That’s not Team Canada in that photo, that’s Switzerland celebrating their win at the Olympics on Monday over Finland. With the win, Switzerland nailed down what was hinted at at the last Women’s World Championships — they have the potential to truly challenge the other teams in the A pool.
That Worlds was a real eye-opener for me. I follow the women’s game through the main events, not the minor. I watch the Olympics and Worlds when it’s possible, and I skip the friendlies, the preliminary tournaments and the tune up games. I knew the game was changing, but I wasn’t prepared for the synergy of the increase in skill and conditioning of the players with newly codified IIHF rules.