What to Know About the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Asia Championship

The Rivalry Series returns this week as Team USA and Team Canada meet to kick off the final games of 2025. However, that's not the only competition going on this week as the return of the IIHF's Ice Hockey Women's Asia Championship is also here.

The Rundown:

This is the second year of the Asia Championship. The tournament is between the top four Asian women's hockey teams: China, Kazakhstan, Korea, and Japan. Kazakhstan is hosting this year's event in Oskemen; known as the historic heart of Kazakh hockey. The four teams will compete over the course of three days from Nov. 5-8 and will play each other once. All game will be available via streaming on IIHF.tv.

Did you know?

The last women's ice hockey tournament in Kazakhstan was in 2016 when the Kazakh team won the second round of the Olympic Qualification. It's taken nine years, but the women's national team will once again play in front of their home fans!

Last Time Out:

At last year's inaugural event, Japan dominated to win gold by winning all three of their games and outscoring their opponents 25-0. Talk about being a favorite at this year's tournament! China finished second last year with two shutouts before being shutout in the final game of the tournament against Japan. Third place was a nail biter when Kazakhstan barely beat out rival Korea with a 5-4 win in a shoot out. It was a heartbreaking loss for Korea but no worries as the two teams will meet in the last game of the tournament this year on Nov. 8. That should be a fun game once again!

Players to Watch:

Current Luleå HF forward and former PWHL player, Akane Shiga is one of my players to watch. She is in her second season in the SDHL and has 16 points in 18 games so far.

Rui Ukita lit up the stage last year when she collected eight points on four goals and four assists. I feel Ukita will reach double digits this time!

Japan's goaltender Miyuu Masuhara recorded a shared shutout and a shutout on her own last year in Japan's game against China. Masuhara is one goaltender to watch this year.

China's Biyang Zhang is an 18-year-old forward who scored two goals last year and played in the WCIHL last season as well. At a young age, this tournament is a great chance for someone like Zhang to develop her skills.

Home fans have to be excited to see their women's national team playing on home ice once again after such a long time. One of the players that will surely deliver delights for fans of the national team is defender Dariya Moldabay. The 32-year-old currently plays in Kazakhstan with Tomiris Astana. In six games she's recorded 15 points. Yes, 15! She's a staple in Kazakh hockey beginning her national team career back in 2008. A regular with either a captain or assistant captain letter on her sweater, it will be special to see Moldabay representing her home country on home ice.

Finally, Korea's player to watch is Soo Jin Han. Another veteran of the Korean hockey scene. Han is a 38-year-old forward who has spent the last three years playing only for the national team. She participated in the 2018 Olympic Games and has captained the Korea team since 2022-23. She was part of the comeback Korea put together against Kazakhstan that unfortunately fell short in the bronze game. I feel a goal from her is a given when the two rivals meet on the last day.

Why this tournament is important:

The Women's Asia Championship is part of a four year pilot program between the IIHF and the national federations of the four participating countries. The program aims to host tournaments for the senior men's and women's teams to help development of hockey in the selected regions. The tournament also allows for the competing teams to promote the sport of hockey to home fans to help grow the sport. Hockey has been making steady progress in these four regions according to the IIHF. Japan will be competing in the Olympic Games in 2026 and competed in the Women's World Championship this past spring. China has also competed at the top level internationally while Korea and Kazakhstan have been holding it down in Division 1B with hopes of climbing divisions in the future.

Why you should watch:

Who doesn't want even more hockey to watch before the Rivalry Series games and college hockey games are on in the afternoon? Aside from that, there are so many great players taking part in this tournament who could make the jump to the top division in the future. Not only that, Japan will be taking part in next year's Olympic Games and this is a great way to get to know the players who are competing for a spot on that coveted team.

All in all, showing support for a tournament with teams that aren't your usual participants shows that hockey truly is for everyone and when effort is put into growing the game, results will follow.

You can view the full schedule here