We’re less than a month out from the first game of the women’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympic Games.

The rosters for both Team USA and Team Canada are now set. A total of 39 PWHL players (23 Canadians, 16 Americans) are on the rosters, but some key PWHLers were also among the last cuts. Who’s in and who’s out?

Team USA

Roster: Kirsten Simms, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, Hayley Scamurra, Britta Curl-Salemme, Hilary Knight, Tessa Janecke, Hannah Bilka, Joy Dunne, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy, Lee Stecklein, Cayla Barnes, Caroline Harvey, Megan Keller, Rory Guilday, Haley Winn, Laila Edwards, Ava McNaughton, Aerin Frankel, Gwyneth Philips

Team USA announced its roster on January 2 and had some difficult choices to make, as it took 30 players to the Rivalry Series.

Across the 23 players named to the 2026 Olympic roster, 13 states are represented. The oldest player is Hilary Knight (born 1989) and the youngest is Joy Dunne (born 2005).

Returning players

About half the roster (11 players) is returnees. Players on the 2022 Olympic roster are defenders Stecklein, Barnes, Harvey, and Keller and forwards Pannek, Zumwinkle, Scamurra, Knight, Carpenter, Coyne Schofield, and Murphy. Knight will be playing in her fifth Games.

Debuts

Twelve players are making their Olympic debuts, including all three goaltenders (Frankel, McNaughton, and Philips). Debuts are Simms, Curl-Salemme, Janecke, Bilka, Dunne, Heise, Guilday, Winn, and Edwards.

Retirees

Four skaters and one goaltender from the 2022 roster have retired: Megan Bozek, Brianna Decker, Dani Cameranesi, Amanda Kessel, and Alex Cavallini. That left at least five spots for new players to slot into.

Cuts

Seven active players from the 2022 team are missing from this 2026 team: Abby Roque, Savannah Harmon, Jesse Compher, Jincy Roese, Hannah Brandt, Nicole Hensley, and Maddie Rooney.

Harmon and Compher went to the Rivalry Series, but the rest haven’t been on the team for the last few international outings, including the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championships (WWC).

Other Rivalry Series players who were cut are Lacey Eden, Gabbie Hughes, Emma Peschel, Casey O’Brien, and Anna Wilgren. USA hasn’t given O’Brien much of a shot, but she’s having a strong rookie season in the PWHL, with 7 points in 11 games. Ultimately, Team USA’s forward group is overcrowded and not everyone can fit on the team.

Notables

None of three goalies from the 2022 roster (Alex Cavallini, Nicole Hensley, Maddie Rooney) are returning (Cavallini is retired). Hensley boasts a 0.954 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.39 goals-against average (GAA) across seven games. However, USA decided to keep her off the roster again after not bringing her to České Budějovice in 2025.

Abby Roque continues to make herself relevant even though she hasn’t been at the last two WWCs. She boasts over a point per game with the Montréal Victoire and has the highest time on ice per games played among all forwards. But given the youth-oriented direction of this program, Roque won’t play her way back onto the roster.

Harvey and Murphy, despite still being in college, will be at their second Olympic Games. Heise and Frankel, meanwhile, are debuting despite having been key pieces on their respective PWHL teams for nearly three seasons.

Team Canada

Roster: Laura Stacey, Sarah Fillier, Brianne Jenner, Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, Emily Clark, Emma Maltais, Marie-Philip Poulin, Blayre Turnbull, Kristin O’Neill, Julia Gosling, Jenn Gardiner, Daryl Watts, Sophie Jaques, Jocelyne Larocque, Kati Tabin, Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, Erin Ambrose, Claire Thompson, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Emerance Maschmeyer, Kayle Osborne

Team Canada announced its roster on January 9 and selected only PWHL players (no players from the NCAA or USports).

Across the 23 players, seven provinces are represented, with 15 players from Ontario. The oldest player is Jocelyne Larocque (born 1988) and the youngest is Kayle Osborne (born 2002).

Returning players

Of the 23 players on the roster, 16 are returnees, including Poulin, who will be playing in her fifth Games. Players on the 2022 Olympic roster are Larocque, Fast, Shelton, Ambrose, Thompson, Stacey, Fillier, Jenner, Nurse, Spooner, Clark, Maltais, Poulin, Turnbull, Desbiens, and Maschmeyer.

Debuts

Seven players will be at their first Games: Watts, Gardiner, Gosling, O’Neill, Jaques, Tabin, and Osborne. Gosling and O’Neill (and, to some extent, Gardiner) had appeared on the senior national team before going pro. All the other Olympic rookies seem to have their excellent PWHL play to thank for bringing them into the conversation.

Retirees

From the 2022 roster, only forwards Rebecca Johnston and Mélodie Daoust have retired from playing.

Cuts

Six active players from the 2022 roster didn’t make the cut: Jill Saulnier, Jamie Lee Rattray, Ashton Bell, Micah Zandee-Hart, and Kristen Campbell. Of these players, only Zandee-Hart and Campbell appeared on the 2025 WWC roster.

The Rivalry Series roster also saw Ève Gascon, Chloe Primerano, Nicole Gosling, Danielle Serdachny, Caitlin Kraemer, and Hannah Miller. Primerano was a surprise last-minute cut, and Miller’s being cut apparently was not related to her IIHF eligibility.

Ultimately, Team Canada opted for those who have shown success playing against the best players in the world every day. Nicole Gosling and Serdachny haven’t put up noteworthy PWHL numbers yet, and Miller didn’t make as big of an impact as hoped for in her national team play.

Notables

Team Canada general manager Gina Kingsbury expects Nurse to be healthy and ready to play at the Olympics. If she isn’t, who will be her replacement? Kraemer would be my choice, but considering the PWHL-focused roster, perhaps Serdachny will be the selection.

Gascon might have been the favourite for third goalie until recently, but Osborne’s PWHL record this season (a 0.930 SV% and 1.93 GAA in all 11 of New York’s games) has been undeniable.

Jenner was a question mark after having been left off the November Rivalry Series roster. But she has 12 points in 12 games for the Ottawa Charge and has shown that she hasn’t lost a step just yet. This will be her fourth Olympic Games.

The countdown is on

The women’s tournament opens on February 5, with the USA facing off against Czechia and Canada against Finland. The two North American teams won’t play each other until February 10. See the full tournament schedule.