It's a rivalry as old as time itself. More like a 250 year rivalry? Longer? I don't know. Despite winning gold in women's hockey back in the 2018 Winter Olympics, the United States would once again find themselves in Canada's shadow by the end of the 2022 tournament. To make things even more intense, the United States has had the upper hand against Canada in recent years, dominating the recent four-game Rivalry Series with multi-goal wins in all four games.
Can the United States continue to dominate the Canadians and secure their second gold medal in three Olympic hockey tournaments? We've only got one more week to wait before the American outfit kicks off their women's hockey tournament against Czechia, the same day that Canada kicks their tournament off against Finland.
Until then, let's take a look at the United States' roster and X-Factors.
Blending veteran presence with new talent
Unlike Canada's roster, the United States is opting for a mix of veterans with prior Olympic experience and younger players who have yet to play on one of the world's biggest stages. Just under half of the roster heading to Italy previously played in the Olympics; only eleven of the twenty-three players named to the roster were involved in a past Olympic tournament.
Of the twenty-three American women named to the roster, sixteen play their club hockey in the PWHL. The Minnesota Frost are the most-represented PWHL team, with six of the club's players on the flight to Milan. Seattle has the second-most representation; four of their players were selected to the final Olympic roster. The Boston Fleet will be sending three players to the Olympics, the Ottawa Charge have two players going to Milan, while the Montreal Victoire are the fifth team represented by the American women's hockey entry.
The remaining seven play their hockey at the collegiate level; four universities are going to be represented by the United States' women's Olympic roster.
The Minnesota Frost connection
The four-time Olympian will enter the 2026 Women's Olympic hockey tournament as one of the United States' leaders; her, Lee Stecklein and Hilary Knight are the three most-experienced Americans on the Olympic roster. While Coyne Schofield has four Olympic tournaments under her belt, one less than Hilary Knight, all three players have a combined thirteen Olympics worth of experience.
For an American roster fielding twelve players that haven't played at an Olympic tournament, those thirteen years could be incredibly valuable.
But why am I about to set Kendall Coyne Schofield as the Americans' X-Factor and not one of Hilary Knight or Lee Stecklein? Look at the stat sheets.
Of the PWHL's skaters, Kendall Coyne Schofield is the joint-league-leader in points with sixteen to her name. She's tied for the league lead with two of her Minnesota Frost teammates, Britta Curl-Salemme and Taylor Heise, while Kelly Pannek sits just one point behind in second.
Add on Grace Zumwinkle, who played in two Olympic women's hockey tournaments and is a teammate of the aforementioned four players, and you have the foundation for a very dangerous attack.
Canada is the only real competition
If Canada was in the other round-robin group, the United States would probably run away with first place. But, since Canada is in their group, it might just be a fight to the final match day.
That said, the Americans have more than enough firepower on their offence to claim their place in the race for first. They do lack in the experience department when it comes to a comparison with Canada's roster; however, one can see that the players set to make their debuts are more than capable of making their presence felt.
If the Americans can keep it together and avoid a collapse in confidence akin to the one they had in 2022, they will be set for another deep run at the Olympics. The one thing keeping me from confidently putting the United States into first is the goaltending and whether it can get going quickly, especially as all three goaltenders are making their Olympic debut. However, don't be surprised if the United States ends up playing for gold.