Hockey Canada announced their 24 player roster for the February stops of the Rivalry Series. The roster sees Maggie Connors making her national team debut, while Natalie Spooner returns.
Hockey Canada announced their 24 player roster for the February stops of the Rivalry Series. The roster sees Maggie Connors making her national team debut, while Natalie Spooner returns.
Hockey Canada announced their 24 player roster who will compete at the February stops on the 2023-2024 Rivalry Series.
The roster featured 14 players returning to Canada's roster from the December Rivalry Series, and one player, forward Maggie Connors who players for GM Gina Kingsbury and coach Troy Ryan with PWHL Toronto, who will make her senior national team debut.
“We are excited about the 24 players we have assembled for our final three games against the Americans, and once again we expect another competitive series to showcase to our great fans,” said general manager Gina Kingsbury in a Hockey Canada news release. “Our roster features a more veteran lineup, however with each series, we have looked at the depth of our women’s program and incorporated athletes which allowed us to test new line combinations. Ultimately, the process and these games are the building blocks we need for us to have success at the upcoming IIHF Women’s World Championship in April.”
Also back with Team Canada for the February stops is forward Natalie Spooner, who had not played with Canada since the 2023 World Championships. Spooner sits third in the PWHL this season in goals with five through eight games for PWHL Toronto.
One notable change to Canada's lineup is the replacement of third goaltender Kristen Campbell with PWHL New York netminder Corinne Schroeder, who has posted a 1.79 GAA and .946 save percentage.
Also back with Canada is Victoria Bach who has yet to play a game this season but is expected to join PWHL Toronto in the coming days. To make space, Toronto will need to release a player from their current roster. With Micah Zandee-Hart returning to Canada's roster following a lengthy injury, Canada did not bring back Sophie Jaques for the February stops.
Like Team USA, Canada will field a roster comprised entirely of PWHL players as NCAA teams move toward playoffs. For Canada this means the absence of Sarah Fillier, Danielle Serdachny, Julia Gosling, Nicole Gosling, and Anne Cherkowski, among others.