A Name You Should Know

There's a woman defending nets in the OUA who will likely be suiting up at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy that you may not know very well. Unless you were following the OUA's progress this season, you probably didn't know that she finished the season with a 15-4 record on the strength of a 1.03 GAA and a .951 save percentage that saw her pitch five shutouts. She won't be skating for Canada or the US or any of the other bigger countries when teams take the ice in Milan, but we're seeing teams build outward from their goaltending and this women give her country of origin a strong foundation on which they can build. Who is this masked woman? Let's find out!

Guelph Gryphons goaltender Martina Fedel was born in Trento, Italy, but her hockey career has taken her all over the map. She has played in Slovenia, Sweden, and Canada mostly, but she's been on Italy's national hockey roster since 2018 when she was playing for SDE's Division-2 U16 team. Her representation of her home nation continued this week when she played for Italy at the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship Division-1B tournament!

You may be wondering how a girl from Italy found her way into hockey when Italians live and die through their soccer teams, but Fedel grew up in grew up in Baselga di Pinè, about 20 kilometres from Trento proper, where hockey is far more popular in the mountainous region. She picked up the game in Fondo - about an hour away - but she wouldn't remain in Italy.

After her dad was transferred to Slovenia for work through a Swedish truck and bus manufacturer, Fedel joined Olimpija Ljubljana in the Slovenian women's league. She didn't play much - just five games - but the youngster was just 13 when she got her first action, so she still had some room to grow as player and a person! Dad's work in Slovenia didn't last long, and the Fedels were on their way to Sweden in 2016 as they landed in Stockholm. It was here where her hockey career took off thanks to joining the SDE organization.

"It's a very different level, both for boys and girls," she explained about the hockey in Sweden to Martin Merk of the IIHF. "It's faster in Sweden, they play more competitive. Everyone in Sweden who plays hockey at our age wants to get somewhere in hockey and that's what I would like to do, go to college, play in a high league. I'm happy that I moved there and play in Sweden."

Fedel's work in Sweden and on the international stage was enough for head coach Rachel Flanagan to be convinced that Fedel would be a good addition in Guelph, and she recruited the netminder to join the Gryphons as Fedel looked to continue to improve her game with an eye on 2026. Since joining Guelph in 2021, Fedel has gone on a tear through the OUA, compiling a 43-18 record on the strength of a 1.21 GAA and a .944 save percentage. Perhaps even more unbelievable is that Fedel currently has more OUA shutouts with 19 than she does losses in her U SPORTS career!

So why am I chatting about Fedel today? Well, Fedel was in Latvia this week helping Italy try to attain a promotion to the IIHF Women's World Championship Division-1A tournament - aka the main tournament featuring all the big teams like Canada and the US - and she was showing the world that the Italians may not be an easy out in Milan despite Italy's lack of success on the international stage!

The Italians started the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Great Britain in game where they threw everything at the net, but Britain's Nicole Jackson was stallar in helping her team win despite Fedel stopping 29 of 30 shots she faced. The Italians would fall 3-2 on April 1 in a game where Fedel served as the backup, but an 0-2 start didn't put the Italians in a good spot in this tournament, especially with teams they needed to beat behind them and more difficult foes awaiting.

April saw the Italians bounce back with a 2-1 win over Poland in what amounted to a must-win game if they wanted any shot at medalling. Fedel was solid again, turning in another 29-of-30 save performance to help the Italians find victory. That led to Friday's game against the powerful Slovaks who had had any trouble in the tournament in posting a 3-0 record, and it was here that Fedel showed why she's likely a lock on the Italian Olympic roster for 2026 in Milan.

Fedel stopped 40 of 42 shots sent her way in helping Italy defeat Slovakia to pull their record even at 2-2. Having been outshot 42-16 by the Slovaks, it seemed clear that this game was played mostly in one end of the ice, but two goals in the final 5:02 of play, including the game-winner with 30 seconds on the clock, pushed Italy past Slovakia. Depending on the results of the final game, there was a chance that Italy could still medal despite those two early losses!

The final contest went early this morning as Italy met Slovenia, and the Italians would need to take care of their own business before worrying about anyone else in the pool. A win would move them into bronze-medal positioning while a loss would mean they'd miss the podium. Aside from an Arwen Nylaander shot that eluded her, Fedel backstopped the Italians to a 6-1 win as she stopped 14 of the 15 shots she faced in this game. The win moved Italy into third-place with nine points, but they'd have to wait and see what happened between Great Britain and Latvia to know what medal they earned.

Latvia's Linda Rulle played the heroine for the host squad as Latvia defeated Great Britain 3-2 in their game, vaulting the Latvians into second-place while the Italians finished in third-place! Statistically, Fedel finished the tournament as the top goalie, surrendering just five goals in four games of work while stopping 112 of 117 shots she faced. In short, she was 3-1 with a 1.26 GAA and a .957 save percentage in this tournament! What's weird about her statistical dominance is that she wasn't named as her team's Player of the Game in any game, and Slovenian goaltender Pia Dukaric was named as the tournament's Top Goalkeeper. Bit of a head-scratcher there, IIHF?

Anyway, it would seem Martina Fedel will lead Italy into the 2026 Winter Olympics as their netminder when that tournament gets underway. Italy isn't going to be one of the favorites, but they have shown they have enough talent to compete with the likes of Slovakia, Latvia, and Great Britain, so it wouldn't be a stretch to see them skating with the likes of Japan, China, or Denmark. Beating any of the teams ahead of them in the rankings would be a huge boost for the sport in Italy where growth on the women's side could propel Italy into the top championship annually.

Women's hockey could take another big step forward with a solid showing by Italy in the 2026 Winter Olympics Games that they're hosting, and that effort will likely feature a woman we've had the pleasure of watching every weekend over the last three winters in Martina Fedel. If you're looking to watch a future Olympian in action, check out the Guelph Gryphons next season because Fedel has established herself as one of the best netminders in the OUA and across Canada.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that she'll be recognized for the same greatness across the world once the rest of the world witnesses Martina Fedel's game. If Italy needs a player for marketing hockey, specifically on the women's side, Martina Fedel's skills and abilities should be on full display when it comes to selling the game. Congratulazioni all'Italia per il suo solido torneo!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!