2026 Olympic Preview: United States

The 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics are right around the corner, and the United States women’s hockey team has just one goal: capturing their third gold medal. They’re bringing a team headlined by their veteran core yet infused with plenty of youth to accomplish that. With so much on the line, here are some things to watch out for when the Americans hit the ice in Milan.

Roster

This year’s Olympic roster was announced back on January 2. Eleven players return from the 2022 silver-medal team, while 12 new faces join the fray, including all three goaltenders. All but Hannah Bilka, who was injured at the time, and Rory Guilday were on the 2025 World Championship gold-medal-winning squad. 16 of the 23 players hail from five PWHL teams, with the Minnesota Frost leading the way with six representatives. The other seven come from four NCAA schools, with the University of Wisconsin leading the way with four players.

Forwards (13):

• Hannah Bilka (Seattle Torrent/PWHL)*
• Alex Carpetner (Seattle Torrent/PWHL)
• Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota Frost/PWHL)
• Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost/PWHL)*
• Joy Dunne (Ohio State University/NCAA)*
• Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost/NCAA)*
• Tessa Janecke (Penn State University/NCAA)*
• Hilary Knight (Seattle Torrent/PWHL)
• Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota/NCAA)
• Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost/PWHL)
• Hayley Scamurra (Montréal Victoire/PWHL)
• Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin/NCAA)*
• Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost/PWHL)

Defenders (7):

• Cayla Barnes (Seattle Torrent/PWHL)
• Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin/PWHL)*
• Rory Guilday (Ottawa Charge/PWHL)*
• Carolina Harvey (University of Wisconsin/NCAA)
• Megan Keller (Boston Fleet/PWHL)
• Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost/PWHL)
• Haley Winn (Boston Fleet/PWHL)*

Goaltenders (3):

• Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet/PWHL)*
• Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin/NCAA)*
• Gwyneth Phillips (Ottawa Charge/PWHL)*

*denotes first-time Olympians.

Schedule

Below is Team USA’s schedule for the preliminary round, as well as the schedules for the knockout rounds.

Preliminary Round

• Thu, Feb 5 vs Czechia- 4:40 p.m. local/10:40 a.m. ET, Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
• Sat, Feb 7 vs Finland- 4:40 p.m. local/10:40 a.m. ET, Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
• Mon, Feb 9 @ Switzerland- 8:40 p.m. local/2:40 p.m. ET, Milano Santagiuila Ice Hockey Arena
• Tue, Feb 10 @ Canada- 8:10 p.m. local/2:10 p.m. ET, Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena

Knockout Rounds

Below is the schedule for every game in the knockout rounds. Team USA and its four Group A opponents will make up the top five seeds in the quarterfinals, where they will be joined by the top three teams from Group B.

• Quarterfinals
  • Fri, Feb 13- 4:40 p.m. local/10:40 a.m. ET, Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
  • Fri, Feb 13- 9:10 p.m. local/3:10 p.m. ET, Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
  • Sat, Feb 14- 4:40 p.m. local/10:40 a.m. ET, Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
  • Sat, Feb 14- 9:10 p.m. local/3:10 p.m. ET, Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
• Semifinals
  • Mon, Feb 16- 4:40 p.m. local/10:40 a.m. ET, Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena
  • Mon, Feb 16- 9:10 p.m. local/3:10 p.m. ET, Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena
• Medal Games
  • Bronze: Thu, Feb 19- 2:40 p.m. local/8:40 a.m. ET, Milano Santigiulia Ice Hockey Arena
  • Gold: Thu, Feb 19- 7:10 p.m. local/1:10 p.m. ET, Milano Santigiulia Ice Hockey Arena

Last Olympics

In 2022, the United States settled for a silver medal after falling to Canada in the gold medal game, 3-2. They went 3-1 in the preliminary round for a second-place finish, beating Finland 5-2, the Russian Olympic Committee 5-0, and Switzerland 8-0 before falling to Canada 4-2. They then went on to face Czechia in the quarterfinals, toppling them 4-1, and Finland in the semifinals, whom they also beat 4-1. 

One of the major storylines of the tournament was then-head coach Joel Johnson’s bench management decisions throughout the Beijing tournament. Four defenders played between 38-42% of the available minutes across the tournament, while some of the teams' younger or otherwise less-experienced players largely rode the bench. He also played goaltender Alex Cavallini, who tore her MCL in January 2022 and only returned to full practice three days before the tournament began, in every knockout game despite Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney rotating with her throughout the preliminary round.

Special teams were also an issue, with neither the power play nor the penalty kill performing to the level needed to win gold. However, despite the questionable coaching decisions and underperforming special teams, the Americans still had a solid tournament, just not as good a one as it could have been.

Storyline to Watch

The youth movement has been successful at the World Championships, but how does it translate to the Olympic stage?

Since the 2022 Olympics, the United States has been infusing more and more youth into the roster to both boost the team now and prepare it for the future when the current veteran stars retire. This is a stark contrast to Canada, which has largely stuck with the same core, with a handful of players cycling in and out. The Americans have had the upper hand in recent years when their college players are in the lineup, but the Olympics are a different ballgame. There is no bigger stage in sports. How the Olympic newcomers handle that increased spotlight will make or break Team USA's tournament. Every player on the roster now has experience at the IIHF World Championships, which should be a major boost. Given what the young core has shown there over the past couple of years, the transition shouldn't be much of a problem, but it’s something to keep an eye on nonetheless. If the first-time Olympians struggle for any reason, the Americans are doomed, especially considering all three of their goaltenders are first-timers.

Two Players to Watch

Haley Winn.

Winn has transitioned into the PWHL flawlessly this season. She was highly touted on draft day and has been as advertised, with her poise, skating, and skill in transition jumping off the page from Day 1 with the Fleet. She’s building a strong Rookie of the Year case, starting with leading the PWHL in average TOI with 27:59 ATOI across 14 games, which is over five minutes more than the next rookie and over a minute more than partner Megan Keller, who sits second. Add in that she sits tied for fourth in rookie scoring with eight points (tied for second among rookie defenders), and sits second in shots on goal (43) and blocked shots (21), and the first 14 games of her career have been nothing short of remarkable. She’s alleviated a lot of the strain on Keller in Boston, and there’s no reason to believe she can’t do the same with Team USA.

Winn has carved out a mid-size role for Team USA recently– she averaged 17:36 TOI at the 2025 Worlds, which was fourth among USA defenders– but given their success in the PWHL, U.S. head coach John Wroblewski would be foolish not to give a Keller-Winn pairing a whirl at the Olympics. There’s no reason to believe Winn can’t step into the Olympics as seamlessly as she’s stepped into the PWHL, so look for her to make some noise in Milan.

Laila Edwards.

Much like she was at the 2025 Worlds, Edwards is a major player to watch at the Olympics. She’s set to make history, again, as the first Black woman to play for Team USA at the Olympics, after breaking the same barrier at the 2024 Worlds. After a breakout 2024 tournament as a forward, Wroblewski moved her back to defense for the 2025 tournament, and that’s where she’ll stay for the Olympics.

Edwards played fine, albeit without some of the magic she brings as a forward in the NCAA, in her new position at Worlds. She played alongside Keller, earning big minutes as a result, with 19:41 ATOI, good for third among USA defenders. Offensively, her 19 SOG were second among USA defenders and tied for fourth among all USA skaters, and she added a goal and an assist. That said, Edwards is one of the most talented forwards in NCAA hockey, a projected early first-round pick in a stacked 2026 PWHL draft, and boasts one of the game’s best shots. She has the potential to be an elite offensive defender. Now that she’s had some time to learn the defensive ropes between the 2025 Worlds and the Rivalry Series, they need her to start incorporating some of that offensive prowess into her blueline game. If she can do that, the Americans will be unstoppable.

What Does Success Look Like?

A gold medal, and nothing less.

It’s gold or bust for the United States this tournament. Sure, maybe you could consider the youth getting experience and settling into the world’s biggest stage as a small win, but it won’t be much consolation. The Americans boast a better-balanced, albeit less experienced, squad than the Canadians, and they need to take advantage of it. If there’s any other color around their necks at the end of the tournament, it will feel like a massive wasted opportunity.

Predicted Finish

On top of the podium, with another gold medal around their necks.

As mentioned, the United States currently has a better team than Canada. Their blend of youth and veterans provides them with the speed, skill, energy, and leadership needed to bring gold back to the U.S. for the third time. Plus, there will be extra motivation this year with it being Hilary Knight’s–and possibly other veteran stars'–final Olympics. That said, Canada is a far better team than they showed while getting swept in this year’s Rivalry Series. They will put up a heck of a fight, as they always do, and a USA silver medal is far from out of the realm of possibility because of that. Still, this feels like the Americans’ year, so look for the Star Spangled Banner to blare over the speakers after the final horn sounds on this year’s women’s hockey tournament.