Read our introduction to and explanation about this tournament here.
Read the Group A preview here.
Canada
In contrast to the American team, the Canada roster is fully collegiate players who have not received a senior team callup. Notably, there was just one collegian - 17-year-old Chloe Primerano - on Canada's Rivalry Series roster in November. There were four collegians - three of whom have since graduated - on their roster at the 2024 World Championships.
The roster includes eight players who captured gold at the 2022 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship in Madison, Wisconsin (Adam, Amos, Baxter, Henderson, Law, MacLeod, Murphy, Swiderski), as well as seven players who won gold at the 2023 U18 Women’s Worlds in Östersund, Sweden (Amos, Baxter, Kraemer, Law, Murphy, Pais, Venusio) and three players (Kraemer, Murdoch, Venusio) who won bronze at the 2024 edition of the tournament in Zug, Switzerland.
Maya Labad, Sarah Paul and Emma Pais have all really grown in their game and their confidence over the past year or so, taking on bigger roles with their respective teams and it will be interesting to see if that translates to playing at this level. Jenna Buglioni has been a leader at Ohio State and while other players might have more name recognition, she's done a fantastic job of playing her role, quietly leading the team in points and earning herself the right to be in contention for a spot with the senior team. Caitlin Kraemer is big and strong and has transitioned well to college in her freshman year. She'll need to show the ability to make another jump in her game, but she's definitely part of Canada's future.
On defense, Haley Winn is as good at finding the back of the net as most forwards, Emma Venusio has a rocket of a shot she has to unleash more often and Nicole Gosling is the rare player on this roster who's spent time with the senior team, having won gold in Utica back in April.
| # | F/D/G | Player | Currently Playing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | Ève Gascon | Minnesota Duluth |
| 7 | F | Claire Murdoch | Connecticut |
| 8 | D | Ashley Messier | Cornell |
| 9 | F | Jenna Buglioni | Ohio State |
| 11 | F | Emmalee Pais | Colgate |
| 12 | F | Madeline Palumbo | Colgate |
| 15 | F | Avi Adam | Cornell |
| 17 | F | Sarah Paul | Princeton |
| 19 | F | Caitlin Kraemer | Minnesota Duluth |
| 20 | D | Emma Venusio | Wisconsin |
| 21 | F | Alex Law | Boston University |
| 23 | F | Sarah Wozniewicz | Wisconsin |
| 24 | F | Jocelyn Amos | Ohio State |
| 26 | D | Kendall Cooper | Quinnipiac |
| 28 | F | Jordan Baxter | Ohio State |
| 38 | G | Hannah Murphy | Colgate |
| 40 | F | Maya Labad | Quinnipiac |
| 42 | F | Anne Cherkowski | Clarkson |
| 47 | D | Ava Murphy | Wisconsin |
| 50 | G | Hailey MacLeod | Ohio State |
| 51 | D | Tova Henderson | Minnesota Duluth |
| 53 | D | Sara Swiderski | Ohio State |
| 88 | D | Nicole Gosling | Clarkson |
Czechia
Considering how many senior national team players are not on this roster due to PWHL commitments, this is still a very stacked offensive team. Kristyna Kaltounková is getting her first shot with the national team since the 2020-21 season. She currently sits tied for fourth in the NCAA with 33 points and is on pace to break her own personal bests in goals and scoring in her final year of college. Kaltounková is strong, carving out space in front of the net, winning pucks along the boards and outskating a lot of opponents so far this season. She really seems to have refined her game, playing a smarter, more patient game with a bit more finesse.
Adéla Šapovalivová is just 18, but in the top ten in goals and scoring in the SDHL in Sweden. That's following up on a season where she was named the league's Rookie of the Year as a 17-year-old. Her vision on hockey IQ are off the charts for a player of any age, much less one that's still half a year from entering college. Her ability to stick handle in stride and also in tight spaces is impressive. A former speed-skater, she is particularly dangerous in transition. She's already played several tournaments with the senior national team and was named Best Forward and the 2024 U18 World Championships. She and Tereza Plosová were particularly effective and impressive on a line together and I hope that we get to see them share the ice here, too. Plosová, also 18, has 13 points so far this season in the SDHL.
Goalie Aneta Šenková was named to the Media All-Star Team and given the Directorate Award for Best Goaltender at the 2024 U18 World Championships and was a big part of that team's ability to beat Canada in the semifinals and ultimately win a silver medal.
Collectively, I think this is the group with the biggest opportunity to earn more playing time and more consideration for the senior team. With so many of their biggest names unavailable for this series, there is a chance to really make the most of the chance and shine.
| # | F/D/G | Player | Currently Playing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | Aneta Šenková | Kingston (Clarkson commit) |
| 3 | D | Adéla Šapovalivová | MoDo Hockey (Wisconsin commit) |
| 7 | D | Klára Seroiszková | HV71 |
| 8 | F | Tereza Pištěková | Djurgårdens IF |
| 9 | D | Eliška Hotová | Karolína Kosinová |
| 11 | F | Hana Haasová | Djurgardens IF |
| 15 | D | Andrea Trnková | Renssleaer Polytech |
| 18 | F | Michaela Pejzlová | HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls |
| 19 | F | Natálie Mlýnková | University of Minnesota |
| 20 | F | Barbora Juříčková | HPK Naiset |
| 22 | F | Tereza Plosová | Djurgardens IF (Minnesota commit) |
| 23 | F | Agáta Sarnovská | Leksands IF |
| 24 | D | Sára Čajanová | Brynäs IF |
| 25 | F | Kristyna Pátková | Linköping |
| 26 | F | Vendula Přibylová | MoDo Hockey |
| 27 | D | Tereza Radová | Leksand IF |
| 30 | G | Michaela Hesová | Dartmouth |
| 36 | D | Anna Vaníčková | HC Spartak Žebrák |
| 40 | F | Lucie Gruntová | HC Příbram B |
| 81 | D | Karolína Kosinová | HC Berounsti Medvedi U20 |
| 88 | G | Viktorie Svejdova | HV71 |
| 91 | F | Barbora Bartáková | Příbram |
| 98 | F | Kristyna Kaltounková | Colgate |
Sweden
As of publishing, Emma Söderberg was still listed on Sweden's roster, making her the only PWHL player expected to take part this weekend.
While I think there's more opportunity for Czechia players, I think a tournament like this might be most important for Sweden. There has not seemed to be the same commitment to development for them in recent memory and I think they are most in need of filling the gaps between their U18s and their senior national team. The senior team were 8th in the last Olympics and finished 7th at the World Championships in April and haven't finished higher than 5th in nearly a decade. The U18 team won silver in 2023 and overall won three medals over that same stretch of time.
Their federation made a commitment to girls and women's hockey in January 2023 and while the stated goal was 2026 and 2030, we should be seeing some of the early signs of growth. The individual talent on this roster is outstanding, but that's not necessarily new for Sweden. Their problem has been more in coalescing all that talent into a team that's at least as good but ideally better than the sum of those individual parts.
There are several offensively gifted scorers on this team. Sofie Lundin is tied for fifth in scoring in the SDHL with 22 points, though her 15 goals are just one off the league lead. Hilda Svensson stood out in her first senior World Championships in 2023 as a 16-year-old and has only gotten better. A skilled skater, she's also got great hands and as she continues to hone in on the details, she's going to end up as one of the best players in the world. Jenna Raunio has dealt with injuries in the past few years, but has proven herself to be a shutdown defender with the vision and shot of a forward.
As has been the case for at least a couple of Olympic cycles, their is massive potential here, but we're all still waiting for that to be converted into something more.
| # | F/D/G | Player | Currently Playing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | Ebba Svensson Träff | Linköping HC |
| 5 | D | Nathalie Lidman | Frölunda HC |
| 8 | F | Hilda Svensson | HV71 (Ohio State commit) |
| 9 | D | Emma Forsgren | Djurgårdens IF |
| 13 | F | Wilma Sundin | MoDo Hockey |
| 14 | D | Ida Karlsson | Minnesota Duluth |
| 15 | F | Lisa Johansson | SDE HF |
| 17 | F | Sofie Lundin | Frölunda HC |
| 19 | F | Sara Hjalmarsson | Linköping HC |
| 21 | F | Lova Blom | Linköping HC |
| 22 | F | Hanna Thuvik | Brynäs IF |
| 23 | F | Thea Johansson | Mercyhurst |
| 24 | F | Ebba Hedqvist | MoDo Hockey |
| 27 | D | Selma Tyreskog | Djurgårdens IF |
| 30 | G | Emma Söderberg | Boston Fleet |
| 31 | G | Ida Boman | Djurgårdens IF |
| 36 | F | Emilia Bergeby Hallbeck | Frölunda HC |
| 45 | D | Paula Bergström | Frölunda HC |
| 55 | D | Jenna Raunio | HV71 (Ohio State commit) |
| 78 | F | Elin Svensson | HV71 |
| 82 | D | Annie Silén | Brynäs IF |
| 89 | F | Nicole Hall | Penn State |
Group B schedule
Wednesday, 12/11
Sweden vs. Canada - 8 AM Eastern
Thursday, 12/12
Canada vs. Czechia - 12 PM Eastern
Friday, 12/13
Czechia vs. Sweden - 8 AM Eastern
Saturday, 12/14
Quarterfinals - TBD
Sunday, 12/15
5th place game - 4:30 AM Eastern
3rd place game - 8 AM Eastern
Championship game - 12 PM Eastern
(Photo: Nicole Haase)