Australia’s national women’s team will soon compete at the 2026 IIHF Division IIA World Championships in Bled, Slovenia.
Five teams will do battle with Australia as they face off against Slovenia, Poland, Iceland and Chinese Taipei in a tournament held from April 13 to 18.
North Korea recently withdrew from the tournament due to logistic issues, forcing the IIHF to reshuffle the Division IIA schedule.
However, for the Ice Hockey Australia team it is a chance to go for back-to-back gold medals after securing promotion from Division IIB in 2025.
As head coach Pier Martin gets the Aussie Flyers ready in Slovenia, we can look at one player to keep an eye on in each position on the ice.
Women’s hockey is in a strong place for talent across Australia, with this Australian team stacked across all three zones.
King of Queens
Sasha King has not only been a stalwart for the Australia national team, but the best goaltender in the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) for years.
Fresh off a Joan McKowen Trophy win with the Perth Inferno and Goaltender of the Year award, King is ready to back stop the Australians.
At the 2025 Division IIB World Championships King was outstanding, finishing with a .952 save percentage (SV%) with three shutouts.
Furthermore, across her international women’s career King has seven shutouts total in the green and gold.
Playing all but one game for the Inferno throughout the season, King finished the AWIHL Finals with a .947 SV% on the way to championship glory.
King – who is only 22 years old, is yet to reach her prime years and will be Australia’s number one between the pipes well into the future.
Like a Bull-ski at the gate
Torie Cybulski is someone that you feel like has been around the AWIHL for decades but is only 19 years old.
The Adelaide Rush forward is a strong two-way player that uses speed and vision to create and hit the right areas.
Coming off a career season of 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) Cybulski broke out during the 2025/26 campaign.
As a result, it will be a debut tournament for Cybulski at international level for Australia after lighting up the AWIHL.
Joining Cybulski from the Rush will be club captain Kate Tihema, Kirsty Venus and Elana Holub which offers familiarity.
With Cybulski’s star continuing to rise it is an exciting moment for Australian women’s hockey with more young talent ready to shine on the international stage.
Cybulski could be the biggest surprise in this Australian team.
Canuck now an Aussie
It couldn’t have gone more perfectly for Aspen Cooper after making the switch from Adelaide to the Perth Inferno.
Fitting in seamlessly to the Inferno system and becoming a strong blueline presence, finishing her first season in Perth by lifting the Joan McKowen Trophy.
Cooper joins King and Sara Sammons as the Inferno representatives on this Aussie Flyers team.
Now calling down under home, Cooper will represent Australia for the first time after two strong seasons in the AWIHL.
It will be the first time playing international hockey at any level for the former Minot State University product.
An offensive defender, Cooper enjoys jumping up into the rush as often as possible highlighted by the eight goals in Inferno colours.
Equally important, with 13 points (eight goals, five assists) from 20 games played during the AWIHL regular season, Australia will be looking for similar production on debut.
When and where to watch
Courtesy of Lee Collins and Ice Hockey News Australia below are the local dates and times for the Australian games at the IIHF Division IIA World Championships.
April 13 – Australia v Poland: 22:00 AWST, 23:30 ACST, 00:00 AEST (April 14).
April 15 – Chinese Taipei v Australia: 01:30 AWST, 03:00 ACST, 03:30 AEST.
April 17 – Australia v Slovenia: 01:30 AWST, 03:00 ACST, 03:30 AEST.
April 17 – Iceland v Australia: 22:00 AWST, 23:30 ACST, 00:00 AEST (April 18).
Games are also being live streamed and available for purchase at IIHF.tv
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