Canada announced their roster for the initial leg of the 2025 Rivalry Series including some notable omissions.
Hockey Canada today named their 25 player roster ahead of the opening leg of games for the 2025 Rivalry Series in Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York this week.
Among those named to Canada's roster are 20 returning players from Canada's silver medal winning roster at the 2025 World Championships.
Several players however, including Kayle Osborne (New York Sirens), Kati Tabin (Montreal Victoire), Caitlin Kraemer (Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA), and Hannah Miller (PWHL Vancouver) will be making their senior national team debuts for Canada.
“These four games are more than just a mini-competition between two rival nations; they remain an important measuring stick for us as we continue building toward the 2026 Olympic Winter Games,” said Kingsbury. “We have focused our training blocks on fine-tuning our on-ice identity and paying attention to the details that we believe will drive our success. The four games are a critical step in that process, and we are excited to see it all come together on the ice.”
Canada is choosing to rest starting netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens at this leg of the series bringing Osborne, Eve Gascon, and Emerance Maschemeyer in net.
On the blueline Canada will retun Erin Ambrose, Sophie Jaques, Renata Fast, Chloe Primerano, Claire Thompson, Micah Zandee-Hart and Ella Shelton from their 2025 roster.
Up front Canada will also bring a veteran core including Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Fillier, Jennifer Gardiner, Julia Gosling, Kristin O'Neill, Danielle Serdachny, Natalie Spooner, Daryl Watts, Laura Stacey, Emma Maltais, Sarah Nurse, and Blayre Turnbull.
Notable Omissions Dot Canada's Lineup
While some omissions, like netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens are simply maintenance, others might have a deeper meaning.
From Canada's 30 player roster participating in Olympic training blocks this offseason, including this week in Montreal, several key names are not competing with Canada at the Rivalry Series.
Among those are long time national team standout and Ottawa Charge captain Brianne Jenner, as well as Ottawa Charge defender Jocelyne Larocque, who has been a regular on Canada's blueline for a decade.
Completing a trifecta of Ottawa Charge omissions is forward Emily Clark. Clark is still recovering from injury but is expected to be ready for the opening of the PWHL season. On the blueline, Nicole Gosling of the Montreal Victoire was the other player left behind for this leg.