The IIHF Women's World Championship top division tournament begins Wednesday in České Budějovice, Czechia. All games of the tournament will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and on NHL Network in the United States. Full tournament schedule (IIHF).
The 10 teams are divided into two, tiered, five-team groups in the Preliminary Round. After a single round-robin series in each group, the five teams from Group A and the best three teams from Group B advance to the Playoff Round. Full tournament information can be found here. This is the final year for this format.
The Quarterfinals will be played between A1-B3, A2-B2, A3-B1, A4-A5.
Team Sweden
2024 finish: Finished seventh overall after falling 5-1 in the quarterfinals to Canada. Hilda Svensson scored the only goal in that loss.
Forwards: Hilda Svensson, Josefin Bouveng, Wilma Sundin, Lisa Johansson, Sofie Lundin, Sara Hjalmarsson, Lova Blom, Hanna Thuvik, Thea Johansson, Ebba Hedqvist, Lina Ljungblom, Hanna Olsson, Mira Hallin, Linnea Johansson
Defense: Linnéa Andersson, Mira Jungåker, Emma Forsgren, Ida Karlsson, Paula Bergström, Jenna Raunio, Anna Kjellbin, Annie Silén
Goaltenders: Ebba Svensson Träff, Emma Söderberg, Ida Boman,
Head coach: Ulf Lundberg, who has held the head coaching position since 2020. Assisted by Dennis Bozic and Andreas Karlsson, the U18 women's national team coach.
Keep an eye on: Cohesion. There was quite a bit of turnover for Sweden in 2024. They brought in a lot of their young players and while that didn't necessarily all click in Utica, it did carry them through Olympic qualifying. Now that group is largely unchanged heading to Czechia and it seems likely that the Swedes can make some big steps foward. They need their veterans to be solid and their youngesters to step up. One thing to note is that five players on this roster were part of the U18 team that upset the US in the semifinals and won silver on home ice in 2023. Beating a top team isn't an abstract concept, but something they've been able to believe of themselves. Maybe that's nothing, but it feels like it can imbue some confidence and swagger in a team that could use a reminder of what they are capable of.
Ultimately, I feel like this is a team of really strong players that have not been able to come together and use all that talent to the best of its ability. They've been unable to find the right chemistry and that has kept them firmly in the bottom half of the standings and in Group B.
Emma Söderberg has gotten a bit more time in net this season for the Boston Fleet, but still don't play regularly. She and Ida Boman split time during qualification, but I think Sweden will stick with the experience and calm of Söderberg. She has so much experience handling a high volume of shots and keeping her team in games. And they may need to count on her with a defense that is anchored by Anna Kjellbin but otherwise is quite young. Ohio State commit Jenna Raunio was off the ice for a year with concussion symptoms in 2023 and 2024, but she's big and strong and the right kind of aggressive. She can get involved on offense and is pretty unflappable on defense. I think she can be a huge asset here.
How are they going to do?: It's hard to say because on paper, this team should be finishing higher than they have over the past few years. That makes it hard to give them the benefit of the doubt. Their 1-0 loss to Germany in the preliminaries put them in second in the group and meant they faced Canada in the quarterfinals. They have to give themselves a better path. I like their chances in a matchup with Group A's third team and I like them even better if they end up in the 5/6 placement game. I fully believe Sweden has all the talent to finish fifth, but they hae to play the strong, fast game they are capable of from start to finish and maximize what their talent can do. Best case scenario, they're fifth. But they really could end up back in seventh or eighth.
Team Japan
2024 finish: Japan improved from the previous tournament in that they earned a win, defeating Denmark 3-0, but they finished one place lower than the year before, ending up eighth.
Forwards: Rui Ukita, Suzaka Maeda, Yoshino Enomoto, Mei Miura, Wakana Kurosu, Remi Koyama, Hikaru Yamashita, Akane Shiga, Yumeka Wajima, Makoto Ito, Rio Noro, Riri Noro, Umeka Odaira
Defense: Akane Hosoyamda, Shiori Koike, Ayaka Hitosato, Aoi Shiga, Kanami Seki, An Shinoda, Shiori Yamashita, Kohane Sato
Goaltenders: Miyuu Masuhara, Riko Kawaguchi, Haruka Kuromaru
Head coach: Yuji Iizuka, who has been with the Japanese national team program since 2007, coaching both at the senior and U18 level.
Keep an eye on: Umeka Odaira. When she was on the ice at U18s this year, you knew it. She averaged more than 30 minutes a game early on and was crucial for them on faceoffs. She's a smooth skater, a deft puck-handler and wasn't afraid to put the puck on net to see what would happen. The U18 team was newly up from D1A and surprised a lot of teams, nearly beating both Sweden and Finland. All of which is to say that I think a lot of work has been done with Team Japan and I expect a lot of lessons were learned by the staff that leads both these teams.
Yumeka Wajima. She's been a mainstay on the roster but until this year wasn't really producing points. That has changed this season and they really need her to be able to keep that up at this next level. They have the chance at scoring depth that they haven't been able to display before now. It would be huge to force teams to have to focus more on matchups with them.
Japan has to play the long game in terms of being able to play as well on the last day of the tournament as they do on the first. They were very good in Olympic qualification, earning their spot in the 2026 field with a 7-1 win over France and a 6-0 win over Poland and they need to build on that offense and momentum. Expect offense from Akane Shiga, who had a solid season with Lulea and five points last Worlds and from Makato Ito, who had two goals in 2024.
How are they going to do?: They had just one win in 2024, a 3-0 victory over Denmark. They were seventh overall with eight goals scored and tied for last with 23 goals allowed. They advanced to the quartefinals in 2024 thanks to a win and a point from an overtime loss. They seem to be much improved this year, but the level of competition at Worlds is just so much higher than they faced in the Asia Championship and Olympic qualifications or that many of their players play at domestically. I like their chances to make the quarterfinals again and I think they finish seventh. But if this senior team can play with the tenacity the U18s did, they could really push Sweden for sixth and the chance to play for a spot in Group A.
Team Germany
2024 finish: Sixth overall after losing an entertaining and close game to Czechia 1-0 in the quarterfinals and falling in overtime 3-2 against Switzerland in the 5/6 placement game. They were 4-0 through the opening rounds.
Forwards: Anne Bartsch, Alexandra Boico, Nina Christof, Franzisca Feldmeier, Nicola Hadraschek, Celina Haider, Laura Kluge, Emily Nix, Charleen Poindl, Anna Rose, Jule Schiefer, Svenja Voight, Lilli Welcke, Luisa Welcke
Defense: Tabea Botthof, Daria Gleißner, Ronja Hark, Nina Jobst-Smith, Charlott Schaffrath, Tara Schmitz, Carina Stroebel, Hanna Weicenhain
Goaltenders: Sandra Abstreiter, Lisa Hemmerle, Chiara Schultes
Head coach: Nova Scotia-native Jeff MacLeod was promoted to head coach in May 2023.
Keep an eye on: Consistency. The 2024 tournament was Germany's best showing in awhile and they were hyped. It would have been fun to see what they could do with the momentum and confidence that game gave them. They scored 15 goals. One thing they'd struggled with in previous years is putting together a full tournament from start to finish and while they obviously would have liked wins in their final close games, they weren't outplayed or outmatched. They enter Worlds having qualified for the Olympics on home soil with a dramatic one-goal win over Hungary and the knowledge that they were so close in Utica. Per the IIHF group preview, Coach Jeff MacLeod said his team is pushing for a medal. They were very close to a quarterfinal win, but couldn't score.
Luisa and Lilli Welcke were big for the team in Olympic qualifying and both took steps forward and played bigger roles with Boston University this season. Emily Nix and Laura Kluge have been the veterans providing goals, but for this team to take a step up, they'll need more scoring depth. Nina Jobst-Smith has been consistently good for a few goals from the blue line at Minnesota Duluth, but her points haven't really translated to her national team. Same goes for Tabea Botthof, who played at Yale. Being able to widen the zone and be more threatening from the blue line would really help.
The most important part of what Germany is able to do starts in net with Sandra Abstreiter. She had another massive tournament in 2024, leading all goalies in both save percentage (95.04%) and goals against average (1.19). Everything I said above means nothing if she isn't able to stand on her head in the same way. She needs her defense to block shots and keep shots to the perimeter.
How are they going to do?: I said last year that I thought Germany put together individual good games but haven't put together a full tournament. They did that in 2024, so the next step is being able to pull wins from those tight games. After watching them in Utica, I definitely believe this is a team that can push further, but I also think a lot of things have to go right and fall their way for that to happen. They simply have to score more and Abstreiter has to put in another world class outing. I think they'll still be sixth when all is said and done, but would be happy to be proven wrong.
Team Norway
2024 finish: The Polar Bears are playing in the top tier Women’s World Championship for the first time since 1997 thanks to earning gold and winning the Women’s Division I-A tournament in Austria last year. They were undefeated through the tournament and clinched promotion with an 8-0 win over Korea.
Forwards: Tiril Arntzen, Marthe Pabsdorff Brunvold, Kajsa Bråten, Andrea Dalen, Josefine Biseth Engmann, Mathea Fischer, Silje Gundersen, Ida Haave, Emilie Kruse, Tilde Simensen, Tea Løkke Nyberg, Karoline Pedersen, Lotte Pedersen, Millie Rose Sirum
Defense: Emma Bergesen, Andrine Furulund, Thea Reiermark Jørgensen, Silje Kongstorp Johansen, Ava Farid Malthe, Nora Haugerud Morset, Thea Rustbakken, Iben Tillman
Goaltenders: Kaja Ekle, Marthe Kongstorp Johansen, Ena Nystrøm
Head coach: Andre Lysenstøen, who has led the team since June of 2023.
Keep an eye on: Poise. Norway is going to lean heavily on veterans like Andrea Dalen up front to not only score goals, but keep the younger players focused and getting as much from this chance as they can. Dalen just helped lead Frölunda HC to an SDHL title. Millie Sirium really improved her game in her final two seasons in the NCAA with Holy Cross and Providence. She's big and strong, solid in the faceoff circle and not afraid to get involved on both ends of the ice. She'll block shots, fight along the boards and generally be really involved.
Ena Nystrøm appears to be the starter in net. At 5'10" she's big and covers a lot of the ice around her net. She was reliable and solid throughout her career at Mercyhurst and had a good year with Brynäs IF in the SDHL. Nystrøm is consistent and reliable and that will be really important in this tournament. She provides the base this team can build out from.
How are they going to do?: There's no sugar-coating that it's going to be a tough road for Norway. It's been a really long time since they've played at this level and there's really no way to prepare for the speed and physicality. Even Olympic qualifiers aren't quite the same or as grueling. The squad has had some turnover and I think the best approach is to look at this as a chance to learn and gain experience that will give them the best chance of staying up in the future.
Team Hungary
2024 finish: Earned a promotion to the top tournament by finishing second at the Women’s Division I-A tournament in Austria. They were in a situation where they had to win their final game in regulation to place second and earn promotion. They came from behind to defeat France 2-1. It was a quick return for Hungary, who played at the top level from 2021-2023 and were relegated for just one year.
Forwards: Boglárka Báhiczki-Tóth, Réka Dabasi, Fanni Garát-Gasparics, Effi Réka Hiezl, Imola Horváth, Alexandra Huszák, Kinga Jókai-Szilágyi, Emma Kreisz, Madie Leidt, Regina Metzler, Zsófia Pázmándi, Petra Polónyi, Míra Seregély, Krisztina Weiler
Defense: Taylor Baker, Alexandra Cservyachenko, Lili Hajdu, Lorina Haraszt, Franciska Kiss-Simon, Isabel Lippai, Fruzsina Mayer, Bernadett Németh, Lotti Odnoga
Goaltenders: Anikó Németh, Zsuzsa Révész, Noémi Zoé Takács
Head coach: Pat Cortina, who was the head coach for the Hungarian men’s national team from 2004 to 2009. He has the unique distinction of having been the head coach of a single country’s men’s and women’s national team and won promotion to the top division with both teams.
Keep an eye on: The youths. There are nine teenagers on this team, including two of the goaltenders. That being said, four of them are at North American hockey academies and one is at Mercyhurst. An additional six players have NCAA experience, one is a Brown commit and one played DIII. For a team that was just promoted, the players have put in the work to try and up their game.
They're not going to overwhelm anyone on offense, but they do have proven scorers in veterans Fanni Gasparics and Alexandra Huszak, who lead the program in scoring and have seen the team through a lot of ups and downs. They're joined by Emma Kreisz, a sophomore at Minnesota who wasn't quite as prolific on the scoresheet this season but who made herself known every time she was on the ice. Reka Hiezl is just 15-years-old, but there are flashes of what she might be capable of and it will be a massive learning experience for her to play at this level. She'll be looking for time and space to show off her stick skills.
Hungary is going to have to play a full 200-foot game and make their opponents work for any space they might be able to find. They need to win board battles and slow down any transition game while looking for lanes to breakout themselves and allow their skilled forwards to do what they do best.
How are they going to do?: Like Norway, this is going to be an uphill battle. That being said, I think Hungary is a bit more prepared for the pace and phsyicality of the game at this level. This is a defense-first team and their success and ability to stay up will hinge on whether they can balance that with putting some pucks in the net. Goals may be at a premium overall - the goalies in Group B are well-versed in carrying the load for their team - and Hungary can't afford to give up anything on defense in order to push on offense. But if they can read the game well and capitalize on the opportunities that come to them, they'll put themselves in a really good spot to fight to stay at the top level.
