Canada took silver last year, but the only goal for the nation's women's hockey team is gold. Here's a look at how their roster stacks up at the 2024 World Championships.
Team Canada wants gold, there is no other goal for the World Championships. The problem for Canada is, they'll need to take it back from USA who won gold last year in Brampton, and they'll also need to hold off nations like Finland and Czechia who look better than ever.
Here's a look at how Canada stacks up.
Spooner To Take Center Stage
Natalie Spooner has been unstoppable with PWHL Toronto this year, and Canada/Toronto head coach Troy Ryan knows exactly how and when to deploy his star. With a lingering injury to Marie-Philip Poulin, Spooner may need to shoulder more of the offensive load early in the tournament, but it's something she's capable of entering the World Championships leading the PWHL in both goals and points. She's played a prototypical power forward game finding an extra jump to her step, which will bode well against USA. In recent weeks, we saw an uptick in Sarah Nurse's play with Toronto as well, following more than a year long slump by Nurse, who Canada needs to produce. She looks ready to jump back to her 2022 Olympic output.
Youth Will Be Served At Worlds
USA has beat Canada with their youth. Whether it's the Rivalry Series or Worlds, Canada hasn't been able to contain the youthful exuberance of Team USA in recent seasons. This time around, Canada will sprinkle a little more youth into the lineup themselves with Danielle Serdachny and Julia Gosling up front joining Sarah Fillier and Emma Maltais. This group will take a larger role in Canada's attack, and at times in the Rivalry Series, Serdachny and Gosling were far and away Canada's best forwards. On the back end, the introduction of Nicole Gosling to Canada's lineup could be crucial. The All-American from Clarkson was steady for Canada at the Rivalry Series, and if they give her enough time in the preliminary games, she could evolve to play a major role in the medal round.
Do Larocque and Fast Have Enough Fuel?
Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast have been played into the ice in PWHL Toronto, but with great success. With Larocque serving a one game suspension to close out play prior to the international break, Toronto had their 11 game win streak snapped. The duo have averaged more than 28 minutes per game this season, and it will be interesting to see if fatigue plays a factor for them. Canada should give players like Gosling and Ashton Bell more time early on to help these players refuel for the big games, and to allow their young players to step into bigger roles. Much of Canada's hopes rest on this Larocque and Fast. Erin Ambrose has been arguably the best singular blueliner in the PWHL this season, while Ella Shelton has played big minutes in New York.
What are Canada's weaknesses?
Last year Canada failed to match USA's intensity and forecheck in the gold medal game. It's always a role of the dice for who will win gold, but Canada struggled to fend off the push of Taylor Heise, Hannah Bilka, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, and the rest of USA's youthful core. It opened up space behind this first wave for veteran Hilary Knight to clean up, and for defenders like Caroline Harvey to find more open space. Canada will need to shut down the rush earlier, pushing the play forward more often. The addition of Gosling and bigger roles for players like Serdachny, Maltais, and Emily Clark in games against the USA should help. Canada's defense was mistake prone last season, primarily coming from their secondary like Claire Thompson, Micah Zandee Hart, and Jaime Bourbonnais. Two of the three aren't back with only Bourbonnais remaining, but Canada can't get ahead of the puck. It's lazy play many members of the PWHPA and Canada picked up from informal or mismatched competition. Finally, Canada needs better balance from their depth. Whether it's Kristen O'Neill, Blayre Turnbull, or Jamie Lee Rattray, Canada needs their checking lines to contribute in big games, not just the preliminary rounds.