Canada named their 23 player national development team roster ahead of the December stop on the Women's Euro Hockey Tour in Finland.
Canada named their 23 player national development team roster ahead of the December stop on the Women's Euro Hockey Tour in Finland.
Hockey Canada has named their 23 player National women's development team roster that will compete in the Women's Euro Hockey Tour from December 11-15 in Tampere, Finland.
“The 23 players that will represent Canada are a testament to the depth we have within our program and our ongoing effort to continue developing our athletes at all levels,” Piper said. “The Women’s Euro Hockey Tour will give our staff a unique opportunity to assess our development athletes in international competition, and we look forward to watching these players compete in Finland and evaluating player growth this season.”
Headlining Canada's roster is senior national team member Nicole Gosling who won gold at the 2024 IIHF World Championships. Anne Cherkowski, Gosling's Clarkson teammate, who has appeared with Canada at the Rivalry Series, is also on the roster.
Among those announced to represent Canada also include seven members of Canada's 2022 gold medal winning U-18 national team including Avi Adam, Jocelyn Amos, Jordan Baxter, Tova Henderson, Alex Law, Ava Murphy, and Hailey MacLeod. From Canada's 2023 U-18 gold medal winning team, Emmalee Pais, Emma Venusio, and Caitlin Kraemer were also named to the roster. 2024 U-18 national team member Claire Murdoch is also on the roster.
Adding a veteran presence alongside Gosling and Cherkowski are a number of PWHL Draft eligible players including Ohio State's Jenna Buglioni, Kendall Cooper (Quinnipiac), Ashley Messier (Cornell), Maya Labad (Quinnipiac), Hannah Murphy (Colgate), and Sarah Wozniewicz (Wisconsin). Sarah Paul of Princton and Eve Gascon (Minnesota-Duluth) are also NCAA veterans on the roster.
Rounding out Canada's lineup are Sarah Swiderski (Ohio State) and Madeline Palumbo (Colgate).
“The Women’s Euro Hockey Tour is a fantastic opportunity for our National Women’s Development Team to gain valuable experience on the international stage,” said Dylan Rockwell, senior manager of hockey operations. “This tournament will be an important step in the development and assessment of our athletes for the future of Team Canada looking ahead to the Olympic quadrennials in 2030 and 2034.”
Canada will be one of six teams at the event including USA's national development team, and senior national teams from Czechia, Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland.
While this is Canada's first appearance on the Euro Hockey Tour, the nation has made a commitment to participate in the December stop on the tour annually through 2026 alongside USA, with the exception of 2026 when the Winter Olympics will take place in Italy.