When play gets underway in Herning, Denmark, the future of international hockey will hit the ice for Canada, Finland, Sweden, Japan, and hosts Denmark. Included in the group are 20 players who have laced up their skates for NCAA programs this season. 

Coming out of the 2026 Olympics, it became clear that Canada’s aging core could no longer keep up with a United States team loaded with collegiate talent. The Red and White look for the next wave of impact players with one of the largest contingents of NCAA players at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championships.

The nation’s premier conference has a heavy influence on Finland’s roster with six players hailing from the WCHA making the roster. The group features three players from St. Cloud State in addition to three more from some of the top programs in the conference.

Sweden looks to build on a semifinal appearance at the 2026 Olympics as Tre Kronor selects five active NCAA players to the 25-women roster. Included in the group are three Oho State Buckeyes who head to the tournament hoping to complete the first leg of a world championship and national championship double.

Canada

After falling to the United States both in group play and the gold medal game of the 2026 Olympics, Canada has injected much needed youth into an aging roster, with six active collegiate players selected.

Rosalie Tremblay becomes the youngest Canadian forward to make her world championships debut since former Boston University Terrier Marie-Philip Poulin first made the roster in 2009. Tremblay has posted a point and a half per game through the start of her Wisconsin career, including a four goal game against Minnesota State.

Tremblay is not the only eighteen-year-old to make the roster as Hayley McDonald joins team Canada from Ohio State. The freshman captained Canada’s U18 team at last year’s IIHF U18 World Championships and now will get the opportunity to shine with her country’s senior team.

Minnesota Duluth sends two players to Team Canada with forward Caitlin Kramer and goaltender Eve Gascon set to dawn the red and white. Both players were among the final cuts ahead of the Olympic games but are now set to make their world championships debut. Eve Gascon leads the WCHA in both goals against average, 0.40, and save percentage, .982. Kraemer is the only player in the WCHA to average over a goal per game this season, netting seven goals in six games.

Another player among the final cuts this February, Chloe Primerano, makes the roster as the only Minnesota Golden Gopher representative. She made the most of a full sophomore season, posting thirty points during the 2025-26 season and has followed it up with eight points in her first six games this season.

The lone player selected from the ECAC on the initial roster release was Sara Manness, as the Clarkson forward is set to make her senior national team debut. As a freshman last season, Manness posted 52 points and was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year. In eight games this season, Manness has scored eight goals and added five assists.

After a late injury, Adeline Aubin finds herself on Canada’s world championships roster and is set to make her national team debut. Through her first eight games this season, Aubin has recorded a point per game with four goals and four assists after posting 29 points in 25 games last season as a sophomore.

Finland

A trio of St. Cloud Huskies lead the way among the seven NCAA players selected to the Finland roster. Siiri Yrjola represented the country at the 2026 Olympics and will now play in her second world championships. Emilia Kyrkko makes her return to international play after not appearing in the 2025 IIHF World Championships or 2026 Olympics and will compete for playing time in a packed goaltending room. This season she’s allowed just 1.72 goals per game with a .927 save percentage this season for the Huskies. After surpassing twenty points each of the last two seasons, Sofianna Sundelin has emerged as one of the best scorers in the WCHA with 14 points in ten games and will look to carry the scoring streak over when she hits the ice in Herning and Esbjerg, Denmark.

Three other WCHA programs are represented with Ohio State, Minnesota, and Minnesota placing a player on Finland’s roster. The Buckeyes’ Sanni Vanhanen arrived in Columbus with an impressive resume, an Olympic medal, a pair of championships in Finland’s top-flight, and a rookie of the year and MVP Playoff award in the same league. In her two years since, she’s turned into one of the most promising players at one of the top programs in the nation, posting 36 points in 43 games for Ohio State. 

One of the marquee transfers of the offseason, Julia Schalin, has hit the ground running for Minnesota with eight points in eight games and will look to carry her success over to the world championships. The tournament will be Schalin’s third with the senior national team in addition to her appearance at the Olympics in February. 

Tuuli Tallinen is still getting settled in with Minnesota State and the senior Finnish national team but is set to make her world championships debut after an impressive international youth career. The Bulldogs’ defensewoman appeared in three IIHF U18 World Championships and was named to the All-Tournament team at the 2024 event.

Beyond the WCHA, Mercyhurst’s Sofia Nuutinen finds herself on the verge of making her world championships debut after being one of the most productive players in the AHA since arriving in the fall of 2023. With her senior year underway, Nuutinen is closing in on the 100 career point mark, with 95 points in 121 games for the Lakers.

Sweden

After seeing their medal hopes fall short in overtime against Switzerland in Milan, Sweden turns to a group of five collegiate skaters to try to get on the podium at the world championships for the first time since 2007.

Three of the players selected are members of the top-ranked Ohio State who will look to carry their near perfect start to the season over to the international stage. Leading the Buckeye contingent is the reigning Julie Chu Rookie of the Year award winner and potential All-American Hilda Svensson, who ranked second on the national runner-ups last season with 27 goals and 52 points. In her Olympic debut this February, Svensson was a point-per-game player with a goal and six assists in seven games.

It was a rocky start to Mira Jungaker’s Ohio State tenure, missing the first half of her freshman season in 2024-25 but has hit the ground running since returning. For the Buckeyes, Jungaker has notched 60 points in 58 games and earned a spot on the All-WCHA Third Team last season. 

After being selected to the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2025-26, Jenna Raunio has taken another step forward and started to round out her offensive game. After netting only one goal as a freshman, Raunio has scored twice in ten games and added four assists. She’ll look to continue to develop and put together another impressive tournament for Sweden after accounting for four points at the Olympics. 

Ida Karlsson gets the nod for her third world championships as the senior continues her streak of playing at a major international tournament every season of her collegiate career. The captain of Minnesota Duluth has scored a goal and recorded two assists in eight games this season.

After making her Olympic debut in February, Nicole Hall is set to make her IIHF World Championships debut. Hall exceeded twenty points last season and has notched four goals and two assists in ten games this season as Penn State’s alternate captain.

Japan

Japan is one of two teams in the tournament to not feature an active NCAA player. Umeka Odairais committed to play for the University of Maine next fall. 

Denmark

Caroline Bjergstad is the lone collegiate player on Denmark’s 25-women roster, with the RPI Engineer selected as one of the three goaltenders on the roster. The sophomore is yet to appear in a game across her first two seasons in the ECAC.