2024 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship Preview: Players to watch on every team

In the post-holiday hockey madness, it’s time for women’s hockey’s rising stars to show their power at the IIHF Women’s Under-18 World Championships.

Set to begin Jan. 6, this will be the first time that all eight teams will receive automatic bids into the quarterfinals, contrary to past years when all four teams from Group A, and only the top two from Group B will advance. The tournament is being held in Switzerland for the first time ever, with several teams looking to challenge the powerhouses in Zug.

The United States are the most dominant team in tournament history, winning it eight times with a medal in all 15 events. Canada comes in as the reigning champion, with the chance to tie USA if they repeat in Switzerland this month.

Here’s a look at every team in the tournament:

GROUP A

Canada

In Ostersund last year, Canada ran through the competition. Giving up just five goals en route to their seventh gold medal. Led by an incredible performance from Caitlin Kraemer, the team led the tournament with 28 goals, including scoring 10 in the Gold Medal Game against Sweden.

Kraemer became the third player to score 10 goals in a single tournament, joining Kendall Coyne Schofield (10, 2010) and Hayley Skarupa (11, 2012). The Waterloo native scored four goals in the championship game as well to help pad those numbers.

The Minnesota-Duluth commit is one of nine returners from last year’s team, including starting goaltender Hannah Clark. The 17-year-old is on a path to Minnesota after finishing as the goaltender of the tournament, with a 1.21 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.

A few newcomers on this year’s team come from a dominant Burlington Barracudas squad. Claire Murdoch and Sara Manness have been dominant this is season in OWHL action. Murdoch, a Connecticut commit, has scored 54 points in 18 games, while Manness, heading to Minnesota, is right behind her with 52.

Czechia

It has been a long time since Czechia was a threat in the Women’s World Juniors. However, with the format and the amount of depth, they have a chance to sneak out of the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.

The top four scorers from last year’s team are back, including Djurgårdens (SDHL) teammates Tereza Plosová and Linda Vocetkova. Plosová came onto the scene in the 2022 tournament when she led all skaters with 10 points. Plosová has put up 19 points in 23 games in league play this year. Adéla Šapovalivová, who led Czechia with four goals and two assists last January, has been having a career year with MoDo, sitting second on the team with 22 points.

Both Plosová and Šapovalivová made a big enough impression in Sweden to earn the call-up to the senior national team, with Šapovalivová scoring twice in Brampton at the senior women’s event this past spring.

While they have a couple of returners on defense, the Czech’s goaltending situation might be its weak spot. Only Daniela Nováková has international experience, playing a couple of games last year with the Under-18 team. You don’t always need experience beforehand, but she’s a bit of a wild card.

Finland

After finishing third in 2022, Finland came just one goal from upsetting Canada in the semifinals, ultimately losing in overtime before falling to the U.S. in the Bronze Medal Game.

The one glaring issue for the Finns will be where the offense comes from. Leijonat scored just five goals in Group B last year, ending up with just seven overall. To make matters worse, none of the players who registered a point is on the roster in Switzerland.

Just five are coming back from the 2023 squad, including goaltender Kerrtu Kuja-Halkola. The Team Kuortane (Naisten Liiga) product might not have had the best numbers during group play last year, but her 38-save performance against the Canadians gave fans some 2014 Olympic Kristers Gudļevskis vibes.

Three blueliners will bring some needed experience. HIFK Helsinki defender Iiona Palin will be joined by Kuja-Halkoa’s Kuortane teammates, Jennika Ojala and Tuuli Tallinen on the back end.

One 17-year-old to keep an eye on is Julia Kuusisto. Coming into her first tour of international duty, the Vaasa native has had a great start in her second season with Ilves, potting eight points in 19 games.

Germany

Germany is back in the top division for the first time since 2022. The program has either been promoted or demoted to the Division 1A Championships in each of the last four years tournaments were held.

They earned promotion after finishing atop the D1A standings in Italy last year, going 4-0-1. The Germans are bringing back 12 from that team, including Anastasia Gruß, who led the team by averaging a point a game.

The 17-year-old has spent parts of the last two seasons with Eisbären Juniors Berlin of the DFEL, the top women’s league in Germany. Through 14 games this year, Gruß has scored five goals and three assists.

Gruß is one of three players who are left from the last German team to play in the top division at the U18s in 2022, as Hanna Rose and fellow Eisbären teammate Elisa Pietschmann will be playing in their third world championship.

It will be tough for Germany with the talent of Canada and Czechia in their group. They will have to look to grab their wins in the relegation round if they want to stay in the top division in consecutive seasons for the first time in 11 years.

GROUP B

Slovakia

Slovakia’s presence on the world stage was bolstered by one player last year. Nela Lopušanová wowed fans with her excellent hands and finishing touch, becoming the first 14-year-old to earn MVP honors after leading the tournament with 12 points. Her Michigan goal during the preliminary round against Sweden went viral.

Livia Debnarova is the only returning goaltender from last year’s team, as she went 2-3 with a 4.36 GAA and .861 SV%. Coming into her third U18s, the SKP Bratislava star is expected to play almost every game.

Another returner to keep an eye on is Michaela Sophia Paulínyová. The 17-year-old has had a great start with Ontario Hockey Academy Tardiff (OWHL), scoring 22 points in 38 games. Paulínyová did not register a point in last year’s tournament.

However, despite finishing sixth in the last two world championships, the lack of depth will again hinder Slovakia, especially in a group with Sweden and the Americans.

Sweden

Sweden made waves when hosting the tournament last year, stunning the Americans in the semifinals to advance to the Gold Medal Game for just the second time, ultimately losing to Canada.

However, the silver medal performance shows what the future has in store for women’s hockey in the traditional men’s hockey power.

Like the 2023 team, Tre Kronor has a plethora of SDHL talent on their roster. That includes Ohio State commit Hilda Svensson. The 17-year-old led the Swedes with six points in six games in last year’s tournament but truly burst onto the scene at the Women’s Worlds in Brampton last spring, finishing tied for fifth in tournament scoring with 11 points in seven games.

While Lovis Lundstrom is the only returning goaltender from last year’s team, expect to see 17-year-old Lia Leiderö Palmlöv (Djurgårdens) and 16-year-old Maja Helge (Frolunda) in net. Both are having excellent rookie seasons at the club level.

Switzerland

Since making it to the quarterfinals in 2019, the Swiss have come very close to moving beyond the group stage in the last two tournaments.

However, with a quarterfinal berth guaranteed, expect the host nation to play with a little more confidence in the preliminary stage.

The key to their success will be in net. Talina Benderer is coming off an incredible 2023 tournament, where she finished second in GAA (1.25) and SV% (.944), ending up with a 3-2 record, helping the Swiss avoid relegation.

Benderer is one of many returners to his year’s team, including Alena Lynn Rossel. Currently with SC Bern Frauen of the Swiss Women’s Hockey League A, Rossel is equally good at both forward and defense. Through 19 league games, the 17-year-old has two goals and six assists.

United States

The Americans missed out on the championship game for the first time in tournament history last year, ultimately taking home bronze.

Six players are coming back with chips on their shoulders. One of those is 17-year-old Maggie Scannell. The Wisconsin commit led the U.S. with four goals and four assists last year, and is expected to be the leader heading into her third Under-18 tournament.

The two defenders back on the blueline are Bishop Kearney Selects teammates Rose Dwyer and Megan Healy. Healy made an impact as a 15-year-old last year, registering a couple of assists. She ended up getting noticed by Princeton, where she has committed to go in the fall of 2025.

Dwyer, scheduled to head to Cornell next year, finished a +2 in 2023 despite not picking up a point.

The only returning netminder in Layla Hemp, as the Andover, Minnesota native played in one game while backing up current Cornell goaltender, Annelies Bergmann. She is joined between the pipes by Edina High School junior Nora Hannan, who will be staying in Minnesota and committed to playing for St. Thomas.

The action begins on Saturday, Jan. 6, with Finland taking on Czechia, Sweden meeting with Switzerland, and Canada facing Germany. The U.S. and Slovakia will begin play on Sunday.

For the full schedule, visit IIHF.com