2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship Review

Like an east coast winter blizzard, the 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship hit with a blinding fury and before you could settle in it’s all over. And left standing among the right teams who made their way to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia is a new champion in Team USA, their 10^th U18 Worlds gold medal! After losing 2-0 to Canada at the 2025 U18 Worlds in Finland, the USA have gotten their revenge by returning the favour with their own 2-0 win in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,039 people.

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A tournament is more than just it’s ultimate winner and the Gold Medal Game. Especially in a U18 tournament where anything can happen because when you take the randomness of hockey, add in a short tournament, and the finishing touch is having teenage players play in that environment you’re going to get some interesting results. I’ve been watching women’s hockey for a long time and while the U18 Worlds is an event I’ve yet to hit the decade mark on, I feel as though I can safely say this was definitely an interesting tournament.

Battle of the Titans

It’s hard not to ignore the rampage both Canada and the USA went on this tournament. I understand the sentiment some may have in that this was just expected as Canada and the USA always dominate their competition. At the U18 that’s not been true. There was a two-year gap in which the Gold Medal Game was not Canada vs USA. At the 2022 U18 Worlds Canada lost the first game of the tournament to Finland and nearly lost to them in the semifinal as well. Before this tournament even started the USA eked out a 4-2 win over Czechia in pre-tournament play. To then watch Canada/USA set multiple records was impressive in its own way.

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The USA ended with 56 goals and Canada with 52 goals. Getting over 40 goals in a six game tournament is rare but to hit over 50 goals is so rare it’s only been done once before by the USA at the second U18 Worlds ever in 2009. 16 years of no 50 goal teams and in the 17 U18 Worlds that have taken place in women’s hockey history, a team has ended up in the 40 goal range eight times. So to answer the question, yes this was indeed next level domination by Canada/USA. The closest either of them came to losing was Canada’s 8-1 win over Czechia in the semifinals. The cherry on top is the USA finished second all-time in fewest goals against. The only team that has done better in U18 Worlds history was Canada in 2012 who allowed one goal all tournament long.

North American Star Power

This tournament was so high scoring that there are now eight new additions to the top 20 best single tournament U18 Worlds performances and in the top 10 that number is five new additions. Jane Daley led the way with 17 points for the tournament lead in points, came away with Most Valuable Player honours, Best Forward honours, most goals (12) in a single U18 Worlds tournament, and finished second all-time in points in a single U18 Worlds tournament behind Amanda Kessel. Behind Daley you have Sofia Ismael (15 points), Emily Pohl (15 points), Talla Hansen (14 points), and Maggie Averill (14 points) finish in the top 10 in points for a single U18 tournament all-time.

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Averill added a few more accolades with her 14 points putting her second in blueliner scoring among all countries and first among American blueliners in points in a single U18 Worlds to go along with her Best Defender honours. For Adrianna Milani and her 10 goals she ties Caitlin Kraemer’s record for most goals for a Canadian in a single U18 Worlds while also finishing in a very exclusive club of +10 goal scorers in a single U18 Worlds along with Daley, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Haley Skarupa. The best part about all of this is Milani and Daley will be back for their final U18 Worlds next year.

Nela Lopušanová Exits Stage Left

When Lopušanová first appeared at the U18 Worlds in 2023, she set the hockey world alight with her skill and highlights at only 15 years old. Lopušanová would go on to win the 2023 U18 Worlds MVP honours and set off her four-year stint at the U18 Worlds with a bang. For those first three U18 Worlds appearances, Lopušanová and Slovakia would continually struggle once they hit the quarter-finals, never winning a single one to compete for a medal despite Lopušanová’s two MVP performances. So, coming into the 2026 U18 Worlds, this felt like Slovakia’s best chance at playing for a medal for the first time.

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It wasn’t meant to be though. Slovakia managed to avoid the relegation round by beating Finland on a Lopušanová hat trick but were eventually struck down by Sweden 7-2 in the quarterfinals. She leaves this tournament forever now without any medals but not without cementing her name in the history books of the U18 Worlds. The one record she holds alone is being the only two-time U18 Worlds MVP. To finish off her tremendous U18 Worlds career she ends up tied with Kendall Coyne Schofield in all-time points (33) and all-time goals (22). I’m sure this won’t be the last time we see Lopušanová put her name into the history books of women’s hockey.

Wait What Happened Here, the Hungary and Finland Story

In my 2026 U18 Worlds preview I mentioned that if Hungary wanted to stay in the top division they’d most likely have to go through Slovakia or Finland. Slovakia seemed like the likely opponent just based on the history of Finland at the U18 Worlds which is them being on a five-tournament streak of being in the Bronze Medal Game from 2019 to 2024. In 2025 they didn’t make it out of the quarterfinal for the first time since 2018 but it was a younger roster and the expectation was they take a step forward this year. It went horribly wrong and Finland found themselves with the worst goal differential (-25) in both Pool A and Pool B. Meanwhile Hungary comes in with no expectations and doesn’t look half bad losing 4-1 to Sweden then 2-0 to Switzerland.

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What happens next might be the best relegation game this tournament has ever seen. Two teams chasing history, Finland not wanting to be the first Finnish team ever relegated in any hockey tournament and Hungary looking to win their second ever U18 Worlds game coming after their last win in 2013 against Germany. Finland would hold the lead three separate times to start the game followed by tying the game up early in the third period. It wasn’t enough though to beat a Reka Hiezl powered Hungarian team who would pull off the unthinkable and relegate Finland by a score of 7-5. For the first time in Finland’s hockey history, a team of theirs has been relegated out of the top division and will have to earn their way back in. For Hungary, they now have the opportunity to build on this success and give us another year of watching Reka Hiezl.

Czechia, the Nicholas Cage of the Tournament

Nicholas Cage is a fascinating actor who has confused people for almost as long as he’s been acting to the point that in the show Community, there’s a class called “Nicholas Cage, Good or Bad” and the answer is don’t look too deeply or you’ll drive yourself insane. That’s how it feels like trying to decipher the kind of tournament Czechia had. Since 2024 Czechia has cemented themselves as a top four U18 team earning a silver medal in 2024 and a bronze medal in 2025 while defeating Canada in the 2024 semifinals. They gave the USA quite the challenge in a pre-tournament game only losing 4-2 then they start off the tournament with a 9-1 win over Finland. The message was sent, they want to be a contender. The US then sent a message of their own saying you’re not on our level by beating the Czechs 9-1 as well. Czechia didn’t let that get them down though as they’d come back to blowout Slovakia 7-2. Czechia was doing to Finland and Slovakia what Canada/USA usually did to them yet they still got blown out by the US.

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Odd but we move on. In the quarterfinal versus Switzerland, Czechia scores with less than two minutes left to win 2-1 then against Canada in the semifinal they make it 3-1 Canada early in the third period looking for a comeback that Canada quickly snuffs out. Finally against Sweden they look like the Czech team that stomped Finland/Slovakia and take a 3-0 lead in the first period. Sweden takes control of a game they looked out of and for the final 13 minutes of the game Czechia is forced to defend a 4-3 lead. They successfully do it winning their third medal in three years by the skin of their teeth. Just looking at the result it’s a good tournament for Czechia. The path they took though was a roller coaster looking like a gold medal contender to being smacked down to looking like a gold medal contender to being smacked down to looking like the clear best third team in the tournament to barely surviving at the end. So, Czechia isn’t bad but how good were they? No idea.

The Future of the Tournament

What happens at the 2027 U18 Worlds? The best part about the U18 Worlds is because there’s so much roster turnover from year to year you don’t know! We don’t even know where the 2027 U18 Worlds are going to be held yet. What we do now is Germany will be joining the tournament next year as they won the U18 Division 1A tournament this year. What we also know is that a lot of the elite talent that was here this year, are going to be back for next year.Jane Daley, Arianna Milani, Megan Mossey, Chyna Taylor, Reka Hiezl, Moa Stridh, Norina Schrupkowski, Adéla Mynaříková, etc. barring injury are all coming back.

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It’s going to be even more fun with these players having developed their skills for another year and players looking for revenge. Stridh still has two more years of eligibility left and really found her game in the Bronze Medal Game where she really showed what her size combined with skill can accomplish. Schrupkowski has put her name into the conversation for the future of the Swiss senior national team net. Mossey versus Taylor for best blueliner. Milani vs Daley to see who has gotten better as a goal scorer. Can Hiezl not only save Hungary from relegation but give them a better shot at getting past the quarterfinal. Needless to say, looking forward to next year!