Canada Women’s Hockey Olympic Preview – Milano Cortina 2026
Heading into Milano Cortina 2026, the Canada women’s national ice hockey team enters the tournament as the defending Olympic champion and one of two clear favourites to win it all.
Canada has captured gold in five of the last six Olympic women’s hockey tournaments, with the lone exception coming in 2018. That consistency matters in a short international tournament where depth, goaltending, and experience tend to decide outcomes long before the final.
Tournament Format and Group Breakdown
The women’s Olympic hockey tournament runs from February 5 to February 19, with eight teams split into two groups. Canada has been placed in Group A, widely considered the tougher pool, alongside the United States, Finland, Czechia, and Switzerland.
Group A
Group B
Canada
Japan
United States
Sweden
Finland
Germany
Czechia
Italy
Switzerland
France
Only four teams will ultimately reach the medal round, making early positioning critical even for top contenders.
Canada Women’s Hockey Schedule: Group A
UPDATE: Canada’s women’s hockey opener against Finland has been postponed after a Norovirus outbreak impacted the Finnish team. Thirteen of Finland’s 23 players are currently in quarantine due to illness or exposure. The game, originally scheduled for February 5, has been rescheduled for February 12 at 2:30 p.m. at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
Canada opens the tournament with a favourable matchup before the schedule tightens.
The Canada–USA rivalry game will once again loom large later in the group, with the winner often determining the top seed and a slightly cleaner knockout path.
The gold-medal game is scheduled for February 19.
Team Canada Olympic Roster Snapshot
Canada’s roster is built around a familiar Olympic core with a meaningful injection of first-time Olympians.
16 of 23 players represented Canada at the 2022 Olympics
All 23 players are currently active in the PWHL
No centralization cycle this year, with players remaining in pro environments throughout the season
PWHL Team Representation
Toronto Sceptres: 6 players
Vancouver Goldeneyes: 5 players
Montreal Victoire: 5 players
Ottawa Charge: 3 players
New York Sirens: 3 players
Seattle Torrent: 1 player
This matters. Canada is not pulling players out of college or semi-pro systems. Every skater on the roster is playing high-level professional hockey right now.
Canada Women’s Hockey Olympic Roster – Milano Cortina 2026
Forwards
Emily Clark
Sarah Fillier
Jenn Gardiner
Julia Gosling
Brianne Jenner
Emma Maltais
Sarah Nurse
Kristin O’Neill
Marie-Philip Poulin
Natalie Spooner
Laura Stacey
Blayre Turnbull
Daryl Watts
Defenders
Erin Ambrose
Renata Fast
Sophie Jaques
Jocelyne Larocque
Ella Shelton
Kati Tabin
Claire Thompson
There is still no bigger moment player in women’s international hockey. Poulin has scored the gold-medal-winning goal in three separate Olympics and remains a primary driver offensively despite being deep into her thirties.
Sarah Nurse and Brianne Jenner
Both veterans have proven they can dominate short tournaments. Nurse holds the Olympic single-tournament record for assists and points, while Jenner was the MVP of the Beijing Games.
Sophie Jaques and Kati Tabin
Jaques quietly remains one of Canada’s most impactful defenders. Her ability to create offence from the back end without sacrificing structure gives Canada lineup flexibility. Tabin lacks Olympic experience but has earned her spot through steady PWHL play and defensive reliability.
Ann-Renée Desbiens
Tournament goaltending often decides Olympic hockey. Desbiens has been elite in international play since 2021 and gives Canada a clear advantage against every opponent outside the United States.
This reflects how Canada typically handles early group games against second-tier opposition. Blowout risk is real, especially if Finland struggles to stay disciplined.
Canada priced at plus money to win the group is notable. If you believe Canada beats the U.S. head-to-head even once, this market offers more value than the outright gold line.
The market views this tournament as a two-team race. Canada’s slight underdog status reflects recent USA wins in best-on-best play, but Canada’s Olympic track record and goaltending depth keep the gap narrow.
Team Canada Women’s Hockey Prediction
Canada is built to survive Olympic hockey. The roster is experienced, defensively sound, and anchored by one of the best tournament goalies in the world. While the United States remains the primary obstacle, Canada’s history suggests that when the stakes rise, their level follows.
If the tournament plays to form, Canada should advance comfortably from Group A, avoid early knockout chaos, and once again find itself skating in a gold-medal game that feels very familiar.
In a Winter Olympics full of strong Canadian medal hopes, women’s hockey remains the safest bet to deliver gold.
Sports Interaction Staff
