U18 WWC Returns to Canada as North American Teams Look to Continue Dominance
By Scott Lowe – MYHockeyRankings.com
What was good news to most fans of international women’s hockey seemed a little more bittersweet for those who follow the sport in North America. Sometimes it’s worthwhile to swallow a little pride for the overall betterment of the sport, however.
And after two years of surprises at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s U18 Women’s World Championship, a little order was restored in 2025.
Canada and the United States failed to meet for the gold medal at the 2023 and 2024 U18 Women’s World Championships, but a sense of normalcy returned a year ago in Vantaa, Finland, as the Canadians handed the Americans a 3-0 setback in the championship tilt.
The two previous tournaments marked the first time since the event’s inception in 2008 that two years passed without a USA vs. Canada gold-medal meeting. In fact, the two nations have met with gold on the line 14 out of the 17 years the U18 WWC has been held. The United States beat Czechia in the 2024 finals, a year after Canada defeated Sweden. And in 2018 it as the Americans earning gold with a victory over the Swedes.
So, while neither USA hockey nor Hockey Canada ever is satisfied with anything other than at least an opportunity to play for a gold medal, everyone involved with the sport benefits when there are more teams capable of competing with the world’s two women’s hockey superpowers.
Given the results of the previous two years, hopes were high for one of the most competitive tournaments to date heading into the 2025 U18 WWC in Finland. Unfortunately, most of the tournament didn’t turn out that way.
Canada scored 40 goals in six games in capturing the championship, an average of nearly seven per contest. That total included a 17-0 drubbing of Japan in the quarterfinals, while Team USA handed Slovakia a 9-1 loss in the quarters. Neither nation dropped a game in the preliminary round, with the U.S. outscoring its three opponents, 14-0, and Canada compiling a 16-3 scoring advantage.
The rest of the field may may have been the most evenly matched ever, though. Sweden needed a pair of overtime wins to place second behind the U.S. in Group A, while Czechia’s overtime win against Switzerland was the difference between second and third place in Group B.
Then, in the semifinals, Sweden and Czechia put their best skates forward, with the Swedes pushing Team USA to the brink before falling, 2-1, and Canada knocking off the Czechs, 4-2. Czechia went on to earn the bronze medal with a 2-1 comeback victory against Sweden thanks to a pair of third-period goals.
Now, as we prepare to drop the puck on the 2026 U18 Women’s World Championship in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, many fans of the sport are hopeful that the momentum from those close, hard-fought semifinal and medal-round games will carry over to this year’s tournament.
Play begins on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 9 a.m. EST when Team USA faces off against Slovakia at the Sport and Wellness Centre in Membertou, Nova Scotia. That is the first of four Saturday games, with Canada’s tourney opener against Switzerland at 7:30 p.m. EST capping the opening-day festivities. That contest also is at the Sport and Wellness Centre.
The preliminary round runs from Saturday through Tuesday, Jan. 13, followed by the quarterfinals Jan. 15, the semifinals Jan. 17 and the medal round Jan. 18. The teams play every other nation in their group once in the opening round to determine quarterfinal seedings. All preliminary-round games are being played in Membertou, with the playoff-rounds taking place at Centre 2000 in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
This year marks the first of five IIHF Women’s World Championship events to be held in Canada between 2026 and 2930. Canada will host the best women’s hockey players in the world for the 2027 and 2030 Women’s World Championships along with the top under-18 players for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 U18 Women’s World Championships.
U18 WWC team groupings are based on how nations finished at the 2025 tournament. Group A has the teams that finished first, fourth and fifth, along with the team that was promoted from the lower division. Group B has the teams that finished second, third, sixth and seventh.
This year’s U18 WWC groups are broken down as follows:
Group A – Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Hungary
Group B – USA, Czechia, Finland and Slovakia
TSN is the primary broadcaster for the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Canada, airing all Team Canada games, the semifinals and medal round, with other tournament games also available on TSN or TSN+. NHL Network will show all Team USA games in the United States.
2026 U18 Women’s World Championship Schedule
Saturday, January 10 (all times Eastern)
9:00 AM – Group B, Slovakia vs. United States
12:30 PM – Group B, Czechia vs. Finland
4:00 PM – Group A, Sweden vs. Hungary
7:30 PM – Group A, Switzerland vs. Canada
Sunday, January 11
12:30 PM – Group B, Finland vs. Slovakia
4:00 PM – Group B, United States vs. Czechia
Monday, January 12
10:00 AM – Group A, Sweden vs. Switzerland
5:00 PM – Group A, Canada vs. Hungary
Tuesday, January 13
9:00 AM – Group B, Czechia vs. Slovakia
12:30 PM – Group B, United States vs. Finland
4:00 PM – Group A, Canada vs. Sweden
7:30 PM – Group A, Hungary vs. Switzerland
Thursday, January 15
9:00 AM – Quarterfinal #1 - TBD
12:30 PM – Quarterfinal #2 - TBD
4:00 PM – Quarterfinal #3 - TBD
7:30 PM – Quarterfinal #4 - TBD
Saturday, January 17
11:00 AM – Relegation game
3:00 PM – Semifinal #1
6:30 PM – Semifinal #2
Sunday, January 18
2:30 PM – Bronze Medal Game
6:30 PM – Gold Medal Game
The United States has medaled in every U18 Women's World Championship to date, advancing to the gold medal game in 16 of the last 17 years. Team USA has won gold nine times (2024, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2011, 2009, 2008), silver seven times (2025, 2022, 2019, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010) and bronze once (2023).
Ten players from the 2025 U.S. team that won the silver medal return for the 2026 U18 WWC, including Shattuck-St. Mary’s goalie Morgan Stickney, who played every minute of the tournament a year ago. She became the first goalie ever to record three preliminary-round shutouts and set a WWC record with her shutout streak of more than 183 minutes.
Assabet Valley defender Maggie Averill was named Team USA captain as she makes her third U18 Women’s World Championship appearance. Joining Averill as members of the team’s leadership group are alternate captains Kylie Amelkovich from Shattuck-St. Mary’s and University of Wisconsin commit Maddy Kimbrel from Holy Family Catholic in Minnesota.
The makeup of the roster highlights the growth of girls’ hockey in the U.S. It includes 10 players from Minnesota, seven from Massachusetts, two from California and Illinois and one from Connecticut, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Texas. There are 14 forwards, eight defenders and three goaltenders on the Team USA roster.
“This is Team USA; why not be from everywhere?” Head Coach Courtney Kennedy said in an article on the USA Hockey website. “It also allows little girls everywhere to dream of it and maybe say, ‘That player is from my state or the state next to me. I can play hockey, too.’”
Canada has won eight gold medals (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025), seven silver (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020) and two bronze (2018, 2024). The Canadians look to capture back-to-back golds for the first time since 2022 and 2023.
Included among Canada’s 25 players are nine who won gold in 2025 and 21 who wore the Maple Leaf during a three-game series against the United States in August. There are 12 players from Ontario, five from Quebec, two from Alberta and Nova Scotia and one from Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Two of Canada’s players – forward Kendall Doiron and goalie Rowan Houweling – play for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, MHR’s top-ranked 19U USA Tier 1 Girls team; 14 players compete in the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) U22 Elite League; and three play in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL).
“With a strong mix of returning veterans and new additions, we have a team ready to represent Canada with pride as we prepare to compete for gold on home ice,” Team Canada Head Coach Vicky Sunohara said when the roster was announced.
Four Team USA players – defender Sloane Hartmetz, forward Jane Daley, Amelkovich and Stickney – are teammates of Doiron and Houweling at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. U.S. defender Haley Box plays for the Etobicoke Dolphins in the OWHA U22 Elite League, while Jillian McLaughlin plays for Rink Hockey Academy of the CSSHL in British Columbia. Etobicoke is the top-ranked U22 team in Canada and RHA is ranked seventh. Nine Team USA players play for Minnesota high schools.
The U.S. won two games against Canada during the three-game series in August, but a lot of time has passed since then and exhibitions never provide the same level of intensity or feelings of pressure that accompany a world-championship tournament.
“There is no perfect tournament,” Team USA’s Averill said. “There are going to be ups and downs. We have to try to keep our cool. You're going to make a mistake, but how you react and move forward is what matters most.”
CLICK HERE for the IIHF 2026 U18 WWC homepage
CLICK HERE for IIHF 2026 U18 WWC schedule and results
CLICK HERE to access all IIHF 2026 U18 WWC team rosters
