The preliminary round of the women’s hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is complete, with Team USA going 3-0 in group play, including a 5-0 win over Team Canada. Team USA plays Friday morning against Italy in the quarterfinal to begin knockout play.
Speaking of knockout play, Wisconsin Badgers senior Caroline Harvey is really making a name for herself in these Olympics. It’s pretty unanimous that Harvey is the top defender in the NCAA, having won WCHA Defender of the Month
the last four months and being a shoo-in for her third-consecutive WCHA Defender of the Year award. She’s a two-time NCAA champion and already an Olympic silver medalist on the hunt for gold in 2026. Harvey is also looking like she has a new title: best player in the world.
Harvey is tied for the Olympic points lead after the preliminary round, amassing seven points on five assists and two goals thus far and posting a ridiculous plus-minus of +10 while on the ice. After failing to register a point in the opener against Czechia, Harvey chipped in with an assist against Finland before back-to-back three-point games against Switzerland and Canada.
It was Harvey who opened the scoring just 3:45 into the highly anticipated bout with Canada to close the prelims before adding a secondary assist before the end of the opening period. Kirsten Simms also registered her first Olympic goal against Canada in the second period, while Laila Edwards scored her first Olympic goal to put the cherry on top in the third.
We know that Harvey is dominant in NCAA hockey, and it comes as no surprise that she is a key figure in Team USA’s success, but it’s becoming clearer with each passing game that Harvey possesses the type of skill that makes her a generational talent. She is the Cale Makar of the women’s game, a two-way defender capable of controlling the game at either end of the ice. She’s fast, she’s physical, and she understands the game at such a high level that she gets to her spots with ease.
Hockey fans around the world are learning what Badger fans have known for years – you can’t take your eyes of Caroline Harvey when she steps on the ice. She’s becoming an overnight social media sensation. We have watched Harvey look like she’s skating against pee-wee competition during the collegiate season, but she makes it look just as easy on the biggest stage against the best players in the world. She is simply playing a different game when she laces up the skates.
Harvey is the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the upcoming PWHL draft, while Simms, Edwards, and Lacey Eden are likely to be high picks as well. Whoever gets Harvey will have the cornerstone of their franchise for years to come, laying claim to the best player in the world straight out of college.
Once the Olympics are over, Harvey and her Wisconsin teammates will head back to Madison just in time to continue their quest for another national title. Individual awards are not a concern for a player like Harvey, but watching the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Award unfold will be interesting.
Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy is having a prolific season, leading the NCAA in goals (36) and points (61) while joining Harvey on the month-long hiatus with Team USA. The award is about more than just statistics, and Harvey is arguably the most impactful player on both ends of the ice. I just have a hard time believing the voters will give it to a Wisconsin player two years in a row after Casey O’Brien won the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award, even though Harvey has consistently been the best player on a team that has been the unanimously top-ranked team for most of the year.
However, the Olympics, the NCAA season, and the Patty Kazmaier Award shake out, Caroline Harvey is building a legacy that will be hard to follow. She will go down as a legend in Madison, and in the grand scheme she is just getting started. With the PWHL’s booming popularity, I can’t think of a better person to be the face of the league for years to come.
Other Badgers in the Olympics
Former Wisconsin star Hilary Knight (2012) tied the all-time record for Olympic goals by an American player, scoring her 14th Olympic goal in the 5-0 win against Finland. Any goal from Knight in the knockout round will give her the solo lead. With her next point, she will overtake Jenny Potter for the most career points by a Team USA player.
Team USA (4-0)
Caroline Harvey: 2 goals, 5 assists, +10
Hilary Knight: 2 goals, 3 assists, +4
Laila Edwards: 1 goal, 3 assists, +3
Britta Curl-Salemme: 3 assists, +3
Kirsten Simms: 1 goal, +2
Ava McNaughton: 1 save in 1:48 of ice time
Team Canada (3-1)
Daryl Watts: 2 goals, 2 assists, +/- 0
Emily Clark: 2 goals, +3
Sarah Nurse: 2 assists, +/- 0
Blayre Turnbull: 1 assist, +1
Ann-Renée Desbiens: 2.09 GAA, 57 saves, .905 SV%
Team Czechia (1-2-1)
Adéla Šapovalivová: 1 assist, -3
