Five takeaways from the 2026 Women’s U-18’s Group Stage: USA, Canada dominate, Lopusanova chasing history

The first few days of the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship have seen a lot of goals, a lot of highlight-reel plays, and some future stars inserting their name into the spotlight.

As expected, Canada and the United States have flexed their muscles as the favorites, with even the best European teams struggling to keep up with the North American powers. Yet, that hasn’t stopped other players from putting together notable performances.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the group stage of this year’s tournament.

Filling the back of the net

One noticeable difference from this year’s tournament compared to last year’s has been the amount of goalscoring, especially with the two best teams in the tournament. Only two games had fewer than five total goals scored, as 117 total goals were tallied in the group stage, down from the 71 scored in 2025.

Granted, Canana and the U.S. have a lot to do with that. The Americans registered 36 goals, third-most by any team in the opening round, and the most since Team USA posted 37 in 2009. The team hit 13 goals twice in the group stage, giving up just one goal along the way. Their +35 goal differential is tied for the best with the American squad 17 years ago, as well as Canada’s performance in the preliminary round in the inaugural tournament in 2008.

The Canadians also piled on the goals, scoring 32 times to finish first in Group A, only giving up two goals to Sweden in their group stage finale on Tuesday. Even Czechia scored 17 goals, the most by a European team in the first stage of the tournament.

It’s hard to say exactly what has led to the massive uptick in goal scoring. There’s obviously plenty of talented scoring threats scattered across the teams, which have wreaked havoc on the opposition.

Lopusanova chasing down greatness

Outside of the inevitable USA vs. Canada gold medal game, the big storyline heading into the tournament was whether Nela Lopušanová could make history. The Slovakian prodigy entered her fourth and final U-18s just seven points back of USA legend Kendall Coyne Schofield for the most points in tournament history. Though Slovakia was shut out in that lopsided loss against the Americans, the Wisconsin commit single-handedly led her team to an upset win over Finland, scoring four goals in a 5-2 victory.

The 17-year-old added a goal and an assist in a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Czechia on the final day of the group stage, giving her 32 points in her U-18 career, just one back of Coyne’s record.

What makes Lopušanová such a unique force is her creativity, her prowess, and the ability to create opportunities even where she and her team are heavily outmatched. With Slovakia being guaranteed at least two more games, there’s plenty of time for the young star to make history.

Czechia struggles against USA

One of the highly-anticipated matchups in the preliminary round came in Group B, when the Czechs faced off with the Americans. Czechia is just a couple of years removed from stunning Canada and playing the U.S. in the gold medal game. The nation is considered, by many, to be the third-best team in all of women’s hockey.

However, that didn’t seem to be the case last Sunday.

The opening minutes showed the makings of a close game, but the Americans’ Jane Daley helped break the dam in the latter half of the first period, as the U.S. scored four goals in the opening frame, and three goals less than two minutes apart. Czechia was never able to recover, as the United States ran away with a 9-1 win.

It was a learning experience for a relatively young Czech roster, with half of the roster eligible to return for next year’s tournament. Yet, for a program that has a litter of players competing against some of the same Americans during the AAA season, I guess we expected to see a more competitive game.

Daley having a day

One player who has been thrilling to watch has been U.S. forward Jane Daley. The 16-year-old is in her second swing at the U-18s and has been by far the best player in Nova Scotia. She has scored a hat trick in every game, leading all skaters with nine goals and 13 points across three games.

Daley’s now just one goal away from tying Caitlin Kraemer’s record for most goals in a single tournament. At the rate she’s producing, she’s certainly going to challenge Amanda Kessel’s record of 19 points in a single tournament. The Medfield, Mass. native has wheels and awareness that have set her apart, along with the finishing ability that no goaltender has been able to stop. All the college scouts that have been in attendance so far are probably drooling watching her play.

Ismael is a tenacious force

For those who follow the OWHL, watching Sofia Ismael dominate in this tournament is nothing new. For the rest of you, you’re getting to see a player who has a bright future. The Etobicoke Dolphin sits second in the OWHL with 64 points in 28 games. After a solid performance at last year’s U-18s, the St. George, Ont. native has been lethal this year. She scored in the team’s tournament-opening win over Switzerland, before posting four points in the lopsided win over Hungary.

With first place in Group A on the line on Tuesday against Sweden, the 17-year-old showed up, scoring three goals and another four points to power the Canadians to a 9-2 victory. A hard skater with a quick release, the other teams’ back ends have struggled to slow her down. Ismael is third in the tournament with nine points so far.

Quarterfinal Schedule (Thursday, Jan. 15)

Sweden vs. Slovakia (9 a.m. ET)
Czechia vs. Switzerland (12:30 p.m. ET)
USA vs. Hungary (4 p.m. ET)
Canada vs. Finland (7:30 p.m. ET)