Table of Contents
❤️ Shoutout to Canada
Me snow-shoeing in Jacques-Cartier National Park on Jan. 12, 2026
I’m American, but I didn’t grow up watching hockey. Canada has been a huge part of how I got into the PWHL.
Back during the first year of the PWHL in 2024, I was watching from Seattle. Since I had no home team, I picked PWHL Montreal to be my team. I loved it so much that I visited Montreal that year just to watch PWHL. Enjoying a game at Place Bell was a magical experience. I was officially hooked on PWHL.
The next year I started making videos online and a lot of the videos were about the Montreal Victoire. I visited again during the playoffs and caught the crazy quadruple overtime game! I met so many amazing people on that trip.
I visited again this year, although I went to the Quebec City Takeover game instead of Montreal.
I’ll be rooting for Team USA but honestly I still love Team Canada so much and I’m just looking forward to some great hockey!
— Ava
🧑🏽🏫 Tournament Format Explained
I wrote a separate blog post to explain the 2026 women’s hockey Olympic tournament format!
📺 Canada Group Stage Cheat Sheet
Group stage schedule and which matchups I’m excited for!
⏰ Game schedule
Group stage schedule
Game | Date | Time EST/PST |
|---|---|---|
Canada vs Finland | Thursday, Feb 5 | 3:10 PM EST / 12:10 PM PST |
Canada vs Switzerland | Saturday, Feb 7 | 3:10 PM EST / 12:10 PM PST |
Canada vs Czechia | Monday, Feb 9 | 3:10 PM EST / 12:10 PM PST |
Canada vs USA | Tuesday, Feb 10 | 2:10 PM EST / 11:10 AM PST |
Knockout round schedule
Game | Date | Time EST / PST |
|---|---|---|
Quarterfinal | Friday, Feb 13 / Saturday Feb 14 | TBD |
Semifinal | Monday, Feb 16 | TBD |
Bronze-medal game | Thursday, Feb 19 | 8:40 AM EST / 5:40 AM PST |
Gold-medal game | Thursday, Feb 19 | 1:10 PM EST / 10:10 AM |
📋 Canada Roster
Forwards
Player | Team |
|---|---|
Emily Clark | Ottawa Charge |
Sarah Fillier | New York Sirens |
Jenn Gardiner | Vancouver Goldeneyes |
Julia Gosling (my GOAT) | Seattle Torrent |
Brianne Jenner | Ottawa Charge |
Sarah Nurse | Vancouver Goldeneyes |
Kristin O'Neill | New York Sirens |
Marie-Philip Poulin | Montreal Victoire |
Natalie Spooner | Toronto Sceptres |
Laura Stacey | Montreal Victoire |
Blayre Turnbull | Toronto Sceptres |
Daryl Watts | Toronto Sceptres |
Defense
Player | Team |
|---|---|
Erin Ambrose | Montreal Victoire |
Sophie Jaques | Vancouver Goldeneyes |
Jocelyne Larocque | Ottawa Charge |
Ella Shelton | Toronto Sceptres |
Kati Tabin | Montreal Victoire |
Claire Thompson | Vancouver Goldeneyes |
Renata Fast | Toronto Sceptres |
Goalies
Player | Team |
|---|---|
Ann-Renée Desbiens | Montreal Victoire |
Emerance Maschmeyer | Vancouver Goldeneyes |
Kayle Osborne | New York Sirens |
🤨 Is the Roster Lacking Youth?
🦸♀️ Is Team Canada the Underdog?
Canada won gold in 2022, but they lost the 2025 World Championships to the US and struggled against the US in Rivalry Series.
Rivalry series is a tournament played between US and Canada which serves as an Olympic tune-up. The US outscored Canada 24-7 across the four-game series. Despite Canada winning gold at the Olympics in 2022, USA is the favorite this year.
Date | Result | Location |
|---|---|---|
Nov 6, 2025 | USA W, 4-1 | Cleveland, OH |
Nov 8, 2025 | USA W, 6-1 | Buffalo, NY |
December 10, 2025 | USA W, 10-4 | Edmonton, AB |
December 13, 2025 | USA W, 4-1 | Edmonton, AB |
rivalry series stats
Sarah Nurse is the Key to Everything
Sarah Nurse wasn’t available during Rivalry Series, but she will have a huge impact on Team Canada. She has already delivered instant impact for the Vancouver Goldeneyes after coming back from injury (3G, 2A in 5 games) and was the leading scorer at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Coming Soon!
Next up, I’ll be working on explaining some rule differences between PWHL and IIHF, specifically around checking and overtime!
Questions? Comments? Come hang on Discord!