The Evolution of Women's Hockey

The Women's World Championships will come to an end tomorrow in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia and despite the final being between the two North American powerhouses, the United States and Canada, the gap continues to shrink between these giants and the rest of the field.

Canada and the United States will face-off in the final of the World Championships for the 23rd time in the history of the tournament that is in its 24th edition. The only blemish on the records of these two teams this event came when the USA beat the Canadians 2-1 in the preliminary round.

The North American teams both faired differently in their paths to the finals.

In the quarterfinals the United States peppered the Germans, who had an incredible performance by goaltender Sandra Abstreiter stopping 48 of the 50 shots she faced, beating them 3-0. In the semi-finals the red, white, and blue again fell flat on the final scoreboard sneaking out a 2-1 win over hosts Czechia despite outshooting them 45-11. Klara Peslarova shined for the Czechs stopping 43 of the 45 shots sent her way.

The Canadians on the other hand breezed through the knockout stage producing a 9-1 quarterfinal win versus the Japanese before overpowering the Finns 8-1 in the semi-finals.

Despite these results the growth of the women’s game outside of North America is flourishing. Surprising new markets like Japan, Hungary, Norway, and recently promoted Austria have started to show promise on the world stage. With the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) expanding the chance for players from these smaller countries to continue their growth against the best players in the world provides a unique opportunity for the further development and advancement of the women’s game worldwide.

Tune in to TSN tomorrow to catch the gold and bronze medal matches as they wrap up the 2025 tournament. The 2026 World Championships will be coming back to Canada with the city still to be determined.