Women's World Championship: 10 players to watch at the 2019 tournament

Mike Murphy

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Women's World Championship: 10 players to watch at the 2019 tournament image

The usual suspects will be present at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship — such as Canada, the United States, Russia and Sweden — but for the first time in its 29-year history, the tournament has been expanded to 10 teams.

Along with host nation Finland, home to the Naisleijonat who captured bronze at the 2018 Olympics and 2017 Worlds, will be Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic and recently promoted Japan and France. The addition of two more teams means more eyes will be watching coupled with more players and stars competing on the World stage than ever before.

Here are 10 players to keep tabs on at this year’s IIHF Women's World Championship when the action begins on Thursday, April 4.

Alina Müller, Switzerland

Müller, 21, was the best forward at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She tied an Olympic record with her four-goal game against the host Korean team and finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists in six games. It was, without a doubt, a superstar performance.

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The Lengnau, Switzerland native, then took her talents to the NCAA. This past season she led the Northeastern Huskies in scoring, and finished third in the nation, with 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 37 games. Müller had more primary points this year (41) than the Huskies’ second-highest scoring skater. Her tenacity and ability to carry an offense was further evident by the 16 points she scored while the Huskies were trailing, which led the nation.

She will need to continue her strong play for the Swiss who are missing some big names in this tournament. Forward Lara Stalder is out with a significant injury and Christine Meier and Florence Schelling — two icons of Swiss hockey — retired after the 2018 Olympics. All eyes will be on Müller and she knows it. She played nearly 24 minutes a game in Pyeongchang and there’s a good chance that number will go up in Finland.

Noora Räty, Finland

Räty’s numbers took a step down in her second CWHL season but a lot of that had to do with the play of the team in front of her as the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays failed to make the playoffs. The Espoo, Finland native — which is the city where the WWC will be held — had a .919 save percentage in 20 starts for KRS while facing an average of 31.6 shots against per 60 minutes. In other words, there’s no doubt that she’s still one of the best goalies on the planet. 

The 29-year-old goaltender will look to build on last year's performance at the Olympics where she had an impressive .911 save percentage, including a 39-save performance in a 3-1 loss to Team USA on Feb. 11. At the 2017 Worlds, Räty earned honors as the Best Goaltender of the tournament and finished with a .924 save percentage in six starts. She has backstopped Finland to four bronze medal finishes at the Women's World Championship over the course of her decorated international career.

No shock, Räty always delivers in big tournaments so we should expect big things from her and Finland with the hometown crowd on their side.

Jenni Hiirikoski, Finland

Named the best defender of the 2014 and 2018 Olympics, Hiirikoski has also been bestowed the Best Defenceman award of every Women’s World Championship from 2012 through 2017. She is hands-down the best defender on the planet with a Hall of Fame-worthy career to boot. If she played for Hockey Canada or USA Hockey, her name would be as big in North America as Hilary Knight or Marie-Philip Poulin.

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Despite turning 32 just before the tournament gets underway, Finland's captain is showing no signs of slowing down as her squad is still hunting for a silver medal — or better — at Worlds. Widely praised for her strength and conditioning, Finland’s general on the ice led the team in ice time in Pyeongchang, averaging 28:49, and we should expect more of the same this year. 

She led the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) in shots on goal (273) and finished second in the scoring race by just a single point this season. Her 19 goals and 44 assists in 34 games, coupled with 14 points in the postseason, helped Luleå Hockey/MSSK win SDHL gold. 

Maddie Rooney, USA

Rooney’s performance in South Korea instantly made her a household name in the hockey world — and for good reason. As a 20-year-old goalie, the Duluth, MN native, stopped 29 of the 31 shots she faced in the gold medal game against Canada before stoning four of Canada’s six shooters in the shootout. It was the performance of a lifetime from a player whose hockey career was just getting started.

At the beginning of this season, Rooney backstopped USA Hockey to the Four Nations Cup but she wasn't able to participate in the 2019 Rivalry Series due to college responsibilities. She just wrapped up her senior season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, posting a .919 save percentage and faced more shots (1076) and made more saves (989) than any other goaltender in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

With veteran Alex Rigsby and fellow rising star Emma Polusny rounding out Hockey USA’s goaltending trio, it will be interesting to see how much action Rooney sees — and goaltender stands between the pipes when USA and Canada cross sticks in Finland. 

Hilary Knight, USA

The Illinois native is probably the biggest name in women’s hockey and her impact on the game was recently highlighted by the NHLPA's player poll naming her the top female player in the World.

After a relatively quiet regular season with Les Canadiennes de Montréal, Knight exploded in the Clarkson Cup Playoffs. With Poulin out of Montréal’s lineup, the Wisconsin University alum stepped up with four goals and four assists in four games to lead the CWHL in playoff scoring. A potent winger, she helped carry her shorthanded team to the Clarkson Cup Final where they lost to the Calgary Inferno 5-2.

Coming off of a standout performance (three goals, three assists) at the 2018 Four Nations Cup in November, Knight always seems to break out and make an impact in big games — especially against Canada, who the American's face on April 6.

Mélodie Daoust, Canada

Daoust is one of those players that, for whatever reason, doesn’t seem to get enough recognition for how good she truly is. Perhaps the reason is she honed her skills in Canada’s USports at McGill University, instead of playing her college puck south of the border. Thankfully, the hockey world started paying more attention to Daoust after the show-stopping move she pulled in the shootout of the gold medal game against USA Hockey.

The Quebec native led Canada in scoring at Pyeongchang with three goals and four assists (three of which were primary) in six games even though she finished fourth among Canada’s forwards in average ice time (18:21 TOI/GP). She then followed that performance by leading Canada with three goals at the 2018 Four Nations Cup.

Unfortunately, Daoust was unable to participate in the Rivalry Series and missed a significant portion of the 2018-19 CWHL season due to an injury; however, It is worth noting that she still scored 25 points in 18 games this year for Les Canadiennes, including five points in four Clarkson Cup playoff games. With Poulin's status still up in the air for the tournament, the 27-year-old will be a player to watch for Canada.

Shannon Szabados, Canada

There aren’t many goaltenders who have more individual accolades than Finland’s Räty — but Shannon Szabados is one of them.

Widely considered the best goaltender in the women’s game, this season was her first playing professional women’s hockey and she definitely didn’t disappoint in the NWHL. Szabados earned honors as the league’s Goaltender of the Year and finished the season with an elite .935 save percentage and 1.49 GAA for the Buffalo Beauts. While she didn’t start in the Beauts’ Isobel Cup Final loss to the Minnesota Whitecaps on March 17 due to a minor injury, it sounds like she’s already back to being 100 percent.

Last year, Szabados posted a remarkable .949 save percentage in three starts in Pyeongchang and was named the Best Goaltender for the 2018 Winter Olympics for the second time in her career. Long after she hangs her gear up she will be the goaltender that other goaltenders in her sport are measured against, but at 33, she’s not done collecting medals and accolades just yet.

Emma Nordin, Sweden

The last time Sweden won bronze at the WWC was 2007 and it hasn’t finished higher than fourth since 2009; however, they still have some of the best players in the world. A prime example is Nordin who has established herself as one of the game’s elite forwards. 

At 28 and in the prime of her career, she just won her fourth SDHL title with Luleå HF/MSSK, Sweden’s top pro club. After a 59-point regular season in 36 games, in which she also averaged over four shots per game, she blew up in the playoffs with 11 goals and six assists in just 11 games. It was a statement season for the center after she scored only four points (two goals, two primary assists) during Sweden’s disappointing seventh-place finish in Pyeongchang.

If Damkronorna wants a better result at this year’s Worlds, new head coach Ylva Martinsen needs to give Nordin more ice time than the 16:45 TOI/GP she had at the 2018 Winter Olympics. When Nordin is on the ice, Sweden is at its most dangerous — especially on the power play.

Anna Shokhina, Russia

If you want to see the most dynamic young Russian player in the game, you’ll have to wait until April 8. Shokhina is suspended from the first two games of the 2019 Women’s World Championship as a result of a kicking infraction that occurred after the Olympic Athletes from Russia were defeated by Finland in the bronze medal game of the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

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However, when she is dressed, Russia is at its most dangerous when Shokhina has the puck on her stick on the rush or on the power play. She led her nation with three goals in Pyeongchang after piling up five points in six games as a teenager at the Sochi Olympics. In her professional career, Shokhina has led the Russian Women's Hockey League (ZhHL) in scoring for the past three seasons.

At only 21-years-old, we can safely say that we haven’t seen the best of her and much of Russia’s hopes for a fourth World Championship medal are tied to the young forward and her expected potential. 

Nana Fujimoto, Japan

Fujimoto is Japan’s brightest star and most popular player. At 5-foot-4, she’s small by goaltending standards but that has never stopped her from giving “Smile Japan” a fighting chance. Fujimoto’s athleticism and lightning-quick reflexes make her one of the most entertaining, and effective goaltenders, in the women’s game.

A former NWHL star with the then-New York Riveters, Fujimoto dazzled in her four starts in Pyeongchang. She posted an impressive .920 save percentage, allowed just four goals at even strength and had a 1.78 GAA — second-best among Group B’s starters behind only Switzerland's Florence Schelling. 

Everything rests squarely on the shoulders of the 30-year-old netminder from Sapporo. Japan will need its veteran goalie to shine in the group stage if they want to make it to the quarterfinals.

Note: Data courtesy of hockeyeastonline.com, sdhl.se, Giants in the Crease, whl.khl.ru, NWHL.zone, theCWHL.com and the author’s own tracking.

Mike Murphy