With the PWHL on hiatus, fans’ eyes will collectively turn towards the 2025 Women’s World Championships. While numerous familiar names will head to České Budějovice, Czechia to compete, there are four times as many playing out of other leagues across the globe.

Here’s one player per team to keep an eye on.

Canada – Ève Gascon

Canada has consistently shown preference towards veterans in their roster construction as of late, and this year’s Worlds are no different. However, injuries to goaltenders Emerance Maschmeyer and Ann-Renée Desbiens paved the way for the 21-year-old Gascon to earn a roster spot that she arguably deserved even before those two went down.

Despite a 15–14–1 record with Minnesota-Duluth, the sophomore posted a .942 save percentage en route to being named a First Team All-American ahead of standouts like Annelies Bergmann and Ava McNaughton—the latter of whom was named to the United States’ roster.

Gascon held the Bulldogs in numerous games they didn’t exactly deserve to be in, as evidenced by her .929 mark in losses and an average of 1.5 goals of support from her team in those games.

With Desbiens’ status uncertain despite being named to the team and Kristen Campbell’s inconsistency costing her a place on the Rivalry Series roster earlier this year, Gascon deserves a chance to take Canada’s crease and run with it. All that remains to be seen is if coach Troy Ryan gives her that chance.

Czechia – Kristýna Kaltounková

“Kalty” Kaltounková makes her Worlds debut after firmly entrenching herself among the best to ever come through Colgate University’s program. In her fifth year with the Raiders she set the school standard for scoring with 111 career goals, and sits behind only last year’s golden goal scorer Danielle Serdachny in points.

Kaltounková’s a rare case of offensive firepower being closely rivalled by defensive prowess, notably demonstrated by her briefly moving back to the blueline in the ECAC Tournament after a Colgate defender got tossed from a game.

Penalties are a concern, though, as her sky-high point totals still managed to be eclipsed by her PIMs in two of her five seasons. That said, if you’re being mentioned in the same breath as Marie-Philip Poulin, you’re doing something right. Kaltounková could very well go first overall in the upcoming PWHL draft and it shouldn’t be a surprise if she does—especially with her former coach Greg Fargo at the helm of the team most likely to select there.

Finland – Elisa Holopainen

Holopainen’s first year in the SDHL, Sweden’s top division, was a resounding success. She tied for the league lead in points with national teammate Petra Nieminen while also sitting one back of her goal total, finishing the year with 24 tallies and 45 total points in 36 games.

With Frölunda on the ropes against Brynäs in the playoff semis Holopainen recorded four points in the final two games of the series, erasing a series deficit and giving her team the opportunity to upset Nieminen’s Luleå in the final. Heading into Worlds riding the high of being named SDHL MVP in addition to Frölunda’s first title, Holopainen will be a key cog in Finland’s offence.

Germany – Lilli Welcke/Luisa Welcke

Okay, yeah, this goes against the premise of one player per team, but I couldn’t just talk about one Welcke twin without the other. They’ve been inseparable, both physically and statistically.

They began their NCAA stint in Maine and transferred together to Boston University, where they helped the Terriers to a Hockey East title in their junior year. They’re just one point apart in scoring not only for their careers, but in each of the three seasons within those totals as well (21, 11, and 17 points for Lilli; 22, 12, and 16 points for Luisa). Of Luisa’s 50 points and Lilli’s 49, 25 of them have come on the same scoring play as her sister.

The twins co-led their team in points during Olympic qualifying while accounting for both goals in the game that clinched their spot, and will look to carry that momentum into the World Championship. Rest assured, you’ll be hearing the name “Welcke” a lot for Germany.

Hungary – Madie Leidt

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Leidt was an NCAA D3 standout for Middlebury, hovering around the point-per-game mark in each of her four seasons. She then moved over to HK Budapest in 2022–23 where she’s been an absolute force, leading the EWHL in points last season and doing the same in the DFEL after her club moved over to Germany’s top league.

After two seasons abroad, Leidt was able to swap her IIHF eligibility and made her international debut with Hungary this year, chipping in an assist over three games as her team failed to qualify for the 2026 Olympics in absolutely heartbreaking fashion.

Leidt will be looked to for an offensive spark as both she and the team look to bounce back in their return to the top division of Worlds.

Japan – Yumeka Wajima

Do these criteria disqualify Akane Shiga from consideration? I’ll be honest, I hardly even thought about it, since I was set on Wajima all the way. She showed flashes of brilliance with Japan’s U18 squad but hadn’t yet done the same for the senior team—until this year.

Wajima absolutely broke out at the Olympic qualifiers with five goals in three games, more than anyone not named Nela Lopušanová, whose damage was done entirely in the previous round against a weaker group. Listed at just 5’1″ and 106 lbs, Wajima certainly doesn’t play like it, possessing a bullet of a shot and the kind of tenacity that could very well shock a contender if they aren’t ready for it.

Norway – Ena Nystrøm

With Norway being promoted to the top division of the World Championships for the first time since 1997, it’s reasonable to believe that they’re set to get shelled at the next level. What should provide them a bit of comfort if they do is that their netminder is very, very used to it.

Nystrøm’s freshman year in the NCAA was with the infamously winless 2019–20 RPI Engineers where she maintained a .915 save percentage despite a 3.56 goals against average, a ridiculous statline only made possible through facing nearly forty shots a night.

She settled into a more reasonable workload after a transfer to Mercyhurst and just concluded her first season in the SDHL, leading Brynäs to the semifinals where they lost to the eventual champion Frölunda.

Nystrøm is certainly capable of keeping her country afloat, but she’ll need some support from the team in front of her, especially scorers Andrea Dalen and Millie Rose Sirum.

Sweden – Mira Jungåker

With a U18 Worlds Top Defender nod and five seasons with the SDHL’s HV71 under her belt at just the age of 19, Jungåker’s move to North America was highly anticipated. That anticipation only grew as she suffered an ankle injury in her debut with the Ohio State Buckeyes, sidelining her for three months.

It took a few games to get her legs back under her, but when she did, she made it worth the wait. Jungåker racked up 14 points in her final 12 games of the season, highlighted by a four-point playoff performance against St. Thomas and an assist on the game-winning goal in the Frozen Four semifinals.

She’s a smooth skater with great vision in the offensive zone and a willingness to take the puck down low herself, and will be relied on by Sweden more heavily than anticipated in the absence of Maja Nylén Persson.

Switzerland – Lara Stalder

If you haven’t already, go take a quick glance at Stalder’s EliteProspects page, and then pick your adjective. Switzerland’s captain puts up points wherever she goes, and she puts up a lot of them.

Stalder sits 12th on Minnesota-Duluth’s career points leaderboard even while playing defence in her freshman year. She then spent six seasons in the SDHL between Linköping and Brynäs, scoring at or around two points a game in each, before returning home to Switzerland to help the women’s game along there.

She put up absolute videogame numbers with EVZ en route to promotion, and then did it again to lead them to the finals in the SWHL’s top division this season. Stalder and Boston Fleet forward Alina Müller are undoubtedly the powerhouses of the Swiss offence, and with their tough draw in Group A, they’ll have to be at the top of their game.

USA – Kirsten Simms

There are a number of talented players on the States’ roster who could have been given the spotlight, but after how the Frozen Four final shook out, there really was only one choice. In fact, she’d probably raise her hand to volunteer for it.

Simms belongs on the big stage. She scored the only goal of the 2023 NCAA final as a freshman and followed it up by being named a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award in her sophomore year, more than doubling her point production in fewer games played.

Her numbers slightly slipped in year three on a historically talented Wisconsin team, but it was her who stepped up when the Badgers needed it most. Simms recorded primary points on each goal as part of a comeback from 3–1 down, highlighted by a game-tying penalty shot with 18 seconds left in regulation, and the game-winner for good measure.

Demonstrating her vision, her shot, and especially her hands, she’s a well-rounded offensive weapon, and consistently plays a significant role on a US team littered with established PWHLers. Should her country need an overtime hero, Simms is as good of a bet as anyone.

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Photos from NCAA/ESPN/IIHF