When it comes to women’s hockey, Canada and the United States have been trading Olympic punches for nearly three decades. But what’s happening on this “Road to Milan” looks less like a rivalry… and more like a regime change.
Because before the Olympics even started, the Americans spent 2025 turning Canada’s so-called gold standard into yesterday’s news.
Canada and the U.S. played four pre-Olympic exhibition games in late 2025. The U.S. won all four, outscoring Canada 24–7 overall.
- Nov. 6, 2025: USA 4, CAN 1 (Cleveland)
- Nov. 8, 2025: USA 6, CAN 1 (Buffalo)
- Dec. 10, 2025: USA 10, CAN 4 (Edmonton)
- Dec. 13, 2025: USA 4, CAN 1 (Edmonton)
That wasn’t “fine-tuning.” That was a wake-up call. Not just for the Canadian players, but for Hockey Canada’s brass who ultimately assembled the 2026 Olympic roster.
Note: Hockey Canada has already badly mishandled the men’s World Junior selection process in recent years, foolishly leaving some of Canada’s high-skill skaters at home, opting instead for grinders who are noticeably overwhelmed when facing elite opponents.
And when the Olympics finally gave us the preliminary round game everyone anticipated, the Americans didn’t squeak it out — they shut Canada out 5–0.
USA Hockey didn’t dress it up as a lucky night either. Their coach John Wroblewski boldly called it “another step towards our goal,” praising the group’s growth and leadership.
And here’s the part that should make Hockey Canada flinch: It was Canada’s first-ever shutout loss in Olympic women’s hockey.
This isn’t just “momentum.” It’s a pattern. If you want to argue “one bad game,” do yourself a favour: Don’t. The U.S. has been stacking these results for a while.
At the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, the U.S. beat Canada 2–1 in the preliminary round and then won the gold medal game 4–3 in overtime.
Canada went into Milan with a roster heavily loaded with many well-known names that have been part of the program since forever. One Hockey News opinion piece flat-out called it an “aging roster,” noting Canada brought 16 players from the 2022 Olympic team and arguing the program has leaned on “familiarity” in its selections.
Meanwhile, the U.S. looks like a program that’s already living in the next cycle — and playing like it.
Historically, Canada still owns the Olympic trophy case—Canada has five Olympic golds to the U.S.’s two in women’s hockey. But history doesn’t score goals, kill penalties, or explain a 10-goal exhibition spanking.
What Canada is learning the hard way is this: experience is only an advantage until it becomes a reason you can’t keep up. And if you’re building your Olympic roster around the past, you shouldn’t be shocked when the future skates right past you.
To avoid being labelled a Monday morning quarterback, this opinion article has been posted mere days before the two juggernauts square off in the gold medal finale, yet again.
But here’s the new reality: when the puck is dropped, Canada is no longer the team that arrives with the psychological edge. Don’t blame the Canadian players. Their golden legacy cannot be erased. It’s the clowns from Hockey Canada that will once again be forced to explain their badly flawed approach to roster construction.
