The next four years could serve as a very unique opportunity for France's women's hockey program. Not only will the team be making their debut on the Olympic stage this time around, but they'll have another chance to prove themselves on the world stage when they host the 2030 edition of the women's hockey event.
The expectations will probably be far higher for the French team in 2030, but there should still be some eyes kept on this French side; it will be very intriguing to see what kind of a performance France can put up in the years preceeding that 2030 Winter Olympics.
That overall performance will start with this year's Winter Olympics, which should serve as a learning experience for the French women's team regardless of how things end.
Of the twenty-three players heading to Italy, a good handful of them play their hockey in European domestic leagues; five play in France's hockey system in some capacity. The rest play their hockey in North American collegiate sports; five players are enrolled in NCAA hockey programs, while one player each represents Canada's U Sports program and Quebec's collegiate hockey league.
France’s women’s hockey debut will be judged by more than wins and losses
The French women's hockey team is more than capable of scoring goals, especially in some of the biggest moments. The problem? They can't exactly stop other teams from scoring.
While that's true of just about any hockey team, this should ring home for France of all teams.
In the most recent edition of the Women's World Championship, which saw France play in the second tier, the French scored the joint-most goals alongside first-place Austria. The problem was that they gave up thirteen goals through their five games at the tournament; that tally was the second-worst of the six teams in the division. Three of the five games also saw the French concede at least three goals.
France would end up finishing with a 2-1-0-2 record (wins, overtime wins, overtime losses, losses) through that year's edition of the tournament. While that was good enough for eight points in the standings, the French did miss out on promotion to the top division by a single point.
While one of the three games that saw the French give up three goals or more was an 8-3 win over the Netherlands, any improved result in the other two games could have potentially changed the picture for France in terms of their promotion prospects.
Even though this lesson is being hammered home enough via the Women's World Championship, it's only going to get hammered home more through the Olympics. Some of the world's top teams await France in the Olympics and they're only going to be tougher opponents than the teams they played in Division 1A of the 2025 Women's World Championship.
France will surely be capable of scoring goals, but their ability to avoid the big blowouts and keep games close will play a major factor in deciding the team's success at this year's women's Olympic hockey tournament.
Though France will have a far lower chance of making the knockout round compared to some of the other teams in the group, all they really need is two good performances to have a chance. Historically, two wins has been enough to see teams into the knockout round of the women's hockey tournament.
Another reason to be optimistic stems from the nature of the teams in their group. Italy is making just their second-ever appearance at the women's Olympic hockey tournament (their first since hosting in 2006) while Germany is returning to the tournament after a twelve-year hiatus. Therefore, in terms of experience, France is arguably in the same boat as two of the four teams in the tournament.
France's tournament opener against Italy is going to be a big opportunity for the team to prove themselves and potentially earn a point in the standings. That's also more than likely the lone opportunity for France to earn a point in this tournament; a result anywhere else might very well be seen as an upset.
This team will be an interesting watch, but they'll more than likely end group play at the bottom of Group B.