Opinion: Did Team Canada Just Select A Silver Medal Roster?

Prediction: The Canadian women’s hockey team will not win the gold medal this year at the 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina.

I know. It’s a bold thing to say. 

But after Hockey Canada announced the 23 players on Friday afternoon who will go to the Olympics next month, that’s the only outcome I can come up with. 

While I wasn’t expecting a lot of surprises, there were some decisions made by GM Gina Kingsbury and head coach Troy Ryan that I find hard to understand. Jocelyne Larocque and Kati Tabin were chosen on the blue line over Micah Zandee-Hart and young gun Chloe Primerano. At 37 years old, Larocque has slowed down a lot over the past two years. She is no longer the player who participated in three Olympic Games. I am also surprised by Tabin’s nomination. 

The Victoire defender does not dominate in any category and does not even play on Montréal’s first defensive pair. I don’t believe she’s cut out for this kind of international tournament–unless they’re bringing her in to play with Erin Ambrose, with whom she paired up during the team’s first season and who is a good complement for Montreal’s star player. Could it also be some favoritism from Canadian assistant coach Kori Cheverie, who happens to be head coach of the Victoire? In any case, Zandee-Hart is having a much better season and deserved that spot.

Choosing Kayle Osborne might seem logical if you look at her level of play in the PWHL this season. She’s leading with three shutouts and is the only goalie in the league to have played every game for her team.

However, I had the impression that Ève Gascon was the future in the Canadian net. If that is still the case, why not bring her along as the third goalie so she can gain experience? Especially if she isn’t expected to play. In seven Olympic tournaments, the third goalie has only played twice, including the time when Kim St-Pierre let her friend Charline Labonté finish her game. Now, does the coaching staff see Osborne as the team’s number two goalie? Not impossible.

Compared to the United States, Canada has a smaller team that is slower and older.

Also, the American team has eight players who are 5-feet-10 inches and taller, including three over six feet; on the Canadian side, there are only three.

The average age of the Canadian team is 29, compared to 26 for the Americans. The United States has 13 players born in the 2000s, compared to only five for Canada.

Canada has clearly relied on experience, to the extent of not selecting any college players such as Chloe Primerano, Caitlin Kraemer, or Ève Gascon.

The Americans will get in the Canadian zone fast and furious. Will Canada’s experience be able to keep up with the speed of the Americans? 

Even after Team Canada’s management said that they were also going to choose their roster based on the players’ performances in the PWHL this season, even perhaps choosing someone who was not at their training camp, the reality is that Canada selected players from the same group of athletes who were invited to the various training camp blocks over the summer and who played in the Rivalry Series. 

Also, 13 forwards, as well as six of the seven defenders were part of the team that participated in the last World Championship.

Should I remind you that the Americans won all four games of the Rivalry Series by a score of 24-7? And that they also won the gold medal at the World Championships?

Just to name a few, young players like Mae Batherson and Kendell Cooper, both on the Minnesota Frost's blue line, are off to an excellent start this season. Danielle Serdachny, 24, is perhaps not having the season she would like, but she still scored the golden goal at the 2024 World Championships and also scored in the 2025 final.

For a team that has lost its last six matchups against the United States, Canada didn’t rock the boat at all here. No risks were taken.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I have the feeling that this is what Canada just did.