The 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics will always be a special one for the United States’ women’s hockey team. After a historically dominant run to the gold medal game, the U.S. overcame their lone serious challenge of the Games from Canada, tying the game late in regulation before winning their third gold medal in overtime.

The U.S. was clearly the best team in the field, outscoring opponents 33-2 and winning all seven games. So, it’s only natural that the tournament awards reflected their excellence. The six-player media all-star team was 50 percent American, with one U.S. player earning two other honors as well.

In addition to making the media all-star team, Caroline Harvey was named the best defender by the tournament directorate and the overall most valuable player. After being held pointless and barely playing in her Olympic debut in 2022, Harvey was a workhorse for the United States in Milan. Her nine points (two goals, seven assists) were tied for the most in the tournament with golden goal scorer Megan Keller and her plus-14 rating was three goals better than the next closest player, another American defender in Haley Winn. But it was a fourth U.S. defenseman who joined Harvey on the all-star team.

One of two members of this group making their Olympic debut, Laila Edwards made history in more ways than one. The natural forward and two-time NCAA national champion at Wisconsin became the first Black player in U.S. women’s hockey Olympic history. She delivered in a huge way, tallying eight points (two goals and six assists) at just 22 years old, the youngest of the all-star players. Edwards came up clutch, too, as it was her shot that Hilary Knight deflected in for the game-tying goal in the gold medal game late in the third period.

The other first-time Olympian to make the all-star team, Hannah Bilka was one of Team USA’s most reliable offensive threats. Bilka’s seven points were tied with Abbey Murphy for the most among U.S. forwards and she led the U.S. with four goals, tied for the tournament lead.

It was a rocky road at times for the legendary Marie-Philip Poulin. Canada had to play without her in the Olympics for the first time since 2006 when an injury temporarily sidelined her. But she delivered an epic performance in the semifinals against Switzerland, scoring Canada’s only two goals just 32 seconds apart. The first goal was her 19th, breaking the all-time Olympic goals record.

She and Knight became the third and fourth hockey players to win five Olympic medals. The 34-year-old Poulin also earned best forward of the tournament honors.

Already considered one of, if not the best, Swiss hockey players of all-time, Alina Mueller cemented that status in Thursday’s bronze medal game. With less than a minute remaining in overtime, Muller cut to the net and buried the puck to secure Switzerland its second ever women’s hockey medal. She also had three goals and two assists in her other six games, finishing tied with Bilka and Sweden’s Thea Johansson for the tournament lead in goals.

Team USA’s Aerin Frankel had better stats, but she also had a better team around her. Andrea Brandli nearly single-handedly dragged Switzerland onto the podium. Frankel faced a shot about every three minutes on average; Brandli saw one, on average, about every 41 seconds. She carried the team to a 1-0 over Finland when they were outshot 40-14, kept them close in a 2-1 loss to Canada when they were outshot 46-8 and still had enough in the tank to lead a 2-1 win over Sweden – even though the Swiss were outshot once more. Her resume is certainly worthy of being named the tournament’s best goaltender.