele Sauvageau replacing Gina Kingsbury as the Canadian GM.
On the coaching side, Canada has not yet announced its replacement for head coach Troy Ryan, who moved on after winning silver in Milan. After serving as U18 head coach for the last two years, Vicky Sunohara handled the Development Team for the Summer Series while Ohio State University bench boss Nadine Muzerall oversaw the U18 squad.
A handful of college graduates who are PWHL-bound participated in Canada’s selection camp from 2-9 August but the Development Team rosters were limited to players who will be in college this fall.
That list included two players from the squad that won silver in Czechia at the 2025 Worlds: defender Chloe Primerano and goaltender Eve Gascon.
As the third goalie in Ceske Budejovice, Gascon dressed for two games but not see any action. In Richmond, the University of Minnesota-Duluth backstop saw action in all three games and was outstanding. In Game 1, she stopped all 23 shots she faced for the shutout and in Game 2, she allowed just one goal while Canada was outshot 37-31 over 65 minutes, then stopped all four U.S. players she faced in the shootout. She also played one period in Game 3.
“On and off the ice, she’s great — a calming presence,” said Sunohara. “It’s nice when you have that. She makes the right plays. She plays the puck well. She’s pretty impressive.”
After the youngest player to suit up for Canada at the Olympics was second-year PWHL pro Kayle Osborne as the team’s third goalie, the summer series was a great opportunity for the next generation to make their case to wear the red and white in Denmark.
“Anytime you can see best-on-best at this level, it gives you a great idea,” Sunohara said. “We’re just learning one day at a time, but the future is bright for Canada.”
A three-time Olympic gold medalist in her playing days, Cherie Piper is now Canada’s director of scouting. She’ll determine which players get a look for the world championship roster.
After claiming bronze in Ceske Budojevice in 2025 and finishing sixth in Milan, the Finns return to the world stage with their Olympic coach, Tero Lehtera, behind the bench.
Off-season preparations have included a camp in May that was focused primarily on younger players and prospects. Here’s the full list of invitees for Finland’s test camp on 13-14 Aug, not all of whom were able to attend, along with the roster for this week’s games in Switzerland.
Following a fourth-place in front of their passionate fans on home ice at the 2025 Worlds and a bronze medal at the 2026 World U18s, the Czechs will have a new voice behind the bench this fall. With Carla McLeod’s four-year contract now complete, former PWHL Vancouver Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski assumes the head coaching position. Ivo Mocek has joined as an assistant coach.
In mid-July, 46 players attended a national team preparation camp in the northern Bohemian city of Chomutov. Activities included physical testing, training and intrasquad games.
After bringing home bronze from Milan, the Swiss team is entering a new era following the departure of head coach Colin Muller. Preparations for the world championship began with a four-day summer camp at OYM in Zug in early July, and new coach Shannon Miller will be behind the bench for the first time for the games this week in Kloten.
Miller, 62, coached the Canadian women to gold at the 1997 Worlds and won five NCAA titles as coach of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She has signed on with Switzerland through the summer of 2029. In addition to Cyndy Kenyon, Saara Kivenmaki has joined as an assistant coach while Simon Theiler is goalie coach, Remo Egger serves as video coach and Corsin Camichel handles performance coach duties.
Erika Holst is taking over behind the bench for Tre Kronor. The 47-year-old former national team captain won Olympic bronze in 2002 and silver in 2006 and has coached Frolunda in the SDHL for the last four seasons, delivering the team’s first championship in 2025.
In late June, 34 players took part in Sweden’s national team training camp in Enkoping. Two new faces appear on the national team roster for the games this week in Kloten: 18-year-old Tilde Grillfors and 23-year-old SDHL veteran Ella Albinsson.
The Swedes are coming off a fourth-place finish at the Olympics and ranked sixth at the 2025 Worlds. After retiring from national team duties, former head coach Ulf Lundberg will serve as an assistant for PWHL San Jose in 2026-27.
After finishing fourth in Group B at the Milan Olympics, a new-look Japanese team will hit the ice in Denmark. One-time Tohoku Free Blades defender and coach Tomohito Okubo replaces Yuji Iizuka as Japan’s new head coach, with Jun Hanzawa and Hanae Kubo serving as assistants.
Roster details have not yet been finalized, but some fresh faces, including some teenagers, are expected to make the roster after a number of Japan’s veterans have retired or taken a post-Olympic break.
Japan’s preparations for Worlds have included training camps and intersquad games in both June and August.
In Germany’s first-ever appearance in Olympic women’s hockey, a seven-point performance from Boston Fleet winger Laura Kluge helped propel the team to a second-place finish in Group B and quarter-final berth. The Germans are coming off an eighth-place finish at the 2025 world championship.
Germany hosts the first Women’s European Cup of Nations in Füssen from 20 to 22 August. For more information, click here.
Under the guidance of Swedish coach Alexander Broms, Austria’s women earned promotion to the top division for the first time with a win at the Division I Group A Women’s Worlds in China in 2025.
Among Austria’s top stars, forward Theresa Schafzahl will be back in the PWHL this fall with the Seattle Torrent. Her counterpart Anna Meixner, Austria’s captain, returns to her former stomping grounds with Brynas in the SDHL after two years in North America.
Austria will take part in the Women’s European Cup of Nations in Slovakia from 20 to 22 August. For more information, click here.
The hosts will be making their fifth appearance in the Top Division following a second-place finish in Division I Group A in 2025. That Danish squad was captained by Nicoline Jensen, coached by Bjorn Edlund and led offensively by do-everything veteran Silke Glud, who put up seven points in five games.
After the top nations in women’s hockey faced off at the Milano-Cortina Olympics in February, their next best-on-best tournament will be played from 6-16 November. This year, the top-level women’s world championship has moved from its previous timeslot in April.
New Women’s Worlds Format
The 2026 tournament will also see a format change. The 10 qualifying teams are now balanced based on their world ranking and 2025 results, rather than being split into two tiers.Here’s how the groups will look in Denmark:
GROUP A – Esbjerg
- United States
- Czechia
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Austria
GROUP B – Herning
- Canada
- Finland
- Sweden
- Japan
- Denmark
Summer Tournaments
Over the last two weeks, Canada and the United States have held selection camps for both their college-age and U18 players. Then, they faced off for three games at each level at the Summer Series in Richmond, Canada from 12-15 August.
Here are the results:
Canada National Women’s Development Team vs. U.S. Collegiate Women’s Select Team
12 Aug: Canada 1 – United States 0
13 Aug: Canada 2 – United States 1 (shootout)
15 Aug: United States 5 – Canada 2
Women’s Under-18 Series: Canada vs. USA
12 Aug: Canada 5 – United States 2
13 Aug: Canada 5 – United States 1
15 Aug: United States 5 – Canada 4
The other teams from Europe and Asia have their own training camps and preparation tournaments scheduled. Here’s the latest on each participating nation:
United States
Coming off gold at both the 2025 Worlds and the Olympics, John Wroblewski was back behind the bench for the U.S. Collegiate select team last week. His veteran roster included nine players born in 2004 and one Olympic gold-medalist, goaltender Ava McNaughton.The 21-year-old senior from the University of Wisconsin was the third goalie in Milan and at the 2025 Women’s Worlds in Czechia. She saw a bit of game action on her way to claiming gold in both tournaments.
Amid the success of the U.S. program, Wroblewski is open to adding new faces in Denmark if players earn their way onto the team.
“We’re going to name a couple more spots to our camps and we left them open to see if something would surface out of these games,” he said. “We’ve utilized that very well in our program, the idea of introducing open spots and giving opportunities to players that we felt deserved it, and they they’ve taken them and run with them. We’re not immune to that with this next four years as well, and we want to keep pushing the envelope as far as our internal competition is concerned.”
Wroblewski was cautious about making definitive judgements on his players during a summer tournament.
“It happens a little bit too fast, frankly,” he said after Game 2. “You find out a couple things about some players, and then you try not to over you try not to overcook the evaluation. It’s August and you want to see players compete, but you also want to be a realist to what they're encountering.”
Canada
Team Canada is in the midst of an overhaul, with Montreal Victoire general manager Daniele Sauvageau replacing Gina Kingsbury as the Canadian GM.On the coaching side, Canada has not yet announced its replacement for head coach Troy Ryan, who moved on after winning silver in Milan. After serving as U18 head coach for the last two years, Vicky Sunohara handled the Development Team for the Summer Series while Ohio State University bench boss Nadine Muzerall oversaw the U18 squad.
A handful of college graduates who are PWHL-bound participated in Canada’s selection camp from 2-9 August but the Development Team rosters were limited to players who will be in college this fall.
That list included two players from the squad that won silver in Czechia at the 2025 Worlds: defender Chloe Primerano and goaltender Eve Gascon.
As the third goalie in Ceske Budejovice, Gascon dressed for two games but not see any action. In Richmond, the University of Minnesota-Duluth backstop saw action in all three games and was outstanding. In Game 1, she stopped all 23 shots she faced for the shutout and in Game 2, she allowed just one goal while Canada was outshot 37-31 over 65 minutes, then stopped all four U.S. players she faced in the shootout. She also played one period in Game 3.
“On and off the ice, she’s great — a calming presence,” said Sunohara. “It’s nice when you have that. She makes the right plays. She plays the puck well. She’s pretty impressive.”
After the youngest player to suit up for Canada at the Olympics was second-year PWHL pro Kayle Osborne as the team’s third goalie, the summer series was a great opportunity for the next generation to make their case to wear the red and white in Denmark.
“Anytime you can see best-on-best at this level, it gives you a great idea,” Sunohara said. “We’re just learning one day at a time, but the future is bright for Canada.”
A three-time Olympic gold medalist in her playing days, Cherie Piper is now Canada’s director of scouting. She’ll determine which players get a look for the world championship roster.
Finland
After claiming bronze in Ceske Budojevice in 2025 and finishing sixth in Milan, the Finns return to the world stage with their Olympic coach, Tero Lehtera, behind the bench.Off-season preparations have included a camp in May that was focused primarily on younger players and prospects. Here’s the full list of invitees for Finland’s test camp on 13-14 Aug, not all of whom were able to attend, along with the roster for this week’s games in Switzerland.
Czechia
Following a fourth-place in front of their passionate fans on home ice at the 2025 Worlds and a bronze medal at the 2026 World U18s, the Czechs will have a new voice behind the bench this fall. With Carla McLeod’s four-year contract now complete, former PWHL Vancouver Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski assumes the head coaching position. Ivo Mocek has joined as an assistant coach.In mid-July, 46 players attended a national team preparation camp in the northern Bohemian city of Chomutov. Activities included physical testing, training and intrasquad games.
Switzerland
After bringing home bronze from Milan, the Swiss team is entering a new era following the departure of head coach Colin Muller. Preparations for the world championship began with a four-day summer camp at OYM in Zug in early July, and new coach Shannon Miller will be behind the bench for the first time for the games this week in Kloten.Miller, 62, coached the Canadian women to gold at the 1997 Worlds and won five NCAA titles as coach of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She has signed on with Switzerland through the summer of 2029. In addition to Cyndy Kenyon, Saara Kivenmaki has joined as an assistant coach while Simon Theiler is goalie coach, Remo Egger serves as video coach and Corsin Camichel handles performance coach duties.
Sweden
Erika Holst is taking over behind the bench for Tre Kronor. The 47-year-old former national team captain won Olympic bronze in 2002 and silver in 2006 and has coached Frolunda in the SDHL for the last four seasons, delivering the team’s first championship in 2025.In late June, 34 players took part in Sweden’s national team training camp in Enkoping. Two new faces appear on the national team roster for the games this week in Kloten: 18-year-old Tilde Grillfors and 23-year-old SDHL veteran Ella Albinsson.
The Swedes are coming off a fourth-place finish at the Olympics and ranked sixth at the 2025 Worlds. After retiring from national team duties, former head coach Ulf Lundberg will serve as an assistant for PWHL San Jose in 2026-27.
Japan
After finishing fourth in Group B at the Milan Olympics, a new-look Japanese team will hit the ice in Denmark. One-time Tohoku Free Blades defender and coach Tomohito Okubo replaces Yuji Iizuka as Japan’s new head coach, with Jun Hanzawa and Hanae Kubo serving as assistants.Roster details have not yet been finalized, but some fresh faces, including some teenagers, are expected to make the roster after a number of Japan’s veterans have retired or taken a post-Olympic break.
Japan’s preparations for Worlds have included training camps and intersquad games in both June and August.
Germany
In Germany’s first-ever appearance in Olympic women’s hockey, a seven-point performance from Boston Fleet winger Laura Kluge helped propel the team to a second-place finish in Group B and quarter-final berth. The Germans are coming off an eighth-place finish at the 2025 world championship.Germany hosts the first Women’s European Cup of Nations in Füssen from 20 to 22 August. For more information, click here.
Austria
Under the guidance of Swedish coach Alexander Broms, Austria’s women earned promotion to the top division for the first time with a win at the Division I Group A Women’s Worlds in China in 2025.Among Austria’s top stars, forward Theresa Schafzahl will be back in the PWHL this fall with the Seattle Torrent. Her counterpart Anna Meixner, Austria’s captain, returns to her former stomping grounds with Brynas in the SDHL after two years in North America.
Austria will take part in the Women’s European Cup of Nations in Slovakia from 20 to 22 August. For more information, click here.