It's safe to say that Olympic hockey hosts don't exactly have the best track record of success. Of the last five host nations of the Winter Olympics (China, South Korea, Russia, Canada, Italy), just two nations qualified for the knockouts of the women's hockey tournament (Canada in 2010 and Russia in 2014). The remaining three either went to the 5th-8th place bracket or, post-2018, were eliminated in the preliminary round.
Funny enough, one of those host nations - Italy - will once again be hosting this edition of the Olympic women's hockey tournament. Even more peculiar, the last time Italy played in the women's hockey tournament was in 2006, the same Winter Olympics that was staged in Turin.
I mean if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Jokes aside, that 2006 tournament saw the Italian entry finish in last place in a group featuring Russia, Sweden, and Canada. Italy scored just one goal while giving up thirty-two throughout their three group games.
It didn't get much better in the knockouts. Despite losing just 5-2 to Germany in the 5th-8th place semifinal, Italy would then lose 11-0 to Switzerland in the seventh-place round. So yeah, maybe things need a little fixing here. Italy will get a chance to fix things when they contest Group B action against France, Sweden, Japan, and Germany. But can their new generation of hockey players turn things around, or is history doomed to repeat itself just twenty years later? this
What Laura Fortino means for Italy’s women’s hockey roster on the Olympic stage
Just over half of the team selected to represent Italy's women's hockey team plays their club hockey on Italian soil. Of the remaining eleven players, four players each play their hockey in Sweden and Switzerland, while one player comes from each of the Finnish domestic league, the American collegiate system, and Canada's U Sports associations.
At first glance, one might look at a team that hasn't been to the Olympics in twenty years and think "no Olympic experience? Not going to end well."
That can be right in some cases; one should be skeptical about Italy's chances especially when pitted against more internationally-tested and experienced teams.
But what if I told you that there were players on the Italian women's hockey team who are exceptions to this idea? Yes, there is one player on the roster who has Olympic experience and could easily make or break Italy's chances: Laura Fortino.
Previously a member of Canada's women's hockey team for the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, which won gold and silver respectively, Laura Fortino will now represent Italy's national team for the 2026 Winter Olympics. On her way to Italy, she'll bring significant international experience to an Italian team that does lack recent performances against some of the world's biggest hockey nations.
While the team has been training in Montreal and, like Laura Fortino herself, much of the team has mixed Canadian-Italian roots, the experience of Laura Fortino is arguably going to be the most important factor that determines whether Italy can exceed expectations in the women's hockey tournament. I could see a world where Fortino delivers more iconic moments akin to her contribution to the winning goal in the 2014 gold medal game, but it will also be her overall impact on a new-look Italian women's hockey team that determines how successful this tournament is for Italy.
There isn't exactly much to back a knockout round berth for this Italian team, but that doesn't mean they will perform similarly to their 2006 counterparts. As I mentioned before, having a player like Laura Fortino on the roster will be a huge boost for this team and they should be able to grow into the moment as the preliminary round goes on. Playing France to open the tournament also helps; considering that France is making their Olympic women's hockey debut, they too will be going through some growing pains, which should make that contest more of a 50-50 affair.
What's more is that behind a home crowd, anything is possible (that didn't help Italy in 2006 but still).
I do think that Italy will look better as the tournament goes along and there should be a big result accrued somewhere along the way. Whether Italy will have enough to make it to the knockout round remains to be seen, but they will be more than capable of making things interesting.