Caitlin Kraemer has stood out nearly everywhere she’s played, whether that's the NCAA or at the Edmonton Oilers' Development Camp. But through the past couple of weeks with Hockey Canada in BC, it’s clear the forward has taken yet another step in representing Canada.
Since arriving at the Richmond Olympic Oval for Canada’s National Team Development Camp, Caitlin Kraemer has been one of her team’s standouts.
Not to say that she hasn’t stood out nearly everywhere she’s played, whether that's in her first two seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, or at the Edmonton Oilers' Development Camp. But through the past couple of weeks with Hockey Canada in BC, it’s clear the forward has taken yet another step in regards to representing her country.
At 20 years old and entering her third year at UMD, Kraemer has made her mark throughout Canada’s three-game summer series against Team USA by driving offence and doing her part to minimize chances coming the other way.
Canada’s Head Coach, Vicky Sunohara, summarizes Kraemer’s impact well.
“She’s first on, last off [...] she puts her head down and gets to work every time, every practice, every game, and I’m really excited to see her path as she moves forward, a leader through and through.”
While Kraemer has found success throughout the competition so far, the most noticeable point of her impact came when she scored a shootout goal in Game 2 to seal a 2–1 win for Canada.
“It’s always an honour to kind of be put in that spot and be trusted with that,” she told The Hockey News after the second game of the series. “Of course, when we have Chloe [Primerano] to kind of take the pressure off, Éve [Gascon] to take the pressure off, it makes it a lot easier. It was a great team win all the way through, top to bottom.”
Aside from her stint at this year’s camp, Kraemer has also represented Hockey Canada twice at the U-18 World Junior Championships in 2022–23 and 2023–24, scoring a team-high 10 goals in both tournaments.
Her time with the organization doesn’t stop there, however, as Kraemer was one of only two under-20 players at the time to represent Canada during both stretches of the 2025–26 Rivalry Series. Development Team teammate Primerano was the other U-20 player on both the November and December rosters, while Kraemer’s UMD teammate Gascon only played in the November stint.
“They treat us so well, they teach you how to be a pro, hold you to a high standard, and it kind of just helps you grow,” she said of Hockey Canada’s womens program. “You keep it in mind, how to act on and off the ice, and I think just being in the program, it’s helped me be a better person and player.”
There were a lot of familiar faces around camp for Kraemer, who got to share the ice with fellow UMD teammates Gascon and Ashley Messier (Vancouver Goldeneyes) as well as around 20 teammates from her two stints with Canada’s U-18 teams.
“It’s been awesome to kind of be back with some of my old teammates and some minor hockey friends. I’ve honestly had a blast reminiscing on old memories and making new memories.”
More memories will be coming Kraemer’s way come the 2026–27 season as she embarks on her junior year at UMD. With some young standouts joining their roster, such as Team USA’s Rae Mayer and Canada’s Renée Lapointe, Kraemer has expressed her excitement about the upcoming year.
“I think we have a great opportunity at hand. We have a really young team, but a really hungry team. We have Éve to back us up, and I think we’ve just got to kind of break the ice as goal-scorers, and I think the sky’s the limit for us.”
An NCAA championship is the goal, of course, but Kraemer knows that given the skill-level of the WCHA — featuring a Primerano-led University of Minnesota team and an always-strong University of Wisconsin, among many other talents — it won’t be an easy task. But, with UMD hosting the Frozen Four in 2026–27, there may not be a more fitting time to try and win a championship.
“I want to take Duluth as far as we can,” she said. “I think we have all the pieces. Obviously, being in the WCHA, it’s a hard conference and [there are] high standards there. But I think we have the group to do it this year. And under our coaching staff and the facilities we have, I think we have everything we need.”
