Eldridge Shines As Canada Leans On Newcomers In Opening Win

Canada's fresh faces made their presence felt early in the 2026 IIHF women's World Championships. Jessie Eldridge was notably one of Canada's best players, if not the best player on the ice in the opening game of the tournament for the Canadians who beat Sweden 5-1.

In the first period Eldridge tipped home a shot to open the scoring for Canada with assists coming from 18-year-old Rosalie Tremblay, and first time national team defender Kendall Cooper.

Emily Clark recorded the only goal of the game scored by a member of Canada's 2026 Olympic roster tipping in a Daryl Watts shot on the power play to give Canada an early 2-0 lead. Sweden's penalty problems would return throughout the game as they took 11 penalties, including a five minute major in the game.

Still in the first, Rebecca Leslie jumped on a loose puck in the slot and beat Swedish netminder Ebba Svensson Traff on the backhand in tight to give Canada a 3-0 lead after one period. It was Leslie's first career national team goal for Canada.

On their third power play of the opening half of period two, Kendall Cooper took a pass in the slot from Eldridge and scored her first career senior national team goal beating Svensson Traff from the slot.

In the third period on a power play of their own, Hanna Thuvik jammed home a rebound from Mira Jungaker's point shot to get Sweden on the board.

Finally, on yet another power play, Eldridge scored her second of the game finding a rebound off Caitlin Kraemer's shot. Chloe Primerano picked up the secondary assist on the goal, which gave Canada a 5-1 lead which they'd hold until the final buzzer.

Canada outshot Sweden 41-14 in the win.

Eldridge looked sharp in Canada's win, not only threatening offensively, but winning her puck battles along the walls and finding open space to create. Her offseason efforts were evident as Eldridge looked sharper than ever, and effectively kept her feet moving while protecting the puck in zone. 

She wasn't the only standout for Canada however. While she's Canada's youngest player, Rosalie Tremblay was also clearly one of Canada's best. She generate her share of chances, and it was clear that Tremblay was not simply along for the ride on Canada's top line, but was also capable of driving offense individually. 

On the back end, Primerano and Cooper were both standouts for Canada in the win. Primerano showed her ability to transport the puck as a 19-year-old blueliner, and has already emerged as a top four for Canada, and one of the best in the world. 

Other Canadian players who showed well in the game included Danielle Serdachny and Ella Shelton. Canada's young players including Hayley McDonald and Caitlin Kraemer also continued their progress, and did not look out of place.

While Canada won decisively, there remains areas for improvement as they prepare to face new challengers. On the back end, Canada's utilization of eight defenders was simply too much. The pairing of Sophie Jaques and Kati Tabin were clearly Canada's fourth unit, and Jaques struggled positionally and seemed rushed with the puck too often in transition, and outside of the offensive zone. Canada used Jaques regularly on the power play, but she was unable to get looks, or her shots through effectively. Overall, it was a game that made Canada's defensive depth chart clear with Tabin and Jaques coming in at seventh and eighth respectively. 

Some of the ice time eaten by these players kept Renata Fast from finding her full rhythm and reduced her impact. Fast is one of the globe's top defenders, and thrives with a heavier load than she got in game one. Canada will likely reduce their deployment of depth on the blueline as the tournament progresses, and they'd add another layer of attack from the blueline by shifting some of that to Fast.

Up front, Tremblay and Serdachny's lines were the drivers of Canada's attack. Canada's second line centered by Caitlin Kraemer, and flanked by Laura Stacey and Emma Maltais were the least noticeable of the bunch. When Sarah Fillier returns to the lineup, Canada will have significantly more options, whether it's to put Fillier in place of Maltais, or dropped Daryl Watts from the top line where she was often the odd-woman out with Tremblay and Eldridge carrying the play. Canada's forward lines certainly generated chances, but head coach Kori Cheverie, who recorded her first career win behind the bench at Worlds, will likely make minor adjustments to squeeze even more out of the group.