From Marie-Philip Poulin to Petra Nieminen, here's who to watch at the Women's Worlds (2024)

If it doesn’t seem like the Olympics were all that long ago, they weren’t.

It’s only been six months since Team Canada won its fifth gold medal in dominating fashion. Now, for the first time ever, there is an IIHF Women’s World Championship in the same calendar year as an Olympic tournament.

But this tournament — being held for the first time in Denmark — is not going to be the Beijing Olympics 2.0. Naturally, there is going to be some overlap. The best players in the world are still the best players in the world. Canada and the U.S. still hate each other and are the betting favorites for another gold medal showdown.

But the top 10 players to watch at the tournament aren’t just the top Canadian and American skaters. There are established superstars from Canada and the U.S. you should absolutely keep an eye on for obvious reasons, but there are also new faces from each team ready to take on bigger roles on the international stage, as well as even more elite talent from outside North America.

So, before the puck drops for Game 1 of the tournament — between Japan and the United States — it’s time to get familiar with 10 top players to watch at the 2022 Women’s World Championship.

Marie-Philip Poulin, F, Canada

If Poulin is on the ice, she’s a player to watch no matter the circ*mstance.

This is a generational talent who has been in the conversation for the best player in the world throughout her career, and that still holds true at age 31, going into her ninth Worlds tournament. Already, she’s cemented herself as one of the greatest players of all time.

The question isn’t whether Poulin will be a force for Team Canada — it’s how she’ll top her last outing. That was the Olympic Games, where she scored six goals and 11 assists in 17 games, which tied for second all-time in points (17) at a single Olympics. She scored two goals in the gold medal game; her second goal clinched another gold medal for Canada — Poulin’s third golden goal in four Olympic final appearances.

Early in the tournament, though, there was concern in some circles about Poulin’s lack of goal scoring and reliance on setting up her linemates. Going into the gold medal game, Poulin led the way with 24 slot passes, which was the highest rate of the Games.

Generally, Poulin’s shot — the volume, efficiency and overall danger of it — highlights her game. But that is what makes Poulin such a dangerous player. She is versatile and a true dual-threat. Poulin has so many ways she can beat her opponents, whether she’s taking the shot or making the play.

Of course, when it mattered the most, that signature shot was on display in the gold medal game. Poulin rose to the occasion and leaned on her best assets: her tenacity, shot and clutch play.

So, what is there to watch for at Worlds? Any and everything Poulin has to show.

She’s the greatest player to be on the ice this tournament, so viewers (and opposing defenders) shouldn’t take their eyes off her. Everyone wants to stop her, but as her career totals and accomplishments show, few can.

Hilary Knight, F, USA

Knight was 17 — and the youngest player on the U.S. roster — when she made her IIHF Women’s World Championship debut in 2007.

She scored zero points in five games in a limited role. She wasn’t yet the player she’d become, but it was the start of an international career destined for Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinement.

Fifteen years later, Knight is 33 and set to make her 12th women’s world championship appearance, the most in USA Hockey history. It is just another record that has fallen in recent years due to Knight’s dominance.

At the 2022 Olympics, Knight led Team USA in scoring and finished seventh overall. She set an American record for games played at the Olympics (22), took over second place for most career goals by an American woman at the Olympics (12) and crept five points back of the most points all-time by an American at the Olympics, with 27 to her name. At the 2021 world championship, Knight scored four goals and six assists. That brought her up to a career-high 47 goals and 80 points at Worlds and broke Cammi Granato’s scoring record at the tournament.

“Hilary wouldn’t say it herself, but when you think of the best player to ever come through this program, Cammi Granato is oftentimes at the top of the list,” Kendall Coyne Schofield told The Athletic. “But day after day, I think Hilary is putting herself in that same conversation.”

Knight is still among the best players in the world, and one of the top goal scorers. She creates quality offense at a high rate, has an elite finish to her game and the versatility to beat you from distance with a shot or overpower you down low. And she always kicks her game up a notch when it matters most.

“Hilary is arguably the greatest player to ever play this game and definitely one of the greatest to ever represent Team USA,” Coyne Schofield said. “I don’t know how many more records she’s going to continue to break or what’s left for her to break. … But it’s really special that she’s still around. There’s a reason she’s still around, and it’s because of how she takes care of herself every single day that she can still do what she does at her age.”

Sarah Nurse, F, Canada

Nurse had a tremendous Olympics. She was injured during the pre-tournament centralization process and hadn’t played in a ton of games before getting to Beijing. Still, Canada knew what they had in her — a versatile, skilled forward with an excellent shot — and she made the team, starting the tournament on the fourth line. She had a hot stick early and moved up to play on the top line with Poulin and Brianne Jenner.

Nurse scored 18 points in six games to set an Olympic record for points in a single tournament — a record once held by Hayley Wickenheiser, widely viewed as the best player of all time.

Can she recreate that record-breaking performance at the World Championships? That question — and her skillset — makes her one to watch.

During pre-tournament games, Nurse has been back on the top line with Jenner and Poulin, so she won’t need to work her way up from the fourth line this time around. But she will need to try to stay there. We know Canada coach Troy Ryan isn’t shy about mixing and matching the lines if things aren’t clicking, and getting Poulin going is always critical for Canada’s success. Nurse, however, has shown she can play well in that role and should be able to do so again in Denmark.

She’s an all-situations forward, with the ability to play on the wing or up the middle. She is defensively responsible and can be a force on the penalty kill (a.k.a. the power kill), but also has the strength to muscle her way to the net and the hands to score from distance or in tight. She’s a dual threat, a record holder and someone to keep an eye on once the tournament begins.

Sarah Fillier, F, Canada

No one could match Canada’s rate of Sarahs-per-60 thriving at the Olympics, thanks to the outstanding play of Nurse and Fillier.

Fillier had a career-defining performance for Team Canada at her first Olympic Games. Already, expectations were high for the center after her debut with the senior team on the international stage at Worlds in 2021. She was the youngest member of Team Canada, at 21 years old, and impressed with three goals and six points.

But she took her game to another level at the Olympics. Fillier arrived in Beijing as the ‘future of Team Canada’ and proved that she’s already an essential part of the present as well.

The center was a force at both even strength and on the power play. Fillier could be counted on to generate a high volume of shots each game. Her speedy skating and vision helped her drive play to the slot and create offense in transition and separation between herself and opponents. Her finesse in close made her such a threat to opposing goaltenders off the cycle, as well.

Sarah Fillier opens the scoring and puts Canada on the board!🚨 #WomensWorlds pic.twitter.com/cfBchxBpsD

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 22, 2021

But the breakout star’s offense wasn’t limited to her shooting; she could move the puck to the danger areas as well to set up teammates after drawing defenders to herself. Between her goal scoring and playmaking, Fillier ended her first Olympic experience with an impressive eight goals and three helpers in seven games.

The challenge for her is matching or exceeding what she last did on the global stage. However, there is a hurdle this time around: managing without her mainstay linemates from her first Worlds and much of the Olympics because neither Natalie Spooner nor Melodie Daoust is on the roster. So while there really isn’t any doubt that Fillier can drive a line and dominate, it still won’t be easy without that familiarity, especially now that the rest of the hockey world knows how dangerous she is on the ice.

Alina Müller, F, Switzerland

We are big Alina Müller fans here at The Athletic. Every international tournament is an opportunity for her star to continue to rise.

At 15, she became the youngest player to ever win an Olympic medal (bronze) at the 2014 Sochi Games. In 2018, in Pyeongchang, she scored the second-fastest hat trick in Olympics history, was the tournament’s points leader and was named the best forward. Then, in Beijing, she scored 10 points to lead Switzerland to a fourth-place finish and was named the Swiss Ice Hockey Woman of the year.

Müller is a very talented center with the ability to routinely make elite plays in the offensive zone, but she doesn’t cheat the game on the defensive side of the puck, either. She is quick, has great hands, wins puck battles, makes plays for her teammates and is dangerous on the counter-attack. In short, she has a near-complete toolkit. And she’s still only 24.

Alina Mueller just doing Alina Mueller things pic.twitter.com/ZjXWRDRMTt

— The Ice Garden (@TheIceGarden) March 20, 2021

What makes Müller even more intriguing at this tournament is that she is looking for a big comeback after a devastating ankle injury in Calgary ended her 2021 World Championship. Switzerland had a disastrous group stage, scoring only one goal in four losses before moving on to the quarterfinals. Without their star player, Switzerland had an emotional comeback win against ROC and made its way to the bronze medal game against Finland, losing 3-0. The fourth-place finish is tied for Switzerland’s second-best result in IIHF history (2008).

What might Switzerland accomplish this year with Müller back and healthy?

It’s an exciting question because Müller already showed she’s bounced back from her injury at the Olympics. Switzerland keeps getting better and will look to push Finland for that third-place spot. If Switzerland can get on the podium in Denmark — for the first time in a decade, we should add — you can bet Müller will be a big part of it.

Abby Roque, F, USA

Many have pegged Roque, the first Indigenous player to make Team USA, as the game’s next breakout star. But things haven’t gone quite that smooth.

She did not find the scoresheet at the 2021 Worlds and played a pretty minimal role. In October, she tore several ligaments in her right ankle in an exhibition against Canada, an injury that required surgery and an eight-week recovery. During her first practice back with Team USA, she broke a finger on her left hand. Then, the team was shut down due to a COVID outbreak during a pre-Olympic series against Canada.

Roque told The Athletic she did not play a real game from that October exhibition until Game 1 of the Olympic tournament. Now, she is fully healthy, with a full summer of training under her belt; this might just be the time for the Abby Roque breakout.

Coyne Schofield says Roque looked “amazing” at camp.

“You can tell the work she put in this summer is paying off,” she said. “Now that she’s fully healthy, she looks really good. I think Abby is one of the smartest hockey players you’ll ever meet.”

One of the trademarks of Roque’s game is her IQ. She has elite vision and hands, particularly in tight. She can make plays not many players can pull off, but isn’t just a playmaker; Roque can score, and she doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game.

“She is able to read the game so well that when she has the puck she’s making the right play,” Coyne Schofield said. “She’s just such a smart hockey player. She does all the right things with the puck and, obviously, she can put it in the back of the net.”

Roque seems to have the trust in new USA head coach John Wroblewski, which should help put her in a position to succeed at this tournament, only her third with the senior women’s national team.

“I learned how smart she is,” Wroblewski said about his first training camp with Roque. “She looks smart on video, but I think that when you get to appreciate it live, then you’re really like OK, this is somebody you can play every shift with some of your top scorers and make them better.”

If Roque can consistently play a top-line or top-six role with other skilled U.S. linemates, she could very well become a key contributor.

Petra Nieminen, F, Finland

USA and Canada may always be the teams to watch at Women’s Worlds, but don’t count out Team Finland. This team boasts Jenni Hiirikoski, an elite defender for nearly two decades, veteran Michelle Karvinen up front, and a young core led by Nieminen.

Nieminen’s last two international tournaments show just how talented she is. If we backtrack to 2021 Worlds, Nieminen led Finland in scoring and earned a 1.214 Game Score per Alyssa Longmuir’s model, which ranked sixth among all skaters. Fast forward to the Olympics, where she continued to perform well in high-leverage situations.

Finland got off to a shaky start, but some of their star power fueled them to the medal podium. In the quarterfinal, Nieminen helped power her squad over Japan with a hat trick and two assists. That five-point performance put the team in contention for a medal. On her way to her second bronze medal at the Games, she tallied eight points in seven games.

Nieminen also thrived in the SDHL with Luleå this past year as well, leading her team in regular-season and playoff scoring — first with 55 points in 34 games, before notching another 11 in 12 postseason tilts.

What makes Nieminen such a dynamic player is how she sees the game and maintains possession of the puck. She can weave through defenders and protect the puck while under pressure, and often finish those efforts with a shot. She averaged almost six shots on goal per game in Sweden this past season and has the natural finishing ability to make the most of those opportunities.

The 23-year-old continues to develop into a difference-maker for Finland, and this could be the tournament where she breaks through as the game-breaker.

Caroline Harvey, D, USA

Harvey has yet to play a single game in the NCAA — she is committed to the University of Wisconsin and deferred her freshman season for the Olympics — but has already been named to an Olympic roster and two world championship teams. At 19, despite her 13 games at the senior international level, she is still the youngest player on the U.S. women’s national team.

Naturally, there’s a ton of untapped potential with Harvey. One source told The Athletic that Harvey could be one of the best defenders in the world by the 2026 Olympics.

Harvey is a small (5 feet 8 inches), quick and offensively gifted defender. She scored one goal and three points in her debut at the 2021 Worlds but was held off the scoresheet at the Olympics and spent most of that tournament on the bench.

“Last year I was a lot more nervous so I shied away from my offensive tendencies,” Harvey said in an interview with The Athletic. “A lot of these girls were my idols growing up, so (last year) was nerve-wracking at times and scary, but now I definitely feel like I’m their teammate and more comfortable in this spot.”

A more confident Harvey was a real eye-opener for Wroblewski at the Team USA training camp.

“She’s just so confident; to close (the gap), to rush the puck, to own the offensive blue line,” he said. “She surpassed (my expectations) both on and off the ice.”

Harvey says Wroblewski’s belief in her has helped her feel more comfortable and confident in her second year with the senior team.

“He believes in his young players,” she said. “When I feel like a coach believes in me, it brings out the best in my game.”

There is a reason Harvey has been already on the team for three major tournaments. She is highly skilled and one of the best at her position, with offensive instincts that make her someone to watch on the U.S. blue line. The hope is that, now, she feels confident enough in her ability to use them.

Akane Shiga, F, Japan

Team Japan pushed to be a part of Group A, and Akane Shiga’s stellar play has been a key part of it.

Some may have learned her name last year. Shiga scored the first-ever Japanese goal against Team USA at Women’s Worlds, set up by Haruka Toko. Later in the first period, Suzuka Taka threaded a pass to set her up for a one-timer that earned Japan its second goal of the game. While Team USA was clearly the stronger team — already up by four goals at the time of Shiga’s second tally — it was a moment for Japanese hockey.

The 2021 Worlds saw Shiga play her best hockey at the international level, scoringfour goals in seven games. Then in her Olympic debut, she tallied another two goals plus an assist in Japan’s five appearances at the Games.

AKANE SHIGA. MAGIC. WHAT A GOAL. pic.twitter.com/RwGjLgzHaV

— Mike Murphy (@DigDeepBSB) August 30, 2021

When her country’s time at the Games ended, Shiga was among the most frequent shooters of the tournament with 32 shots, 12 of which were taken from the slot. And she ranked highly in chances generated off sustained offensive pressure and cycle plays. Thanks to the quality of the shots she generated, Shiga — similarly to 2021 Worlds — ranked highly in expected goal creation as well.

Shiga’s firepower makes her a player to watch, as Japan looks to shake up this tournament and make a stronger name for itself among women’s hockey teams around the world. This is a great opportunity for this team to measure itself up against the likes of Finland and Switzerland. But in order to stack up, Japan is going to need the forward’s contributions, as the need for even-strength offense is as important as ever. Without Nana Fujimoto between the pipes, Japan can’t just rely on structure and power-play contributions. That’s where Shiga comes in — a young star, at just 21, for this team to build around.

Katerina Mrazova, F, Czechia

Czechia has yet to really make an impact at Women’s Worlds, although it did end the 2021 tournament with a very close game against Finland in the quarterfinal. The team made its Olympic debut a few months later and showed promise as a disruptor in the field. Throughout the Games, Czechia’s effort was clear — highlighted by strong defense and shot-blocking.

If this team can find offense to match its efforts back in its own zone, there’s potential for Czechia. Someone who will play an important role in that offensive generation is Mrazova, who is set to play in her fifth World Championship.

Mrazova has quite a bit of experience under her belt. Aside from playing for her home country, she skated in the CWHL with the Boston Blades, NCAA with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, the NWHL’s Connecticut Whale, and Brynäs IF of the SDHL. Ahead of her return to the Whale, now with the PHF, she’s lacing up her skates as one of the best players on Team Czechia.

This past season, the skillful puck distributor finished second in scoring on Brynäs with 54 points in 23 games, trailing only Lara Stalder’s 89 points (and yes, you should watch her on Switzerland at Worlds, too).

Mrazova is a skater with highlight-reel potential, who can be sensational when she has time and space to do some damage in the offensive zone. On a team that lacks a lot of high-end offense, her ability to create is a key to Czechia having success and producing at even strength.

That’s why she shined on a struggling Whale team back in 2018-19 — she was a source of offense who concentrated most of her shots between the circles in the scoring areas. While Connecticut generally was kept to the perimeter by its opponents, Mrazova made her way to the middle of the ice.

— Data via EliteProspects, TheirHockeyCounts, Alyssa Longmuir and Sportlogiq

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(Top photo of Hilary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin: Harry How / Getty Images)