Twelve nations chase dream of Milano Cortina 2026

The race to fill three remaining spots at the 2026 Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament in Milan, Italy starts on Thursday.

Across Europe, from Sheffield to Slovakia, 12 countries are kicking off their qualifying campaigns. The hopeful teams span the globe, with representatives from Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Korea and Mexico, as well as eight European contenders.

Read on for details of this weekend’s three qualification tournaments as the contenders vie for a place in February’s final qualifying round.

Group D: Piestany, Slovakia

Host Slovakia, which impressed in winning the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group B last season, will be favoured to advance here. At the U18 level, the Slovaks are building a solid pipeline of talent, and have played four seasons in the top division for that age group.

Forward Nela Lopusanova, 16, became a hot property after her sensational “Michigan” goal in the 2023 U18 Women’s Worlds. Making her senior international debut here, Lopusanova symbolizes a change in generations: 12 of the 22 players on Miroslav Mosnar’s roster have never previously skated in Olympic qualification play. However, the bulk of this team plays together in the European Women’s Hockey League (EWHL) for PSRZ Bratislava.

That domestic core is seasoned by a handful of North American-based players, including Lopusanova. In addition, there is Julia Matejkova, currently scoring more than a point a game with HPK in Finland, and two players – Lucia Drabekova and Barbora Kapicakova – from China’s fledgling women’s league.

Slovenia could be the closest challenger. Centre Pia Pren has led this team for many years, producing 150 points through 15 seasons of IIHF action. Her line with Sara Confidenti and Arwen Nylaander is one of the best outside of the elite nations. But when Slovakia and Slovenia met in Riga last season, the Slovaks eased to a 4-0 win.

Kazakhstan will look to build on its Division II Group A gold in last season’s Worlds, but will likely view this as preparation for its return to Division I. Iceland, fifth in Division II Group  A last season, appears to be the outsider in the quartet.

Group E: Sheffield, Great Britain

This could be the most intriguing of the three groups. The Netherlands top the seeding after a successful return to Division I Group A hockey last season.

After promotion in 2023, the Dutch took fifth place in Klagenfurt back in April. A 3-1 win over Korea was crucial in that tournament, but the Oranje also picked up points from a shoot-out loss to Norway and an overtime loss to host Austria.

Jet Milders has a habit of potting clutch goals, getting the winner against the Koreans and a last-minute tying goal on Austria. Three players led the team in scoring with four points each: defender Kayleigh Hamers (3+1) and forwards Bieke van Nes (2+2) and Julie Zwarthoed (1+3=4). Goalie Eline Gabriele impressed with 32 saves in a shutout against Norway.

Second seed Great Britain has home advantage. In the previous Olympic cycle, GB attracted big crowds to Nottingham at this stage and fell one goal short of progressing. The roster has gone through a refresh since then, with eight players looking forward to their first Olympic qualification action as the Brits aim to go one better.

Latvia, too, is a genuine contender. The Baltic nation took silver in Division I Group B on home ice last season, securing its placement with a 3-2 win over Britain on the final day. Linda Rulle, 19, a prolific scorer with the Latvian U18 squad, got the winner in that game.

Spain is the only Division II nation in the group and, on paper, is the outsider. However, the Spanish program is developing young talent, and 18-year-old forward Claudia Castellanos is poised to make history as the first Spanish woman to play NCAA Division I hockey with Lindenwood University next season.

Group F: Bytom, Poland

Despite being the top seed here, the Koreans have not enjoyed much success in 2024. In April, coach Do Yun Kim’s team managed just one goal in five games as it was relegated from Division IA. Then in November, scoring was a problem once more at the inaugural IIHF Women’s Asia Championship. The Koreans failed to score on Japan or China before securing a 4-4 tie with Kazakhstan in the last group game.

Host Poland is likely to be Korea’s closest rival. However, the Poles also suffered relegation last season, finishing last in Division IB. An overtime victory over Britain was the only success for Joe Butkevich’s team in Riga.

Former Polish international goaltender Arkadiusz Sobecki is the new head coach, having been on the coaching staff since 2022. He has an experienced roster at his disposal, with Karolina Pozniewska, Ewelina Czarnecka and Patrycja Sfora returning for a fourth OQ campaign. Pozniewska, who made her international debut in 2010, has 98 points through 59 World Championship games for her country and another 16 points in 12 Olympic qualification appearances. A strong performance from the Poles here could serve as a springboard for a swift return to World Championship Division I.

Outsiders Mexico and Chinese Taipei complete the group. These two met in last season’s Division II Group A tournament, with the Mexicans claiming a 2-1 verdict on goals from Maria Chavez and Joanna Rojas.

The Olympic women’s qualification tournaments run 12 to 15 December.