Four University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey players will suit up for their respective senior national teams in the 2026 IIHF Women's World Championship that takes place from November 6 to November 16, 2026, in Herning and Esbjerg, Denmark. UMD will also have six alumni skating in the tournament and six alumni coaching or on team staffs.

Those four current Bulldogs are senior goaltender Eve Gascon and junior center Caitlin Kraemer will suit up for Canada, while senior defenseman Ida Karlsson returns to Sweden's roster.  Freshman defenseman Tuuli Tallinen has earned a spot on Team Finland's roster. 

Kraemer will make her World Championship senior team debut next week, and has seven goals on the season – tying her for the fourth-most in the NCAA, and despite having played two less games than three players ahead of her or tied with her duty to Canada Camp. The native of Waterloo, Ontario recorded four points in UMD's last action at Bemidji State University, including three goals, and factored in four of the six goals scored in the series. Kraemer also ranks fifth in the NCAA in +/- with a +10.

Gascon earned back-to-back shutouts against BSU, the second time this season the Mascouche, Quebec product has held an opponent scoreless over a series. Among goaltenders that have played three or more games, Gascon ranks first in GAA (0.40), saves percentage (.982) and wins (5) and leads the NCAA outright in shutouts with four – double the netminders in second. In fact, Gascon has four shutouts in just five games played so far this season, and Friday night set UMD's career shutout record with her 24th. She secured her 25th on Saturday afternoon. This is Gascon's second Team Canada trip to Worlds.

Kraemer and Gascon will be joined by former Bulldog All-American and four-time Canadian Olympic gold medalist Caroline Ouellette, who is an assistant coach for Team Canada.

Karlsson returns to Sweden just months after making her first Olympic Team with her home country. The Avesta, Sweden native has a goal and two assists for three points through her first eight games, and 10 blocks. Karlsson is part of a defensive core that has allowed just seven goals in eight games and an NCAA-best five shutouts and an NCAA-low 0.09 goals against.

Karlsson will be surrounded by a bevy of Bulldogs, including her UMD and Olympic teammate Thea Johansson, as well as former All-American goaltender Emma Soderberg and forward Michelle Lowenhielm. Sweden's head coach is former Bulldog All-American and three-time NCAA champion Erika Holst, while former UMD standout and Olympian Pernilla Winberg is an assistant coach.

Tallinen, from Kouvola, Finland, makes her debut with Finland on the Worlds stage after skating three times in U-18 World Championships. Tallinen has skated in all eight Bulldog games so far this season and is +2. She will be joined by former UMD defensemen Krista Parkkonen and three-time NCAA champion Satu Kiipeli, who is on Finland's staff.

German Olympian and former Bulldog standout and PWHL Detroit defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith will play again for Germany, and NCAA Championship goaltender and former German Olympian Jennifer Harss is also on staff for Germany.

Team Switzerland stalwart Lara Stalder, a former UMD All-American, made the Swiss Team but was injured in the weeks leading up to the tournament and will not play. Two-NCAA Champion and Finnish Olympian Saara (Touminen) Kivenmaki will serve as an assistant coach.

Ottawa Charge forward and former All-WCHA Bulldog Katerina Mrazova returns to the Czech Republic roster to round out the long list of former Bulldogs in the tournament.