“It’s Surreal”: Ohio State Women’s Hockey Sending 12 Players, Including Five Current Buckeyes, to 2026 Winter Olympics

Five active Buckeyes – forwards Joy Dunne (United States), Hilda Svensson (Sweden) and Sanni Vanhanen (Finland), and defensemen Mira Jungåker (Sweden) and Jenna Raunio (Sweden) – are taking a break from collegiate competition to represent their nations on the sport’s biggest stage. This year’s Olympic rosters also include seven former Ohio State players; two for the United States (Cayla Barnes and Hannah Bilka), four for Canada (Jenn Gardiner, Sophie Jaques, Emma Maltais and Natalie Spooner) and one for Switzerland (Andrea Brändli).

The opportunity to play in the Olympics is one that many of the Buckeyes who’ve made the trip to Italy have been dreaming of since they were children.

“It was always a dream since at least third grade,” Dunne said in an interview session last month. “I remember writing it down as a kid, we had something for school, and it was like, ‘What's your dream?’ I was like, ‘The Olympics.’”

Dunne, the Buckeyes’ leading scorer and the youngest member of Team USA, said she was speechless when she received the call that she’d be selected for the Olympic team.

“I was shaking going into it, and then after I got off the call, I just had a me moment with the Lord and I just cried a little bit,” Dunne said. “Really didn't realize how much pressure and how much I wanted it until that moment, and then calling the parents made it extra special. They were very excited.”

When Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall took over a then-downtrodden Ohio State women’s hockey program in 2016, she never would have imagined the Buckeyes would have a dozen Olympians 10 years later. That said, she views the Olympic opportunity for her players as a reflection of how hard they and everyone in the program have worked.

“It's surreal that it actually happened, but the amount of hard work that my staff and I have done, it's been earned. And same with the girls and how hard we work here,” Muzerall said. “It's very sexy on the outside to be a Buckeye and it's bedazzling, but when you get behind these doors and what we do behind closed doors; you guys just see the product on the ice, but to get to where they are, it's been hard and it's a grind. And when we recruit kids, we want those kids that it's not going to be easy and it's going to be hard and it's our job to vet out those type of players and parents for that matter. And I know when we recruit the right kid that they'll do anything for themselves and for each other. And again, it's earned and I'm just happy for them.”

Ohio State’s players believe playing for the Buckeyes has prepared them well to compete at the Olympic level.

“The best preparation you can get,” Jungåker said of playing for Ohio State. “You compete so hard at every practice, you develop every day, and you have a team that has your back no matter what. So I feel like this has been the best preparation I could ever dream of for going to the Olympics.”

Seven of Ohio State’s 12 Olympians are making their first trip to the Olympics this year. Maltais and Vanhanen are both playing in their second Olympics, while Barnes and Brändli are playing in their third. Spooner, the only Buckeye in this year’s Olympics whose Ohio State career preceded Muzerall’s arrival in Columbus, is playing in her fourth Olympics. Spooner (2014 and 2022), Barnes (2018) and Maltais (2022) have all won gold medals for their countries. Vanhanen – who made her Olympic debut at just 16 years old and is the only active Buckeye who’s already played in the Olympics – won bronze at the 2022 Games in Beijing.

“You compete so hard at every practice, you develop every day, and you have a team that has your back no matter what. So I feel like this has been the best preparation I could ever dream of for going to the Olympics.”– Mira Jungåker on how Ohio State prepares players for the Olympics

The only downside of having five current players in the Olympics is that it leaves Ohio State without five of its best players for the final four weeks of its regular season. But the Buckeyes are far from alone in dealing with that challenge. Wisconsin, who it plays this upcoming weekend, also has five players in the Olympics. Minnesota, who Ohio State plays next weekend, has four current players in the Olympics.

It’s still a challenge to navigate for the second-ranked Buckeyes, who are hoping to win their third national championship in five years. Not only do they have to finish out the regular season without those players, but Muzerall knows there will be a reacclimation process for them when they return from the Olympics for the postseason. But she knows that challenge is worth it for her players to have the opportunity to live out their Olympic dreams.

“It's hard, because they're going to come from such a high, right? And some are going to come back gold medalists, and some won't,” Muzerall said. “That's something that we're going to have to work on, of getting their mindset right after such a high. But I know that they have an immense passion and love for the Buckeyes, and after the way our season ended last year (losing to Wisconsin in the national championship game), I don't think that that is too far from their minds, and they'll regroup quickly.

“But it's such a joy. I was just talking with Joy in a meeting, and she was showing me all of the clothes that they get for the opening ceremonies and the closing ceremonies. I mean, just the things that they get to experience that's not even competing in the game, but just being able to walk around and meet other athletes within your country, outside of your country; just that experience, we can't even write about it and talk about it. It's going to be very precious for all of them.”

Most of the Buckeyes will end up going head-to-head against each other during the Olympic tournament. The United States, Canada, Finland and Switzerland are all in Group A, so each of them will face each other in the preliminary rounds. Sweden is in Group B, but Jungåker – who says her Swedish teammates from Ohio State, Raunio and Svensson, are her best friends – hopes they get the opportunity to play against USA and Finland in the tournament rounds.

Regardless of whether they’re representing the same country or different countries, the Milan-bound Buckeyes are happy they get to go through the Olympic experience together. And they’re proud that they get to represent Ohio State on the international stage.

“I'm so grateful for everything Muz has taught me during my two years here so far. So there's a lot of things she taught me along the way that I can bring to the national team level,” Jungåker said.

The Olympic women’s hockey competition begins Thursday. Sweden faces Germany (6:10 a.m. ET), Team USA faces Czechia (10:40 a.m.) and Finland faces Canada (3:10 p.m.) on the opening day of competition, while Switzerland plays its first game against Czechia on Friday (8:40 a.m.). All games will be streamed live on Peacock, while the United States and Canada games will also air on USA Network.

The Olympic women’s hockey tournament will continue for two weeks, culminating with the gold medal game (1:10 p.m., USA) and bronze medal game (8:40 a.m., Peacock) on Feb. 19. The full schedule of games and broadcast information can be found at NBCOlympics.com.

Muzerall, who’s originally from Ontario, says she’ll be pulling for her home country during the men’s hockey competition. In the women’s tournament, however, Muzerall just wants to see all of her current and former players play well.

“You feel like a parent, an immense amount of pride,” Muzerall said. “You've known them since they were about 16 years old as you recruit them and you see their growth over the years. They've worked so hard as any Olympian would do, and it just shows a lot about our program here at OSU, how many kids we've been putting into the Olympics over the last five, six years. So it's going to be tough to choose who I'm cheering for.”