While North America patiently waits for PWHL Hockey to return next month, across the Atlantic ten international teams face off. The World Championships, hosted this year in Denmark, start Nov. 6th with the gold medal game to be held on Nov. 16th. Eight PWHL Detroit players hope to make a mark for their countries.
Switzerland
Perhaps no PWHL Detroit player is more critical to their international team than Goaltender Andrea Brändli. The Swiss following a bronze medal finish at the Milanp-Cortino Olympics are in Group A this tournament. They face the United States, Czechia, Germany, and Austria in group play.
Brändli enters the tournament the de facto starter, despite missing the first few games of the 2026 Olympics due to illness. She has represented Switzerland at every major tournament since 2018 when she took over for Florence Shelling after serving in a backup role.
Selected 15th overall in the 2026 draft, a strong World Championship will bode well to build momentum for Brändli’s first PWHL season.
United States
PWHL Detroit is well represented by the US, boasting four rostered players; Hilary Knight, Cayla Barnes, Jesse Compher, and Hannah Bilka. Hilary Knight has once again been named captain for the US.
Compher is a new addition to the roster, having been passed over for the 2026 Olympic roster. She did appear for the US in 2022 at the Beijing Olympics. Compher finished that tournament with three goals and one assist.
A notable omission for the United States roster is Britta Curl-Salemme, signed to PWHL Detroit; she announced her pregnancy earlier this week. She represented the US at the Olympics earlier this year and figured to play a top six role in Detroit before her now anticipated absence.
Germany
Defender Nina Jobst-Smith rounds out the Detroit players to watch in Group A. She has represented Germany at five world Championships as well the 2026 Olympics. She plays a key role, eating big minutes for a country eager to move beyond the group stage in a major tournament. Look for Jobst-Smith to be a major puck mover from the blueline, setting up veteran Laura Kluge or the next-generation Welcke twins to drive the offense.
Canada
Detroit’s lone Canadian is forward Daryl Watts. She has previously represented her country twice at the World Juniors, the 24-25 World Championship and earlier this year at the Olympics. In the senior division she has posted an impressive 13 points in 14 games.
While she has scored some key goals, Canadian fans may hope she doesn’t repeat as the most penalized player in the tournament. She finished her last World Championships with 25 penalty minutes including a five-minute major.
Japan
At only 25 years of age, forward Akane Shiga has represented her home country of Japan for nearly a decade between World Juniors, World Championships and two Olympic games. Shiga is someone to keep an eye on for PWHL Detroit fans in the tournament. She got her first North American hockey experience on the Ottawa Charge in the inaugural season of the PWHL posting just two points across 24 games. She then opted to join Luleå of the SDHL, and over two seasons she posted 69 points (21 goals, 48 assists) in 70 games. Her SDHL production and growth as caught the eye of Detroit, offering her a two-year contract back on July 27th.
Catch all the international action on NHL Network in the US or TSN in Canada.
