For women in Finland and Czechia, the only way to pursue hockey as a professional career, or to pursue a national team spot, is to leave their country to play in Canada, USA, Sweden, or Switzerland, which happen to be the four remaining nations at the 2026 Olympic women’s hockey tournament. These four nations are also the benefactor of the talent leaving Finland and Czechia who continue to bolster the NCAA, SDHL, PostFinance Women’s League, and PWHL, farther improving the level of play, and developmental potential for women in those nations, while abandoning the opportunities for girls domestically.
