University of Minnesota Athletics
11/1/2026 3:48:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – Eleven current and former Gophers were selected to participate in the 2026 IIHF Women's World Championship in Herning and Esbjerg, Denmark, from Nov. 6-16. Current members of the No. 2-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team Chloe Primerano, Tereza Plosova and Julia Schalin were among those selected.
Plosova will be joined by alumna Natalie Mlynkova on Team Czechia, while Schalin will skate alongside former Gopher captain Nelli Laitinen for Team Finland. Primerano was the lone Gopher named to Team Canada, while 2026 graduate Josefin Bouveng was selected to represent Team Sweden.
Primerano won silver at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship. Schalin and Laitinen earned bronze medals in 2024 and 2025, with Laitinen also winning silver in 2023. Plosova won bronze in 2023, while Mlynkova earned bronze medals in 2022 and 2023.
Five Gopher alums were selected to Team USA. Defenseman Lee Stecklein will be joined by forwards Abbey Murphy, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle and Taylor Fox as the Americans look to defend their 2025 World Championship title and build on their 2026 Olympic gold medal-winning performance in Milan, Italy.
2026 IIHF Women's World Championship Gophers
Team Canada: Chloe Primerano
Team Czechia: Natalie Mlynkova, Tereza Plosova
Team Finland: Julia Schalin, Nelli Laitinen
Team Sweden: Josefin Bouveng
Team USA: Abbey Murphy, Taylor Fox, Kelly Pannek, Lee Stecklein, Grace Zumwinkle
