Canada will look to defend its gold medal on home soil when the IIHF’s U18 Women’s World Championship returns to the Great White North for the first time since 2016 and just the third time in the event’s 18-year history.
The 2026 U18 women’s worlds runs from Jan. 10-18 on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Round-robin games will take place from Jan. 10-13 at the 1,250-seat Sport & Wellness Centre in Membertou, a Mi’kmaq First Nation Community. Starting on Jan. 15, the scene shifts to the 5,000-seat Centre 200 in Sydney, the home of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Eagles, for all playoff games.
In Canada, broadcast partners TSN and RDS will provide exclusive coverage of all Team Canada matchups along with both semifinals on Jan. 17 and both medal games on Jan. 18. Other games, and coverage in other regions, will be available on IIHF.TV.
Here’s a look at the four teams that will compete in Group A.
Canada (gold in 2025)
After winning their eighth gold in tournament history in Vantaa in 2025, Canada’s U18 team will be looking to match the leaders from the USA with a ninth championship on home soil in Cape Breton. This year, they’ll need to do it without 2025 all-stars Chloe Primerano or leading scorer Stryker Zablocki, who have aged out. Key returnees include forwards Caleigh Tiller and Hayley McDonald along with defender Katie Viel.
The Canadians will be running with a fresh crop of goaltenders: Ontario’s Maija St-Pierre, Alberta’s Rowan Houweling and Quebec’s Lea-Rose Charrois.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Vicky Sunohara returns behind the bench after striking gold on her first run with the U18 group in 2025.
Sweden (fourth in 2025)
Sweden’s 2025 tournament was defined by razor-thin margins. All but one of their games were decided by one goal, including their 2-1 semi-final loss to the United States. In the bronze-medal game against Czechia, the Swedes carried a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes but saw their hardware slip away when the Czechs scored twice in the third period.
After tying for her team’s scoring lead with six points in 2025, defender Ebba Westerlind from Frolunda of the SDHL leads the list of Sweden’s returnees.
Three 15-year-olds will be making their tournament debuts: forwards Moa Stridh and Tilia Lindgren along with defender Elsa Blarand.
Andreas Karlsson is back for his fourth year as Sweden’s head coach. He delivered a silver medal in his debut, in 2023.
Switzerland (fifth in 2025)
After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2024, the Swiss will be looking to build on their best-ever fifth-place finish from 2025 when they touch down in Cape Breton. At just 17, defender Laure Meriguet will be back for her fourth U18 tournament after being one of Switzerland’s ice-time leaders last year. Meriguet made her senior world championship debut last spring and on Wednesday, she was named to the Swiss women’s Olympic team for Milano-Cortina.
Producing at better than a point-per-game in Switzerland’s top women’s league this season, forward Norina Muller could be a key driver of the Swiss offence.
Behind the bench, Melanie Hafiger returns for her fifth U18 worlds in the head role.
Hungary (promoted from Div. 1A)
While the senior men’s team competes for a second-straight year at the top-level world championship in May, the U18 women have matched them after a perfect 5-0 showing on home soil in Div. 1A a year ago. After the Hungarians outscored their opponents 13-2 to earn their first promotion to the top level since 2014, goaltender Noemi Zoe Takacs will be back to anchor her squad between the pipes as one of eight 2008-born veterans.
The Hungarian roster includes some players who are already developing in North America, including 16-year-old forward Reka Heizl at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and Lindenwood commit Krisztina Weller leading her Ontario Women’s Hockey Association U22 team in scoring.
Behind the bench, 33-year-old Zoltan Fodor is moving up from an assistant’s role to the head job for the first time.