By Scott Lowe – MYHockeyRankings.com

While the United States was claiming back-to-back gold medals for the first time at the men’s World Junior Championship over the weekend, teams representing the U.S. and Canada were opening play in the women’s version of that tournament. The U18 Women’s World Championship got underway in Finland bright and early Saturday morning, and as usual, both North American teams have gotten off to flying starts.

Friday in Ottawa, where the men’s WJC was being held, the International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing body that runs hockey’s world-championship tournaments, and Hockey Canada made a major announcement.

It just wasn’t the one for which we had hoped.

The two governing bodies announced that five IIHF women’s championships will be played in Canada between 2026 and 2030 as part of a historic agreement between the two federations. Canada will host the best women’s hockey players in the world at the 2027 and 2030 Women’s World Championships along with the top under-18 players at the 2026, 2028 and 2030 U18 Women’s World Championships.

While that’s amazing news for women’s hockey players and fans in North America, many of us in the hockey community were longing for something more. We hoped that the long-rumored women’s U20 WJC was going to become a reality. As of now, there is no women’s version of that tournament, which has become wildly popular among North American hockey fans as an annual winter holiday diversion during the last 20 years.

Rumors and conversation about the possibility of a women’s WJC have heated up considerably in the last few years, but as of now, there still is no actual women’s equivalent to the WJC. Thus, the U18 WWC often is given that label.

With the rise in the popularity of the women’s game and so many young up-and-coming stars between the ages of 19 and 20 not quite ready to crack the North American national-team lineups, the timing seems perfect to unveil a women’s WJC. That type of high-level televised event only would build on the momentum the sport has generated in recent years and could serve as a perfect proving ground for the future stars of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

For the PWHL, which has blown away all expectations in terms of its level of play and popularity in slightly more than one year of existence, a high-visibility international tournament featuring the world’s top U20 talent would provide hockey fans with a sneak preview of the next wave of PWHL prospects.

Once the men’s WJC began receiving increased live television and media coverage, National Hockey League fans began to flock to their TV sets once they realized how high the level of play was and that they literally could watch and cheer for the young stars drafted by their favorite teams as they represented their home nations. A women’s WJC likely would have a similar impact on fans of the PWHL, generating even more interest in the league overall and more conversation about its annual draft and women’s hockey in general.  

While the U18 WWC has flown mostly under the radar – even for the most ardent of hockey fans – in recent years the tournament has received more media exposure. After an 887-day hiatus between tournaments thanks to the impact of COVID, our thirst to watch any type of high-level competitive sport led to extensive coverage of the 2022 championship. For the first time ever, live broadcast or streaming coverage of every U18 WWC game was available via TSN, ESPN+ or NHL Network.

The coverage of the 2022 tournament was received with great enthusiasm, and being able to watch the games live has gone from being a luxury to an expectation. This year’s U18 WWC, which began Jan. 4 and runs through Jan. 13 in Vantaa, Finland, is receiving extensive coverage despite the location and time difference. TSN is airing every game involving Team USA and Team Canada as well as the semifinals and medal round, while U.S. fans can view all of their team’s games on NHL Network.

With each passing year, the level of play around the world continues to improve, providing yet another argument in favor of holding a U20 women’s championship. After the U.S. and Canada played for the gold medal in the first 10 U18 championships, that has not been the case for three of the past six tournaments. And at the last two U18 WWC’s, a team other than one of the North American sides has taken home a silver medal. Sweden knocked out the U.S. and finished second in 2023, while Czechia took a cue from its men’s team in beating Canada last year before ultimately placing second.

Bridging the gap between the U18 tournament and the Olympic and World Championship levels only would provide more opportunities for the up-and-coming international hockey-playing countries to compete against the world’s best and continue gaining ground on the two North American nations that have dominated the sport. In addition, another highly visible, widely broadcast world-championship tournament would provide yet another vehicle for women’s hockey to get young athletes around the world interested in trying the sport.

More interest and participation ultimately would lead to more international parity and create a vicious cycle in which the sport continues to grow worldwide as the level of play increases. That, in turn would attract more fans and potential future players. With the technology available in 2025, world-championship events, NCAA college games and PWHL broadcasts readily are available to almost anyone.

A challenge for hockey fans is to invite a few friends who might have little or just a passing interest in the sport over to their houses. Randomly turn on a PWHL game without telling them who is playing and watch their response. This happened by accident in our house recently, and after a few minutes, the game became the center of attention and conversation. Until the broadcast broke for a commercial, our visitors did not realize that we were watching women’s hockey.

That’s how good the product has become.

Women’s hockey has come a long way in the last five years, and the future is brighter than ever. So, while the hope is that we soon will have a U20 WWC to enjoy annually, we don’t want to miss the opportunity to watch what promises to be another great U18 WWC.

Canada and the U.S. have gotten off to their expected strong starts this year in Finland.

The United States opened play Jan. 4 with a 6-0 victory against Japan before recording another shutout, 3-0, vs. Sweden Jan. 5. Meanwhile, Canada knocked off Slovakia, 6-2, and Switzerland, 5-1. This marks the second year that the two teams have been placed in different groups for the preliminary round, meaning they are unlikely to meet until a medal is at stake.

Team groupings are based on how nations finished at the 2024 tournament. Group A has the teams that finished first, fourth and fifth, along with the team that was promoted from the lower division. Group B has the teams that finished second, third, sixth and seventh. The United States won the gold medal a year ago, with Czechia taking silver and Canada earning bronze.

 

Below are the 2025 U18 WWC Groups:

Group A – United States, Finland, Sweden and Japan
Group B – Czechia, Canada, Switzerland and Slovakia

Each team plays the other teams in its group once during the preliminary round to determine seeding for the quarterfinals. The top seed in each group plays the fourth seed in the opposite group in the quarterfinals, while the second and third-place teams face off.

Monday, Jan. 6, is an off day for all the competing teams. The remaining tournament schedule looks like this (all times Eastern):

 

Tuesday, January 7

3:00 a.m. – Switzerland vs. Slovakia

6:30 a.m. – Japan vs. Sweden

10 a.m. – United States vs. Finland (TSN1/5, NHLN) 

1:30 p.m. – Canada vs. Switzerland (TSN1/5)

 

Thursday, January 9

3:00 am – Quarterfinal #1 - TBD

6:30 am – Quarterfinal #2 - TBD

10:00 am – Quarterfinal #3 - TBD

1:30 pm – Quarterfinal #4 - TBD

 

Saturday, January 11

5:30 a.m. – Relegation game 

8:00 a.m. – Semifinal #1 (TSN3/5 & NHLN if U.S. plays)

11:30 a.m.– Semifinal #2 (TSN3/5 & NHLN if U.S. plays)

 

Sunday, January 12

8:00 a.m. – Bronze Medal Game (TSN1/5 & NHLN if U.S. plays)

12:00 p.m. – Gold Medal Game (TSN1/5 & NHLN if U.S. plays)

 

Heading into the Jan. 6 slate of games, the United States leads Group A with 6 standings points, followed by Finland (4), Sweden (2) and Japan (0). Canada sits atop Group B with 6 points, followed by Czechia (5), Switzerland (1) and Slovakia (0).

Slovakia’s Nela Lopusanova leads all scorers with 4 goals and 1 assist, followed by a pair of Canadians, Maxine Cimoroni (1-3-4) and Sara Manness (1-3-4). Christina Scalese (2-1-3), Haley Box (1-2-3) and Mary Derrenbacher (1-2-3) are the top U.S. scorers. In goal, USA netminder Morgan Stickney has a pair of shutouts and has stopped all 25 shots fired her way. Canada’s Amelia Wilkinson has a 1.00 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

 

North American Notes

Team USA enters the 2025 U18 WWC as the defending champion after claiming gold a year ago in Switzerland. The team posted a perfect 6-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record there, capturing gold with a 5-1 victory over Czechia. 

Team USA has medaled in every U18 WWC to date, advancing to the gold-medal game 15 of the last 16 years. Team USA has won gold nine times (2024, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2011, 2009, 2008), silver six times (2022, 2019, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010) and bronze once (2023).

Canada earned a bronze medal in Switzerland after taking home gold the year before in Sweden. The Canadians have won seven gold medals (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023), seven silver (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020) and two bronze (2018, 2024).

The American roster features players representing five of the top 10 USA 19U Tier 1 Girls teams, according to the Week 15 MYHockey rankings. Six players play for top-ranked Shattuck-St. Mary’s, with five coming from No. 4 Assabet Valley and two coming from the second-ranked Bishop Kearney Selects. No. 25 Lovell Academy has three players on the U.S. roster, while three come from Minnesota high schools, one is from a North Dakota high school and one plays for a New England prep school.

Hockey-hotbeds Massachusetts and Minnesota have the most players on the Team USA roster of any state, with nine and four, respectively. Illinois has two players on the team, the only other state with more than one. Of the nine other states represented, non-traditional hockey-playing states such as North Carolina, Kentucky and California each have a player on the roster.

For Team Canada, Ontario claims half of the 24-player roster, with Saskatchewan, Quebec and Manitoba sending three players apiece. British Columbia placed two players on the team, and New Brunswick has one. Six of Canada’s team members play club hockey for the Etobicoke Dolphins, MHR’s top-ranked Canadian U22 team. Four play for second-ranked Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna (B.C.) and three compete for the No. 11 Burlington Barracudas. Ironically, one Canadian player is on the roster of the second-ranked USA 19U Bishop Kearney Selects, while another plays collegiately for the NCAA’s third-ranked Minnesota Gophers.