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Kristýna Kaltounková has seen the headlines about how everyone expects another epic Canada-U.S. match-up in the Olympic gold medal final.
She’s tired of reading them.
“If I could, I would do anything to be up there and be able to win that gold or silver medal,” the Czech forward said. “I’m going to do whatever it takes.”
Kaltounková, who was taken first overall in last year’s PWHL draft by the New York Sirens, leads the league in both goals (11) and penalty minutes (31) after her first 16 professional games.
The 23-year-old, who boasts size and a great shot, could be an X factor for a rising Czech team that hopes to shake up the Olympic podium.
Only one Olympic final, in 2006, featured a non-North American team. Canada defeated Sweden for gold that year.
But now, the best international players compete in the PWHL, where they play and train alongside top talent every day. Czechia has eight PWHL players on its roster, including Kaltounková.
While the U.S. and Canada are still the top-ranked teams in the world and heavy favourites to make another Olympic final, there’s no doubt the rest of the world has gotten better.
The Finnish women’s national team celebrates winning bronze at the world championship in 2025. (Petr David Josek/The Associated Press)
Here are three European teams to watch heading into the women’s Olympic hockey tournament, which begins in Milan, Italy on Feb. 5. You can watch all the Olympic hockey action on CBC and CBC Gem.
Czechia
It’s only been four years since Czechia made its Olympic women’s hockey debut, but a lot has happened since then.
The country won its first two world championship medals with back-to-back bronze in 2022 and 2023.
Then, the Czechs hosted the world championship for the first time in 2025. The home team nearly upset the Americans in the semifinals, before going on to lose to Finland in the bronze-medal match.
At home, the program’s funding “exploded” after the Olympic appearance four years ago, according to Boston Fleet defender Daniela Pejšová, who will be competing at Milano Cortina 2026 with the Czech team.
“During the summer when I’m home at these summer camps for girls, they all tell me that they started because they saw us on the TV winning the [world championship bronze medal in 2022] or just competing at the Olympics,” she said. “The girls’ hockey just exploded in Czech. The federation started funding our program and obviously the PWHL happened. We have a lot of players in this league, so that helps, too.”
Another change has been the addition of head coach Carla MacLeod, who also coaches the Ottawa Charge in the PWHL, and 27-year-old general manager Tereza Sadilová, who took over in 2022.
Kaltounková credited both for helping the team gain more respect and confidence.
“Four years ago, not a lot of people even knew about women’s hockey back home, and so to have those people fight for us to be respected is something that I really value and appreciate,” she said. “They have done a tremendous job with all of that because the conditions we have now and the opportunities we have are just so different than we did four years ago or 10 years ago.”
Ottawa Charge forward Kateřina Mrázová is one of the players the Czech team will rely on to score goals at the Olympics. (PWHL)
Beyond Kaltounková, the Czech team will look to Vancouver’s Tereza Vanišová and Ottawa’s Kateřina Mrázová for offence. Captain Aneta Tejralová (Seattle Torrent) will be relied on to play difficult minutes against top teams, assuming she is healthy.
But the player to keep your eye is 19-year-old Adéla Šapovalivová, who helped propel the Under-18 Czech team to an upset over Canada in 2024. She plays collegiate hockey with the University of Wisconsin and played on a line with Kaltounková at worlds.
“You can expect a lot of physicality, a lot of grit,” Kaltounková said about her team. “We have a Czech heart. Every Czech will tell you that we’ll fight until the last end or the last minute. We’re not really easy to get rid of.”
Finland
Since making her Olympic debut in 2010, Michelle Karvinen has seen a lot of change in women’s hockey. None has been greater than the creation of the PWHL.
Since coming to the league this past season, the 35-year-old says her game has grown to a new level. She has six points in 16 PWHL games with Vancouver, where she’s developed chemistry with Canadian Sarah Nurse.
Karvinen is part of a Finnish Olympic team that boasts four PWHL players, and has earned back-to-back world championship bronze.
Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Michelle Karvinen, who will play in her 5th Olympics for Finland, says her game has gone up a level since she came over to the PWHL. (PWHL)
“I think we probably have probably the best team I’ve ever played on for the Finnish team,” Karvinen told CBC Sports. “Extremely good skaters, fast, and very skilled. I think obviously we’re still a little bit of the underdogs, but I have a good feeling about the team we have.”
In addition to Karvinen, Finland will look to Boston Fleet forward Susanna Tapani and Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL) forward Petra Nieminen to power the offence.
Tapani is one of the most underrated centres in the PWHL, a skilled forward who can get the puck off her stick in an instant. She has put up eight points in 14 games for league-leading Boston.
Nieminen leads the SDHL with 43 points in 25 games, thanks to her accurate shot. Not to be underestimated is her strength, Karvinen said, which should help Nieminen transition well to the PWHL, should she decide to come over next season.
On the back end, captain Jenni Hiirikoski is slated to return to the national team after having offseason heart surgery. Long considered one of the best defenders in the world, Hiirikoski logged big minutes while recording six points in seven games for Finland at the 2024 world championship, where the country finished third.
It makes Karvinen emotional to think of her friend’s return to hockey after overcoming significant health challenges.
“For her to kind of come back after all of this, it just shows her heart and character,” Karvinen said. “It’s not been easy.”
Finnish captain Jenni Hiirikoski, long considered one of the best defenders in the world, returned to hockey after heart surgery. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
She’ll be joined by Ronja Savolainen (Ottawa Charge), a strong defender who’s one of the most difficult to play against in the PWHL. Karvinen has watched her game evolve since coming to North America and believes she is also underrated.
One player to watch? Rookie Ottawa Charge goaltender Sanni Ahola, who could steal a game for the Finns.
Switzerland
The Swiss team joins Canada, the United States, Finland and Czechia in Group A, where all teams will automatically advance to the quarterfinals.
Alina Müller (Boston Fleet) was only 15 years old when she won a bronze medal for Switzerland at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
But the Swiss haven’t been able to make it back to the podium since then. The country also lost three bronze-medal games in a row at the world championships from 2021 to 2023.
Boston Fleet forward Alina Müller (11) hopes to elevate the Swiss team back on to the Olympic podium. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Now 27, Müller is chasing another Olympic medal. She knows she’ll have to be at her best for the Swiss team to get there.
“Our advantage is we’re such a small country,” she said. “We don’t have that many players. We know each other inside and out, and we’ve played together for years on the national team. We know what everybody needs. If we can bring that on the ice, we’re a very dangerous team.”
She’s one of only two PWHL players on the Swiss roster. Nicole Vallario, a reserve defender with the New York Sirens, is the other.
“Our motivation to get a medal is bigger than ever because we’ve been so close so many times,” Vallario said.
Swiss legend Lara Stalder will be back with Müller, as will goaltender Andrea Brändli.
Müller expects defensively-sound hockey from the Swiss, backed up by Brändli, who was the SDHL’s goaltender of the year last season.
“Anything can happen in women’s hockey with a great goalie,” Müller said. “It’s another do or die tournament, and we will try to show our best hockey and that it can get us really far.”
Sweden, Japan, Germany, France and host Italy make up Group B. The top three teams from that group will advance to the quarterfinals.
Canada opens its tournament on Feb. 5 against Finland at 3:10 p.m. Eastern.
The gold medal game is set for Feb. 19 at 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
