Hockey Canada unveiled their 48 player roster for their women's national team. With 30 newcomers in camp, it's a fresh start for Canada. But who will make the roster? Who will be cut? And how much change can fans expect immediately?
Hockey Canada put out a 48 player roster for their national team training camp next month ahead of the 2026 World Championships in Denmark this November.
Among the group, were 30 players who did not make Canada's 2026 Olympic roster. Only a small handful of those, namely Eve Gascon, Caitlin Kraemer, Danielle Serdachny, Micah Zandee-Hart, Chloe Primerano, and Hannah Miller, were even invited to Canada's Olympic camp.
Last season, many PWHL and NCAA players were outperforming the 30 players in Canada's Olympic camp, but Hockey Canada did not add any players to their roster outside of those invited to the August camp block.
This year, Canada's new management, under GM Daniele Sauvageau and assistant GMs Mike Hirshfeld and Manon Rheaume, are opening the doors to real competition for roster spots by bringing not only a large number of professionals, including some who have been held off Canada's roster in recent years, but also young prospects from the NCAA.
Canada's Youth Movement Is Beginning
Not every young star that will dot Canada's roster in the coming seasons was invited to camp, namely players like Issy Wunder, Stryker Zablocki, Kahlen Lamarche, Mackenzie Alexander, and Danica Maynard, but Canada has enough new faces in the mix that could conceivably earn roster spots immediately.
Among those players are 2008 born forward Rosalie Tremblay and Hayley McDonald who are both in their rookie NCAA season with Wisconsin and Ohio State respectively. Also in the mix are 2007 born players Sara Manness and Chloe Primerano giving Canada their first realistic look at a group of teenagers in years. 2006 born players Abby Stonehouse, Claire Murdoch, Grace Outwater, Caitlin Kraemer, and Emma Venusio are also at camp.
Not only is this group present, but it's likely at least a few will make Team Canada. Primerano and Kraemer played for Canada at the Rivalry Series last season, and are frontrunners to crack Canada's roster, but it would not be surprising to see Canada use a few of their depth spots, particularly with the World Championship's 25-player roster limit, to introduce youth to international competition.
PWHL Performance Now A Factor
It would be hard to claim that performance in the PWHL has been strongly considered in forming Canada's roster in the past. Canada's previous rosters were held together largely by familiarity and loyalty to a group of players who has lost their hold on the world's top spot.
This camp however, it's clear that PWHL performance played a factor in deciding who will be considered. Not only are players, who are seemingly locks for this roster, like Hamilton's Nicole Gosling, back, but so are others like Jessie Eldridge, Rebecca Leslie, Raygan Kirk, and Kendall Cooper who outperformed much of Canada's national team last season. Other PWHL invites including Jaime Bourbonnais, Ashton Bell, Abby Newhook, Sarah Wozniewicz, Hannah Murphy, Corinne Schroeder, Danielle Serdachny, Micah Zandee-Hart, and Hannah Miller are legitimate options to shuffle the deck.
Who Will Be Out For Canada?
Using Canada's 23-player Olympic roster as a starting point, Marie-Philip Poulin and Blayre Turnbull are out due to injury and pregnancy respectively That opens the door for four spots to get to the 25-player World limit. But looking at Canada's "invited, but unable to attend" list, it's likely that Natalie Spooner, Claire Thompson, and Emerance Maschmeyer will also be out. Thompson has yet to decide whether or not she'll continue her hockey career, or whether she'll step in medicine.
If that group is out, it means there will be at least seven roster spots available, which in itself could provide a fresh look for Canada. That list however, might not be where Canada stops their cuts or refresh.
In net, beyond Ann-Renee Desbiens, there is no guarantee any other player returns to Team Canada, including Kayle Osborne who struggled down the stretch in New York. Raygan Kirk is the top performing Canadian in the PWHL who didn't earn a spot last year, and Eve Gascon is Canada's goalie of the future, and is capable of stepping in and challenging the best in the world now.
On the blueline, Canada will need to decide if they continue to ride 38-year-old Jocelyne Larocque, and Kati Tabin who saw limited time at the Olympics will be in a fight to retain her spot as well. It's likely Erin Ambrose will feel a realistic push on the blueline as well.
Up front, Kristin O'Neill is one to watch who will be in a fight for her roster spot after struggling in the PWHL the last three years. She's been good internationally for Canada, but there are others who might have more upside at this point that haven't had a chance to show their readiness and impact. It will be interesting to follow if Emily Clark's struggles from last season cost her a spot, although her play still appears at the national team level by every metric outside production.
Who Will Be In For Canada?
Canada's presumed locks include Desbiens, Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, Sophie Jaques, Sarah Fillier, Daryl Watts, Laura Stacey, Sarah Nurse, and Brianne Jenner. Outside this core, nobody is safe. Young additions such as Julia Gosling and Jennifer Gardiner should be as good as locks as well, as should Nicole Gosling on the blueline.
Beyond this, everyone is fighting for a spot. Canada will likely lean on Emma Maltais and Emily Clark for speed and compete, but there are many players who bring similar elements, and produce more last season. Even young players like Jocelyn Amos and Abby Stonehouse, or PWHLer Sarah Wozniewicz can fill these roles.
From the NCAA cohort, Amos and Caitlin Kraemer are the odds on favorites up front if any NCAA forward makes the team. The blueline will likely include Chloe Primerano from the NCAA.
Looking at the rest of the PWHL grouping, the top performers from last season not on Canada were Nicole Gosling and Kendall Cooper on the back end, both who would add more mobility, compete, and offensive punch, Raygan Kirk in net, and players like Rebecca Leslie and Jessie Eldridge up front.
If Canada were to begin their rebuild process by infusing Gosling, Cooper, and Primerano on the blueline, Gascon in net, and Eldridge, Kraemer, and Leslie up front, it would give a new look. There are multiple sides to this debate where some believe Canada should blow it all up and start fresh, but that process will need veteran insulation and experience to ensure Canada is not only fighting for gold, but also not relinquishing silver.
Looking at Canada's camp roster, including those who cannot attend, fans should expect no fewer than seven new faces in Canada's roster, and perhaps more, when the puck drops for their pre-tournament games, and at the 2026 World Championships in Denmark.
