Female Ice Hockey Teams
Ice hockey is widely popular in western countries such as the Canada and United States. The game is even popular in the English continents as many of the European nations participate and win various international championships. IIHF World Women’s Championship is among the top tier championships in the world and the IIHF European Women Championships is the biggest event of this game in European continents. Ice Hockey has been a part of the Olympic Games since 1920 when it was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Later, the event was permanently shifted to the Winter Olympic Games in 1924. The International Olympic Committee voted to approve women’s hockey as an Olympic event in 1992 and was first played in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. The Canadian and American teams are the most dominant force in all the major international championships as numerous other countries also gave their best in the past days. So here is the list of 10 Best Female Ice Hockey Teams.
10 Best Female Ice Hockey Teams
1. Canada
The Canadian women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2960 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Canadian Women’s team scored 1200 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1160 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1200 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1160 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Doug Derraugh and the current captain is Caroline Ouellette. The team won the IIHF World Women’s Championship ten times and also achieved four gold medals and a silver medal in the Olympic Games.
2. United States
The United States women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the second best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2940 points as of February 2014, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The United States Women’s team scored 1160 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1200 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1160 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1200 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Katey Stone and the current captain is Meghan Duggan. The team already achieved the IIHF World Women’s Championship titles five times and won a gold medal, a silver and a bronze medal in the Olympic Games.
3. Switzerland
The Switzerland women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the third best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2720 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Switzerland Women’s team scored 1120 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1040 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1120 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1040 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is René Kammerer and the current captain is Julia Marty. The team is controlled by the Schweizerischer Eishockeyverband. The Switzerland team recently achieved a bronze medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
4. Finland
The Finland women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the fourth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2715 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Finland Women’s team scored 1060 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1100 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1100 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1120 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Mika Pieniniemi and the current captain is Jenni Hiirikoski. The team became second runners up in the IIHF World Women’s Championships ten times and became the winner of the IIHF European Women Championships four times.
5. Russia
The Russian women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the fifth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2675 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Russian Women’s team scored 1040 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1120 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1400 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1100 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Mikhail Chekanov and the current captain is Yekaterina Smolentseva. The Russian team won three bronze medals in the IIHF World Women’s Championships and won a silver medal in the European Championship.
6. Sweden
The Sweden women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the sixth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2675 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Swedish Women’s team scored 1100 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1020 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1060 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1060 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Niclas Högberg and the current captain is Jenni Asserholt. The team achieved third place in the IIHF World Women’s Championships twice and won the IIHF European Women Championships in 1996.
7. Germany
The Germany women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the seventh best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2565 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The German Women’s team scored 1020 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1060 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1020 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 960 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Peter Kathan and the current captain is Susann Götz. The team placed at the fifth position in the IIHF World Women’s Championships three times, and made three Olympic appearances till date.
8. Czech Republic
The Czech Republic women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the eighth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2400 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Czech Republican Women’s team scored 960 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 1100 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 960 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 840 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Jiri Vozák and the current captain is Alena Polenska. The Czech team was placed in the 8th position in the IIHF World Women’s Championship 2013.
9. Japan
The Japanese women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the ninth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2395 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Japanese Women’s team scored 1000 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 960 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 920 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 860 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Ilzuka Yuji and the current captain is Osawa Chiho. The team earned the IIHF Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia twice consecutively in 2011 and 2012 and also achieved five silver medals in the Asian Winter Games.
10. Slovakia
The Slovakia women’s national ice hockey team is currently ranked as the tenth best female ice hockey team in the world with a total of 2325 points as of February 2014 according to the International Ice Hockey Federation Ranking. The Slovakian Women’s team scored 880 points at the 2014 Russia Winter Olympics, 920 points at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championship, 1000 points at the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a total of 1020 points at the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The current Head coach of the team is Milan Skokan and the current captain is Martina Veličková. The Slovakian team defeated Bulgaria by 142–0 while making one goal every 44 seconds on an average which is a Guinness World Record.
Other teams such as the Norway women’s national ice hockey team are also recognized among the best teams as they achieved the bronze medal in IIHF European Women Championship in 1993. The Denmark women’s national ice hockey team also achieved the bronze medal in 1991 IIHF European Women Championship.