2025 Worlds Preview: Hungary

It's almost time! Women's World Championships start April 9 in Czechia. Hungary still has to make one roster cut - from 26 players to 25 - but for the most part, has its full squad set. The team has arrived in Czechia and will play one more pre-tournament game against Norway on Sunday.

Promotion to Top Division

Hungary is back in the top division for the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, looking to make it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2022.

After placing ninth in the 2023 tournament, Hungary was relegated to Division I, Group A. The team finished the 2024 Division 1A tournament with a 3-2 record, beating South Korea, Netherlands, and France to earn promotion to the top division.

Over the past few years, Hungary has repeatedly gone through the relegation & promotion process. The team was promoted from Division 1A in 2019, then relegated in 2021. (The 2020 Worlds tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) They'll undoubtedly look to have a strong showing this year to avoid falling to Division 1A again.

Player to Watch

As of writing, Hungary still has one more cut to make before the final roster is submitted. Here's what the roster currently looks like:

• Goaltenders: Anikó Németh, Zsuzsa Révész, Noémi Zoé Takács
• Defenders: Taylor Baker, Alexandra Cservjacsenko, Lili Hajdu, Lorina Haraszt, Franciska Kiss-Simon, Isabel Lippai, Fruzsina Mayer, Bernadett Németh, Lotti Odnoga
• Forwards: Boglárka Báhiczki-Tóth, Réka Dabasi, Fanni Garát-Gasparics, Réka Effi Hiezl, Imola Horváth, Alexandra Huszák, Kinga Jókai-Szilágyi, Emma Kreisz, Madie Leidt, Regina Metzler, Zsófia Pázmándi, Petra Polónyi, Míra Seregély, Krisztina Weiler

Assuming they make the final cut, Petra Polónyi and Krisztina Weiler are my players to watch. Polónyi and Weiler are both young - just 16 and 17 years old, respectively - and both would be making their senior Women's Worlds debuts.

They've certainly earned their spots, to put it lightly. Both have spent the season with the Ontario Hockey Academy's Mavericks Prep U18 team in Cornwall, Ontario and were the top scorers on the team with absolutely dominating performances.

Polónyi's second season with the OHA saw her lead the team with 76 points, including 55 assists, in just 52 games at the U18 AA level. She also spent some time with the U22 Mavericks team, putting up four points in nine OWHL games. Last season, her first in North America, she registered 59 points in 68 games.

After playing the last few seasons in Budapest, Weiler made the jump to North America this season and it's paying off in dividends. In 44 games with the Mavericks U18 prep team, she registered 37 goals and 35 assists for a whopping 72 points.

Weiler previously captained Hungary's team at the 2024 Youth Olympic games:

Hungary captain Krisztina Weiler could not contain her excitement after their win on 3-on-3 tournament at Youth Olympic Games.🇭🇺🤩 #Gangwon2024 @olympics @hockeyhungary pic.twitter.com/rSRYaJM4Lm

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 26, 2024

Polónyi and Weiler both represented Hungary at the U18 Women's Worlds earlier this year, where they each registered five points in as many games.

Zoé Takács, Alexandra Cservjačenko, Lili Hajdu, Lorina Haraszt, Isabel Lippai, Réka Hiezl and Madie Leidt would also be making their senior debuts if they make the final roster.

Storyline to Watch

Hungary has bounced back and forth between the top division and Division 1A a lot, and they're looking to once again find their footing here and stay in the top division. In addition, much of this roster recently suited up at the Olympic qualifying games - where they unfortunately failed to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026.

As a result, this tournament really feels like a big moment for women's hockey in Hungary - a chance for redemption, to show that they belong here and can play on the biggest international stages for the sport. Keep in mind: this is only Hungary's fourth tournament at the top division.

Prediction

It's never going to be easy for Hungary in these tournaments. As of May 2024, the IIHF has the country ranked 10th in women's hockey. It's not bad (that's 10th out of 46 countries, for goodness' sake!) but there's certainly room for growth. They'll have to set the stage with strong performances against Sweden and Japan before facing Norway - the only team in the tournament ranked below them.

In 2023, they won just one game and had a minus-8 goal differential, which meant relegation. In 2022, they also managed just one win, but lost another game in overtime. That, combined with a minus-6 goal differential, kept them above the cut line. While the ultimate goal is to win the game and prevent the Group B opponents from getting any points, of course, keeping the scores close will be critical when goal differential can make such a difference.

It'll be a battle for Hungary, but I think they're hungry for success. (Sorry, sorry, that was a terrible play on words. Too bad! I'm not deleting it.) I expect the team to win at least one of their four preliminary round game (eyes on the tilt against Norway as perhaps their best shot) and keep it close against Japan, too.

It's really anyone's best guess if that will be enough to get them into the quarterfinals & help them stave off relegation.

Game Schedule

• April 10 vs. Sweden, 9 AM EDT
• April 11 vs. Japan, 5 AM EDT
• April 13 vs. Norway, 5 AM EDT
• April 14 vs. Germany, 5 AM EDT