Canada must enter new era after heartbreaking OT loss

The Canadian women's hockey team scored the most goals in Olympic history at Beijing 2022. Four years later, they managed one goal in more than 120 minutes of Olympic competition against Team USA.

The Americans pummeled Canada leading up to the Milan Cortina Games, sweeping the Rivalry Series and racking up a cumulative score of 24-7. USA had won seven straight contests against Canada entering Thursday's gold-medal game.

For 57 minutes, it looked like Canada's veterans would end their skid and capture one last gold as a group. Then Hilary Knight, in her final Olympic game, tied it 1-1 with the American goaltender pulled, and Megan Keller dashed Canada's hopes with a marvelous overtime winner.

Team USA's youth captivated hockey fans at the Olympics. Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Hannah Bilka, and more dazzled with their speed and skill as USA cruised to the gold-medal game.

Canada's veteran roster was criticized after a dismal 5-0 round-robin loss against the U.S., and the team only managed a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the semis. But when it mattered most, the veterans almost got it done.

Almost.

What's concerning for Canada is that its veterans failed to claim gold in their last collective effort at the Olympics, and the Americans are only getting better. Much of the USA's core won't even be 30 years old when the 2030 Olympics roll around.

Canada has to face the reality of eight straight losses to its archrival and will now have to stomach four years of the Americans calling themselves Olympic champs.

So, how can Canada turn the tide?

Embrace the youth movement

The U.S. started building toward Thursday's gold medal in August 2022. Six months after losing to Canada in Beijing, the American roster began its pivot to youth at the World Championship.

Bilka and Heise made their first national teams. Goaltender Aerin Frankel got into her first game. Harvey went being from the USA's seventh defender at the 2022 Games to making the tournament All-Star Team at the Worlds. Canada still won that 2022 World Championship, but the American management group's decisions laid the groundwork for the dominance we saw in Italy.

It's Canada's turn to follow that blueprint: It's imperative to bring the country's young talents into the national team mix sooner rather than later.

Canada was criticized for leaving 19-year-old defender Chloe Primerano off the Olympic roster. The Minnesota star could make a similar impact on the national team as Harvey - who just won Olympic MVP - has for the Americans. Primerano's skill and skating are off the charts, and national team players have raved about her potential and her deceptiveness on the ice.

Clarkson forward Sara Manness has erupted offensively in 2026 and now ranks in the NCAA's top five in scoring as a rookie. Minnesota-Duluth's Caitlin Kraemer broke Marie-Philip Poulin's goals record at the Under-18 level and featured in Canada's Olympic camp. Stryker Zablocki, Caileigh Tiller, and Adrianna Milani are more names to know.

In 2022, 13 players on the American Olympic roster were 21 or younger. Embracing youth in a similar way would pay dividends for Canada.

That also means making tough choices regarding some Canadian mainstays. Management needs to seriously debate whether some beloved veterans - including Natalie Spooner, Jocelyne Larocque, Brianne Jenner, Blayre Turnbull, and Erin Ambrose - should get roster spots over younger players who are more likely to be factors in 2030.

New landscape requires fresh perspectives

After two Olympic cycles with general manager Gina Kingsbury and head coach Troy Ryan as Canada's major decision-makers, it's time for new blood in the top roles.

The women's hockey world was vastly different when Kingsbury and Ryan joined Canada's staff. There was no PWHL, and players were together for months as a team leading into the Olympics. Kingsbury and Ryan now split their time with the Toronto Sceptres in the same roles they serve for the national program.

This string of losses to the U.S. gives Hockey Canada a chance to choose a different management model. Is it better to employ a GM and coach who only work for the national team, or is it beneficial to draw from PWHL staff?

Team USA GM Katie Million and head coach John Wroblewski both work exclusively for USA Hockey. In men's hockey, however, both countries' staffs feature many NHL names.

But let's make one thing clear: The Ryan era stands as a massive success regardless of the outcome in Italy. When he took over as head coach in 2020, Canada was coming off a disastrous bronze medal at the 2019 World Championship. The team hadn't won a major tournament since the 2014 Olympics.

Not only did he turn the program around, Canada went on the kind of run it hadn't enjoyed since the early 2000s. Ryan's teams won four of six tournaments from 2021-25, highlighted by gold at Beijing 2022.

However, the thrashing the Americans delivered to Canada over this past calendar year should be proof enough that it's time for new perspectives. Canada must confront the reality of its situation, make the difficult but correct long-term decisions, and regroup with a clear plan to reclaim gold in 2030.