USA Hockey is sending a refreshed lineup to Italy this winter, with Friday's 23-player Olympic roster tapping both newcomers and seasoned veterans looking to avenge 2022's silver-medal finish.
US hockey legend Hilary Knight will play in her fifth — and final — Winter Games next month, with the 36-year-old forward joining fellow veteran mainstays Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein as just 11 players return from the team's Beijing campaign.
After falling just short of gold in Beijing, this year's USA hockey roster balances youth with experience, heading to Milan with a full dozen Olympic debutants, including seven college players — a full four from reigning NCAA champion Wisconsin.
All other 16 athletes currently compete in the PWHL with the pro league sending players from five of its eight teams to join the US squad in February.
The rest of the team focuses on young talent, including University of Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards, who will make history as USA Hockey's first-ever Black woman Olympian when she steps on the ice in Italy.
"It still hasn't really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true," said Edwards.
How to watch Team USA hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics
The USA will open their 2026 Olympic campaign against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on February 5th before subsequent Group A games against Finland, Switzerland, and defending champions Canada.
The clash will air live on USA Network as part of the full 2026 Olympic Games coverage across NBC platforms.
USA Hockey's 2026 Olympic roster
Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet), Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin), Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge)
Defenders: Cayla Barnes (Seattle Torrent), Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin), Rory Guilday (Ottawa Charge), Caroline Harvey (University of Wisconsin), Megan Keller (Boston Fleet), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost), Haley Winn (Boston Fleet)
Forwards: Hannah Bilka (Seattle Torrent), Alex Carpenter (Seattle Torrent), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota Frost), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost), Joy Dunne (Ohio State University), Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost), Tessa Janecke (Penn State University), Hilary Knight (Seattle Torrent), Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost), Hayley Scamurra (Montréal Victoire), Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost)
Team USA is on a roll, officially taking the four-game 2025 Rivalry Series against Canada before the slate of friendlies is even over, with the US collecting three consecutive wins so far — and one shot left at making it a clean sweep.
The US downed their northern neighbors by a commanding 10-4 scoreline in Edmonton on Wednesday, marking Team USA's first-ever 10-goal victory against the reigning Olympic champs — all while upping the 2025 series' goal tally to 20-6.
While each team fine-tunes rosters ahead of the 2026 Olympics, one test remains for both international hockey titans before the Winter Games take the ice in February.
"The work doesn't stop. Our Olympic team is not named. There's still one more game to go," said USA captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, acknowledging that her squad is not taking their foot off the gas despite the recent lopsided results.
"We have one more game against them before the Olympics," echoed Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin. "We're all aware of that."
How to watch Team USA vs. Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series
The puck drops on the final match of the sixth annual hockey Rivalry Series between the USA and Canada in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday.
Live coverage of the clash will begin at 9 PM ET on the NHL Network.
Canada women's hockey will have revenge on their minds this week, as the 2025 Rivalry Series between the reigning Olympic champions and Team USA resumes on Wednesday.
After dropping two consecutive results against the US by a combined score of 10-2 to open the sixth annual showdown in November, the series now heads to Canada — with both of this week's games taking the ice in Edmonton, Alberta.
"They had a great start, they have a great team, but so do we," said Canada legend and team captain Marie-Philip Poulin after the first two rivalry tilts. "It's going to be a battle."
With the 2026 Winter Olympics looming less than two months away, both PWHL and NCAA standouts will be using this week's final international window of the year to make their cases for roster spots in Milan, Italy.
With both teams stacked with talent, those who make the final cut are likely to come home with hardware this winter, as five-time champions Canada and the two-time title-winning USA remain the only nations to ever win Olympic gold in women's hockey.
How to watch the 2025 Canada vs. USA Rivalry Series
The puck drops on Game 3 of the annual hockey Rivalry Series on Wednesday before Team USA and Team Canada face-off for the final time in 2025 on Saturday.
Both games will begin at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on the NHL Network.
The USA women's hockey team came out on top over the weekend, kicking off the four-game 2025 Rivalry Series against Canada by dominating their northern neighbors, outscoring them by an impressive 10-2 margin across the pair's first two games.
US forward Abbey Murphy emerged as a series star, scoring a natural hat trick in the team's 4-1 win in Cleveland on Thursday — the first three-goal turn by a USA player against Canada since team captain Hilary Knight did so at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship.
"I told [Murphy], 'You set the bar pretty high,'" said Knight, who added her own hat trick to the mix in Saturday's 6-1 victory in Buffalo.
"I love how we showed up," the 36-year-old continued. "We've been working like dogs since August and to get rewarded for our work, and see situations that we need to work on."
Notably, while the USA brought their entire 2025 world championship-winning roster to the first two Rivalry Series games, Canada chose to evaluate some fresh faces while resting a number of standout veterans, including their No. 1 goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens — a fact that should temper the sting of adding two big losses to their now four-game skid against the US.
With women's hockey taking over Milan at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February, the last two 2025 Rivalry Series matchups will more likely see both sides testing their final rosters for Italy.
How to watch the final games in the 2025 Rivalry Series
Canada will welcome the USA for the last two matchups in the 2025 Rivalry Series, with the puck dropping in Edmonton, Alberta, at 9 PM ET for both the December 10th and 13th clashes.
Both games will air live on the NHL Network.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics only a few months away, hockey giants Canada and the USA are hitting the ice, tuning up for February's global showdown with the pair's annual Rivalry Series.
The four-game slate kicks off in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday before the titans clash again in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, with the 2025 Rivalry Series finishing up with two games in Edmonton, Alberta, next month.
This sixth edition of the series will serve as both teams' final international face-offs before heading to Milan, Italy, where five-time Olympic champions Canada will aim to repeat their 2022 gold-medal run while the two-time winning US will hunt a return to the top of the podium.
No other nation has ever won Olympic gold in the seven editions of the women's hockey competition.
The last time the pair met was in April's IIHF World Championship final, in which the US topped Canada 4-3 to lift the 2025 trophy — though Canada holds the all-time head-to-head advantage with a 106-82 record.
Four-time Olympian Hilary Knight and three-time Olympian Kendall Coyne Schofield headline Team USA's Rivalry Series squad, backed by 11 additional US Olympians.
Longtime Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin leads her side, alongside 20 of her fellow 2025 IIHF Worlds silver medalists.
How to watch the 2025 Canada vs. USA Rivalry Series
The puck drops on the four-game docket in Cleveland at 7 PM ET on Thursday before the teams take the ice in Buffalo at 6 PM ET on Saturday.
Both games will air live on the NHL Network.
Team USA hockey titan Hilary Knight is hanging up her international skates, with the record-10-time world champion announcing Tuesday that the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy, will be her fifth and final Olympic run.
"It's time," Knight told USA Today. "I'm at peace. I just have this feeling that it’s time."
Going out on her own terms is top-of-mind for the USA hockey great, with Knight acknowledging "That is such a privilege that only a handful of competitors get."
Making her national team debut at 17, the now-35-year-old is one of the sport's most decorated athletes, winning Olympic gold in 2018 to complement three silver medals in 2010, 2014, and 2022.
Just last month, Knight led the US to victory at the IIHF Women's World Championship, and currently sits as the tournament's all-time leader in goals (67), points (120), and assists (50).
Despite her impending step off the international ice, Knight, who currently captains the PWHL's Boston Fleet, plans to continue playing for the second-year league — a pro venture she helped bring to life in 2023.
"I understood what the sport gave me and I wanted to give that to other people," Knight said. "Obviously, there's tons of work that always needs to be done, but I think we now have a career path."
USA Hockey tapped 25 players to represent the US at April’s 2025 IIHF World Championships in Czechia on Wednesday, as the team looks to avenge their overtime loss to Canada in the 2024 IIHF Final.
A total of 21 players from that silver medal-winning squad will return to this year's roster, which will be led by superstar forward Hilary Knight.
Knight already boasts 14 World Championship medals, more than any other athlete in IIHF history, and is poised to help the US make a record-extending 24th appearance in the IIHF championship game.
PWHL and NCAA stars comprise Team USA
Boston Fleet captain Knight is one of 16 PWHL athletes to make Team USA's lineup, showcasing the impact of an in-season domestic league while teams around the world compete for international honors.
While all six PWHL teams are represented on the roster, the inaugural Walter Cup-winning Minnesota Frost will send a league-leading six US athletes to Czechia.
Trailing just behind Minnesota with three IIHF-bound skaters apiece are 2023/24 runners-up Boston and the Toronto Sceptres, who currently sit in second- and third-place on the 2024/25 PWHL table.
Completing the lineup and, more generally, gaining the experience to keep Team USA atop the sport are an impressive nine NCAA players, led by five skaters from No. 1 ranked Wisconsin.
One of those Badgers, sophomore goaltender Ava McNaughton, will join 2024 Wisconsin grad and Montréal Victoire defender Anna Wilgren as the team's two IIHF World Championship debutants.
Additionally, Frost defender Lee Stecklein and Sceptres forward Jesse Compher will round out the four athletes who did not feature on the 2024 roster. Both players will make their first return to the IIHF stage following silver medal-winning performances at the 2022 edition in Denmark.
"The 25 players selected to represent the US bring skill, talent, and passion on the ice," said US Women’s Hockey GM Katie Million. "The depth of our player pool never makes these decisions easy, but we’re excited to shift our focus on bringing a gold home from Czechia."
Team USA's 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship roster
- Forwards: Alex Carpenter (New York Sirens), Jesse Compher (Toronto Sceptres), Kendall Coyne-Schofield (Minnesota Frost), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost), Joy Dunne (Ohio State University), Lacey Eden (University of Wisconsin), Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost), Tessa Janecke (Penn State University), Hilary Knight (Boston Fleet), Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost), Hayley Scamurra (Toronto Sceptres), Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost)
- Defenders: Cayla Barnes (Montréal Victoire), Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin), Savannah Harmon (Toronto Sceptres), Caroline Harvey (University of Wisconsin), Megan Keller (Boston Fleet), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost), Anna Wilgren (Montréal Victoire), Haley Winn (Clarkson University)
- Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet), Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin), Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge)
How to watch the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship
The puck will drop on the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship on Wednesday, April 9th, and run through the tournament's 12 PM ET championship game on Sunday, April 20th.
Team USA will first take the ice against Finland at 9 AM ET on April 9th.
All US games will be air live on the NHL Network.