One of the United States’ best shots at gold entering the 2026 Winter Olympics was the star-studded women’s hockey team. Team USA entered the Milan-Cortina Games as a favorite to win gold, followed by rival Canada.

As we kick off the second and final week of the 2026 Olympics, Team USA is just one win away from playing in the gold medal game. On Monday, February 16, Team USA takes on a strong Sweden team in the semifinal at the Unipol Dome, also known as Arena Milano in Milan.

The winner will advance to the gold medal game on Thursday, February 19, where they will face the winner of the second semifinal between Canada and Switzerland.

MORE: Who will Team USA men’s hockey play in Olympic quarterfinals?

The captain for Team USA at the 2026 Games is the legendary Hilary Knight, a four-time Olympic medalist, with a 2018 gold and silver medals in 2010, 2014, and 2022. Before being introduced to the world stage, Knight was a two-time national champion at the University of Wisconsin.

Serving as the alternate captains for Team USA are defender Megan Keller and forward Alex Carpenter.

Who else is representing the United States at the Milan-Cortina Games?

A full look at the Team USA women’s hockey Olympic roster can be seen below.

MORE: Team USA Men’s hockey schedule, full list of 2026 Winter Olympic games

2026 Team USA women’s hockey Olympic roster

Goaltenders

• Ava McNaughton
• Aerin Frankel
• Gwyneth Phillips

Defenders

• Lee Stecklein
• Cayla Barnes Harvey
• Megan Keller (alternate)
• Rory Guilday
• Haley Winn
• Laila Edwards

Forwards

• Kirsten Simms
• Kelly Pannek
• Grace Zumwinkle
• Hayley Scamurra
• Britta Curl-Salemme
• Hilary Knight (captain)
• Tessa Janecke
• Hannah Bilka
• Joy Dunne
• Alex Carpenter (alternate)
• Kendall Coyne Schofield
• Taylor Heise
• Abbey Murphy

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Laura Fortino, 35, is now a three-time Olympian. She won gold gold in 2014, and silver in 2018, when she was also named an Olympic tournament All-Star while representing Canada.

Fortino, by all accounts, could be midway through her third season in the PWHL playing in the top four for any team in the league. But she's not. Fortino spent four seasons in the PWHPA leading up to the PWHL's founding, including finishing second in defensive scoring in the circuit's final season as a member of Team Harvey's. Her totals topped players like Megan Keller, Renta Fast, Erin Ambrose, and Ella Shelton. She also finished with more points than players like Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter.

Instead of entering the PWHL, Fortino embarked on a different journey - one leading back to the Olympics, but this time as a member of Team Italy.

To gain her eligibility, Fortino had to play in Italy. She played a handful of games in 2023-24 with EV Bozen, then jumped to Neumarkt/Egna in 2024-25, and this season played a pair of games with Real Torino.

While Fortino only dressed in 12 games over three seasons, she was on the ice and in the gym regularly, including as the first woman ever to serve as an assistant coach in the OHL, where she coaches for the Brantford Bulldogs. 

Without the PWHL, without a full time team or league to play in, Fortino prepared herself as any professional would, and her impact at the 2026 Games was evident. Fortino led all players in the women's hockey tournament in time on ice averaging 27:55 per night. Accustomed to the long standing rivalry, albeit as a member of Team Canada, with the United States, Fortino capped off her Olympic journey playing 29:55 against Team USA in an incredibly competitive 6-0 quarterfinal loss.

Fortino was an anchor on Italy's blueline. Still, three years into the PWHL existence, and with only a dozen games in a league that would fall outside the top ten most competitive in globally in that span, Fortino could still step into a PWHL roster next season and contribute.

That however, is unlikely. What's more likely, is that the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, and Italy's historic performance that saw the nation's first Olympic women's hockey wins, and first quarterfinal berth, will be Fortino's final games, or close to them. It's believed Fortino, who was married in September, plans to continue coaching, and potentially start a family. It's possible that Fortino could represent Italy at the Division 1A World Championships in April to help them look for promotion to the top group. Even if she does, Fortino's playing career is now in its final chapter. With the coaching resume she's already amassed, it could however, be in the cards for Fortino to join the PWHL in another role in the future. 

The three-time First Team All-American, and former CWHL Defender of the Year has done it all, for two nations. She was, and is, considered among the best in the world. 

If the 2026 Olympics were the hockey world's final opportunity to watch Laura Fortino play, at least on a large stage, it was a fitting end. Fortino starred, as she always has; was a visible leader, as she's always been; and left a national program in better standing than it was when she arrived, just has she's done before.

Jenn Gardiner’s Olympic debut has captured people's attention, but not for the reason other players would, and probably not what she had in mind.

Through four preliminary-round games, Gardiner is averaging 8:46 per game for Canada. Her time on ice by opponent: vs. Switzerland 9:18, vs. Czechia 9:27, vs. USA 6:18, vs. Finland 10:01 – an average of 8:46 per game.

The pattern is clear: she is the lowest-used forward in Canada’s lineup.

Against the United States — Canada’s toughest preliminary game — Gardiner ranked 12th out of 12 Canadian forwards in ice time.

This has fans outraged (and taking to social media) to question coach Troy Ryan's thinking. We haven't seen Gardiner on a line with her former Montreal Victoire linemates Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey at all, in the Rivalry Series, or at the Olympics. (Of course, Poulin was injured against Czechia but is back for the elimination round).

Meanwhile, Team Canada has continued its lackluster play overall, especially in a listless performance against the United States (a 5-0 loss). Wouldn't Gardiner's speed and smarts be an asset in games where younger players are having a larger impact overall?

2025 World Championship

At the 2025 WWC, Gardiner averaged 13:10 per game over five games:

• 11:04
• 14:15
• 12:36
• 11:57
• 16:00 (Gold Medal Game)

At the 2025 World Championship, Gardiner’s usage reflected a significantly larger role. Across five tracked games, she logged 11:04, 14:15, 12:36 and 11:57 in preliminary and semifinal play before skating 16:00 in the gold medal game. That 16-minute mark in a championship setting is particularly notable, signaling the coaches' trust in the unit with Poulin and Stacey, the same combination she had in Montréal last season. Gardiner was second in scoring behind only Poulin at the World Championship (6 goals, 4 assists).

The PWHL Context

Her time on ice in Montreal was also approximately 17:31 per game, and on the top line, she recorded five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 30 games.

In Vancouver this season, Gardiner is averaging 17:46 per game over 16 appearances, with three goals and five assists for eight points. Those are steady middle-six minutes and she is used on both special teams. That 17–18 minute range is nearly double her Olympic average. But notably, she is also -5 on a (so far) struggling team.

Quarterfinal lines. 🇨🇦

Notre formation pour ce quart de finale. 🇨🇦#MilanoCortina2026pic.twitter.com/J43ZzIWvXC

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) February 14, 2026

At the Olympics, Gardiner started on the fourth line with Kristin O’Neill and Brianne Jenner. In the second game, Julia Gosling replaced Jenner, and the line had instant chemistry. They have had puck possession and the ability to enter the zone with speed, contributing one even-strength goal in limited fourth-line minutes. (It's important to note that Gosling’s two goals against Finland came on the power play, separate from the unit’s five-on-five shifts).

Gardiner is behind her linemates in time on ice, as well: both Gosling and O'Neill are closer to the 11-minute mark than Gardiner's eight. 

That’s not sheltered middle-six deployment. That’s limited fourth-line usage in a shortened bench scenario. It has many wondering why the successful trio from last year isn't worth at least a look at the Olympics, where Canada has struggled to find offense.