Photo @ Ishockeylandslagens / X
Day two of the IIHF women’s World Championships is complete. Japan opened the day with a 5-2 win over Norway before Sweden defeated Hungary in Group B. In the lone Group A game of the day, Canada opened their tournament defeating
1. Sweden Must Answer Their Goaltending Problem For 2026
It seems strange to say this after a shutout, but the issues in Emma Soderberg’s game are beginning to show like a soar thumb. Primarily, it appears to be a gap in her skating skills and lateral movement. Soderberg is slow to get to her angles, and when she’s forced to move, there’s a delay. When she pushes laterally, Soderberg often overshoots her target, and can be seen spinning to point her back up ice to skate back into position. Coupled with rebound control problems, and as much as Emma Soderberg has been Sweden’s incumbent number one, the nation should look at alternatives in time for the 2026 Olympics. While not named to their 2025 World Championship roster, Sweden does have an obvious heir to the throne.
Lisa Jonsson was a Hockey East All-Rookie and All-USCHO Rookie Team honoree in her first season with Northeastern. Following Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips into the program, Jonsson’s shoes were gigantic to fill. The 5-foot-11 Swede was spectacular posting a 1.61 GAA and .938 save percentage along with seven shutouts. It seems like a missed opportunity for Sweden not to bring the bright young netminder this year.
2. Canada Found A Dominant Combination
They didn’t have to look too far. In fact, head coach Troy Ryan is likely happy for the reprieve of not facing the Montreal Victoire trio of Marie-Philip Poulin, Jennifer Gardiner, and Laura Stacey, and instead got to have them on his side. Gardiner, making her senior national debut at an IIHF tournament, scored two goals and assisted on a Marie-Philip Poulin marker for a three point night to open her Team Canada career.
While they didn’t light the lamp, watching the trio of Daryl Watts, Sarah Fillier, and Sarah Nurse dance around the ice, and seeing Natalie Spooner deployed on the fourth line, showcased Canada’s immense depth at the tournament.
The familiarity and pre-formed chemistry for Canada’s top line however, shows the impact the PWHL is already having on the world stage.
3. Norway Has A Long Way To Go
There were high hopes for Norway at the 2025 IIHF World Championships, and in the tight and offensively starved Group B, there’s nothing saying they can’t still muster an upset over Germany or Hungary, but losing to 5-2 to Japan, while facing 57 shots against, shows how far the Norwegian squad still has to come. Typically it’s Japan on the receiving end of 50 shot games, but to see Japan put up that number against Norway was disheartening. Norway hasn’t been in the top division of the IIHF World Championships in 27 years, but they do have a strong core group of competitive players. Without the strong goaltending of former NCAA standout Ena Nystrom in net, things could have been a lot worse for Norway. The nation became the second, following Sweden, in the world to allow body checking. It’s a rule that will be implemented next season and significantly improved the level of play in Sweden. It will take a few years, but there’s hopes Norway will also become more competitive internationally in women’s hockey.