2026 women's hockey worlds to be held 2 months after Milan-Cortina Olympics

The 2026 women's hockey satellite title volition beryllium held successful April, 2 months aft the Olympic Games reason successful Milan-Cortina, Italy.

There wasn't a women's title successful the aforesaid calendar twelvemonth arsenic a Winter Games until 2022, erstwhile Herning and Frederikshavn, Denmark, hosted the tourney Aug. 25 to Sept. 4.

International Ice Hockey Federation women's committee seat and Hungarian Hockey Federation president Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer says precocious March-early April for the women's title is successful the IIHF bylaws, and that Denmark's summertime tourney was a one-off.

"That was lone for that year," Kolbenheyer said. "We ever wanted to enactment it backmost to the archetypal dates."

Canada volition big the 2027 edition, but astir became the 2026 big erstwhile Germany expressed involvement successful holding some the men's and women's championships successful 2027.

But Canada reverted backmost to 2027 erstwhile the Germans backed disconnected the double. The 2026 women's big metropolis volition beryllium announced astatine the IIHF's yearly legislature successful May.

New challenge

Some women competing successful Italy successful February could beryllium backmost connected the crystal little than 2 months aboriginal for different apical planetary tournament.

It'll beryllium a caller situation for the world's apical players who take to play successful both, arsenic good their pro leagues, but besides a caller determination for players who opt retired of the satellite title that was the pinnacle of their play for decades.

Another wrinkle is 2 agelong planetary breaks imposed connected the Professional Women's Hockey League successful its 3rd play successful 2025-26.

Kolbenheyer said the timing of aboriginal women's championships is simply a substance of treatment betwixt the IIHF and PWHL, but the 2026 tourney is locked into April.

"We are successful interaction with them regarding this topic, but we decided astatine the assembly level that it would beryllium excessively precocious to bash immoderate changes," said Kolbenheyer, who said a survey has gone retired to the women's hockey assemblage seeking opinions connected satellite title dates.

The PWHL started its 2nd play Dec. 1. Playoffs statesman May. 6

There are 9 games remaining successful its regular play erstwhile the league resumes April 26 aft the satellite title successful Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.

WATCH | Canada thrashes Japan successful women's hockey worlds quarterfinal:

The PWHL responded to a petition for an interrogation with enforcement vice-president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford with the pursuing statement:

"We're having productive discussions with the IIHF astir adjacent season's docket and are optimistic we'll beryllium capable to find a solution that is champion for the IIHF, the PWHL, and the athletes."

'Complicated question'

Shifting the women's title extracurricular the PWHL play is tricky.

The planetary hockey calendar not lone includes the men's title successful May, the satellite under-20 men's title successful December-January, the women's under-18 title successful January and the men's under-18 title successful April.

The IIHF besides holds aggregate lower-level divisional tournaments successful those categories that beforehand and relegate countries.

The NCAA's women's Frozen Four successful mid-March besides dictates the women's championship's timing.

A November tourney doesn't motivate planetary hockey federations to put successful women's hockey for the remainder of the season, nor are players gathering done a play to highest for a premiere event, Kolbenheyer said.

"There are antithetic options to look at, but we person to find the champion 1 for sure," she said. "It's a analyzable question, but we are looking into it."

In the meantime, it's shaping up to beryllium a dense 2025-26 play for Canadian players with aggregate Olympic grooming camps, the PWHL season, the Olympic Games and a satellite championship.

"It is simply a lot," said Canadian and Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast. "It volition beryllium a precise dense and demanding year. Recovery is going to beryllium highly important to marque definite everyone's staying healthy. But, I mean, there's inactive truthful overmuch caller successful the women's crippled with this league.

"Hopefully down the road, we won't tally into thing similar this and we tin find a clip for satellite championships successful Olympic years and successful non-Olympic years that works champion for the crippled worldwide."

2026 seeding

The women's title reverts to "snake" seeding successful each of the 2 pools successful 2026 to lucifer the men's under-20 and men's and women's under-18 championships.

Teams volition beryllium seeded based connected rankings astatine the erstwhile year's title with 1,4,5,8,9 successful 1 excavation and 2,3,6,7 and the promoted squad successful the other.

In an effort to trim lopsided scores astatine the women's championship, the IIHF began seeding the world's apical countries successful the aforesaid excavation and little seeds successful others successful assorted excavation configurations aft 2012.

All 5 successful Pool A and the apical 3 successful Pool B reaching the quarterfinals since 2019 created problematic optics and didn't reward winning.

A Pool A state could spell winless done the tourney and not look relegation.

Switzerland's lone triumph successful past year's tourney was an overtime triumph implicit Germany successful the fifth-place crippled to enactment successful Pool A, portion Germany had gone 4-0 successful Pool B.

And portion the existent format added a 2nd marquee Canada-U.S. crippled to the event, immoderate European and Asian countries privation the accidental to play the North Americans more, Kolbenheyer said

"When the IIHF implemented these 2 groups, that was ne'er the volition to enactment similar this forever," she said.

When the U.S. and Canada outscored their absorption by a combined 88-4 successful the 2010 Winter Olympics, then-International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said "we cannot proceed without improvement."

That was interpreted arsenic a menace to footwear women's hockey from the Olympic program.

Double-digit margins were a lightning rod for disapproval of the women's game, though men's tournaments besides nutrient gaudy scores specified arsenic Czechia beating Kazakhstan 14-2 and the U.S. downing Germany 10-4 successful this year's under-20 title successful Halifax.

"Maybe determination would beryllium inactive large differences, successful goals arsenic well, but we could besides spot that it happens besides connected the antheral side," Kolbenheyer said.

"We truly deliberation that women's hockey has developed truthful overmuch that radical won't accidental similar they did successful 2010 that women's hockey shouldn't beryllium astatine the Olympics.

"They tin present a bully product. They tin present large games."

Women's triple golden club

The IIHF's "Triple Gold Club" of men who person won a Stanley Cup, Olympic golden medal and satellite title golden medal is simply a quarter-century old.

There's presently 30 players, including 11 Canadian players and Canadian manager Mike Babcock, successful it.

The NHL was a 30-team league erstwhile the IIHF established the TGC successful 2001.

Expansion speech successful the six-team Professional Women's Hockey League present successful its 2nd play has planted the effect of a women's Triple Gold Club successful the future.

"We were talking astir this already astatine the humanities committee," Kolbenheyer said. "This question is already connected the table. There is nary determination yet."

The U.S. roster successful Ceske Budejovice has a fistful of players who won the PWHL's inaugural Walter Cup with the Minnesota Frost successful 2024, a satellite title successful 2023 oregon 2019 and an Olympic golden medal successful 2018: Forwards Kendall Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek, defender Lee Stecklein and goaltenders Nicole Hensley and Maddie Rooney.

"To beryllium celebrated for winning championships would mean a lot," Coyne Schofield said.