Italy unveils women’s roster for 2026 Winter Olympics
The host nation has its roster ready to represent its country on sport’s grandest stage.
On Tuesday, the Italian Ice Sports Federation announced the women’s ice hockey roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 23-player squad might be outmatched compared to other teams in the tournament, but the group taking the ice will be truly excited to compete at the Winter Games. The group has been training at the Verdun Auditorium outside Montreal for the past few months in order to properly prepare for the upcoming tournament.
There are a few names that fans in North America might recognize. Defender Laura Fortino was a member of Canada at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics, taking home the gold and silver medals, respectively. She’s spent the last couple of seasons in Italy, playing for the EV Bozen Eagles, Neumarket/Egna and Real Torino. The Clarkson Cup champion will be a veteran presence for the Italians.
Kristin Della Rovere was with the Ottawa Charge in their inaugural season of the PWHL. She elected to take a shot at playing at the Olympics, leaving North America to follow her family’s heritage, joining Bozen of the European Women’s Hockey League, in order to be eligible to play for Team Italy.
The Ontario-born center led the EWHL with 48 points in 20 games last season. In her debut with Italy at last year’s IIHF Women’s D1B World Championship, Della Rovere posted seven points, helping the team earn promotion to the D1A Worlds this year.
Another naturalized player, Kayla Tutino, from Montreal, was an All-Star in the old Canadian Women’s Hockey League before moving to Italy. She actually joined the national program as an assistant coach in 2023 before becoming a player last season.
Team captain Nadia Mattivi is one of the best rearguards competing in Europe. She played five years at Boston University before joining Luleå HF of the SDHL. Mattivi was named the league’s best defender in 2024-25 after leading all blueliners with 27 points, helping Luleå make it to the finals.
Here’s the full Italian roster set to play in Milan next month:
Forwards: Aurora Enrica Abatangelo, Eleonora Bonafini, Anna Caumo, Kristin Della Rovere, Matilde Fantin Manuela Heidenberger, Sara Kaneppele, Marta Mazzocchi, Greta Niccolai, Justine Reyes, Rebecca Roccella, Carola Saletta, Kayla Tutino
Defenders: Laura Fortino, Kristen Guerriero, Laura Lobis, Nadia Mattivi, Jacqueline Pierri, Franziska Stocker, Amie Fielding Varano
Goaltenders: Gabriella Francesca Durante, Martina Fedel, Margherita Ostoni
Italy has only ever competed at the Olympics once, that coming the last time Italy hosted the Winter Games in 2006. The team finished last in the eight-team tournament. They have a chance to turn some heads in the lesser Group B, though a quarterfinal berth will be tough.
Here’s Italy’s schedule for its group stage games:
- Thursday, Feb. 5: Italy vs. France, 8:40 a.m. ET
- Saturday, Feb. 7: Sweden vs. Italy, 8:40 a.m. ET
- Monday, Feb. 9: Japan vs. Italy, 6:10 a.m. ET
Tuesday, Feb. 10: Italy vs. Germany, 10:40 a.m. ET
The quarterfinals will begin on Feb. 13 and conclude the following day. Both semifinals are taking place on Feb. 16. The tournament will wrap up on Feb. 19 with both the gold and bronze medal games.