Following an 11-day selection camp in Calgary, 23 players have been named to Canada’s national women’s team for the upcoming IIHF world championship, solidifying the roster that will look to become back-to-back champions.
Nineteen players on the roster were members of that 2021 gold-medal winning club, and 18 played for Canada at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. The familiarity — with each other and with playing games on hockey’s biggest stages — figures to be a boon for the country in the unusually-timed event.
“It is unusual to play in a world championship and an Olympics in a single year, but this opportunity allows us to evaluate ourselves against the best in the world as we start our new four-year Olympic cycle,” Gina Kingsbury, Canada’s director of hockey operations, said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have familiarity among our coaching staff and players who know what it takes to win.”
The roster was decided on by a collection of senior team officials, including head coach Troy Ryan, Kingsbury, senior manager of player development and scouting Cherie Piper, as well heading the advice of the rest of the scouting and coaching staffs.
The Calgary-based camp that informed their choices was “extremely competitive,” Kingsbury said, and saw players engage in on- and off-ice testing, skills sessions, and six intrasquad games.
“We have assembled an experienced team that will give us the best chance to compete once again for a gold medal,” Kingsbury said.
Canada’s first game of the 10-team tournament takes place on Aug. 25 against Finland, one of their rivals in a stacked Group A that also features Japan, Switzerland and the United States. Group B is composed of Czechia, tournament host Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Sweden.
After Finland, Canada will play Switzerland on Aug. 27, followed by Japan on Aug. 28, and then will close the preliminary round against the United States on Aug. 30, renewing one of the most storied rivalries in all of sport.
The full team roster, by position, can be found below:
Forwards
Victoria Bach
Emily Clark
Jessie Eldridge
Sarah Fillier
Brianne Jenner
Emma Maltais
Sarah Nurse
Kristin O’Neill
Sarah Potomak
Marie-Philip Poulin
Jamie Lee Rattray
Laura Stacey
Blayre Turnbull
Defence
Erin Amrbose
Ashton Bell
Renata Fast
Jocelyne Larocque
Meaghan Mikkelson
Ella Shelton
Micah Zandee-Hart
Goaltenders
Kristen Campbell
Ann-Renee Desbiens
Emerance Maschmeyer
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