Canada’s New Era Gets an Encouraging Start at Women’s Worlds

The fresh energy surrounding Canada’s national women’s team is already making a difference at the Women’s World Championship, which began Friday morning in Denmark.

In Canada’s 5–1 win over Sweden, nine of the Canadians’ 12 points came from players who were not on the roster at the most recent Olympics.

An early indication that this renewal, both in management and on the ice, was more than necessary.

Forward Jessie Eldridge, who had not played for the national team since 2022, opened the tournament with two goals and an assist. Defender Kendall Cooper added a goal and an assist, while Rebecca Leslie also found the back of the net.

At 30, Leslie is making her Women’s World Championship debut. When I spoke with her at training camp in Quebec City, she told me how much of a dream it would be to represent Canada at this tournament. The Ottawa native certainly made the most of her debut, skating alongside two former Ottawa Charge teammates, Danielle Serdachny and Emily Clark. Clark scored Canada’s other goal.

The line of Jessie Eldridge, Daryl Watts and 18-year-old Rosalie Tremblay was excellent for Canada. With an assist on Eldridge’s opening goal early in the first period, Tremblay recorded her first career Women’s World Championship point. The first of many, I’m sure.

She finished the game with two shots on goal and a plus-2 rating. With 23 shifts totalling 18:14, she was also one of Canada’s most-used forwards.

I’ve said it before, but watching her centre the top line, you would think she had been doing it for years. She plays with such confidence and looks completely at home.

The team’s other young stars, Chloe Primerano and Caitlin Kraemer, also had strong games, each recording a point and logging more than 18 minutes of ice time.

Captain Laura Stacey, meanwhile, played just 10:45, the fourth-lowest total on the Canadian roster. Her line with Emma Maltais and Caitlin Kraemer was not the most effective, either.

If Sarah Fillier returns to the lineup, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her reunited with Eldridge and Tremblay on the top line, a combination Canada has used since the start of training camp.

A lot has been said in recent days about Alexia Aubin joining the Canadian team. Here is what actually happened.

Team Canada’s management contacted Aubin last Friday afternoon to ask her to join the group in Denmark. At that point, Sarah Fillier had not yet been injured. That happened later that evening during the exhibition game against the United States.

Aubin played both of Colgate’s weekend games before joining her Canadian teammates.

Canada had called on Aubin in anticipation of a possible absence involving Sara Manness. Manness did not play in that game against the Americans. She subsequently practised in a yellow non-contact jersey and was also out of the lineup against Sweden.

With Canada limited to 25 registered players for the tournament, management needed to monitor Fillier’s and Manness’s recovery before making a decision. On Thursday, the team decided to send Aubin back to her university. That suggests Canada expects both injured forwards to be able to contribute before the end of the tournament.

It was probably not the outcome Aubin had hoped for, but the experience is still an encouraging sign for her future. Management clearly holds her in high regard, which bodes well for upcoming international competitions. As plans begin to take shape for the 2030 Olympics, there is every reason to believe she is in the picture for now.

Because of a dispute over the commercial rights to the uniforms, Canada and the US are wearing a generic jersey at this championship.

But I feel like it’s even worse for the Canadian team with only the word “Canada” and a map of the country at the collar to distinguish them, these jerseys are disappointing and soulless. For me, they belong in the same category as the Islanders’ fisherman jersey and the Kings’ “Burger King” jersey. Even Ken Dryden, at the 1969 World Championship, at least had a maple leaf on his jersey alongside the word “Canada.”