Five Questions As Canada's National Team Camp Opens

Canada's national team hopefuls have gathered in Quebec City for a week-long training camp ahead of games in Windsor, Ontario and Plymouth, Michigan later this month, followed by the 2026 World Championships in Denmark in November.

With 48 players vying for 25 spots, the competition will be fierce, particularly with a new coaching staff and management staff looking to put their own stamp on the roster.

In the past, camps were less about competition for roster spots and more about preparing a very similar roster, for the next event. This time, there will be question marks, and soon answers, up and down the lineup. 

It includes certainties, like opening camp without Marie-Philip Poulin and Blayre Turnbull who will not be able to participate in Worlds, and question marks like Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, and Emerance Maschmeyer who are all unable to attend camp, but have spent years on Canada's national team. 

Aside from those certainties, Canada's roster faces several important questions.

No one is doubting Ann-Renee Desbiens is set to remain Canada's starter. She was the 2025 PWHL Goaltender of the Year, won a Walter Cup in 2026, and was a 2026 finalist for PWHL MVP and Goaltender of the Year. There is no other Canadian goalie with her track record. Behind Desbiens, it seems like a moment in time where Team Canada could be set to move on from Emerance Maschmeyer, who herself will not be in camp, and Kayle Osborne will be in a fight for her spot after grabbing the third goalie position for Milan, before struggling down the stretch professionally. Ève Gascon is the leading candidate to win a position. She was, after all, on Canada's 2025 World Championship roster, and played in the Rivalry Series last year. She's considered Canada's goalie of the future, but she'll have competition from the four PWHL veterans in camp looking to claim the title of Desbiens' backup. Raygan Kirk may be the leading contender based on her consistent and impactful play from start to finish last year in the PWHL. 

Many Canadian fans have been calling for management to burn the roster down and start again. That's not likely, as general manager Daniele Sauvageau likely believes there's still a path to gold for Canada with the right mix on the roster. Some of that mix will need to include a spattering of NCAA players. For Canada, who was beaten the last year by a heavily NCAA-driven American roster, there's a need to find young talent they can integrate and develop, now. Caitlin Kraemer (Minnesota-Duluth) up front, Chloe Primerano (Minnesota) on the blueline, and Ève Gascon (Minnesota-Duluth) in net are the easy answers. Beyond this trio, the next closest names are all forwards. Ohio State's Jocelyn Amos could manage a checking line role, and she's strong on the face-off dot. Canada could also give long looks to Rosalie Tremblay, Sara Manness, Claire Murdoch, and Abby Stonehouse, who are all off to strong starts, and can play a variety of roles.

One of Canada's most obvious areas to tweak their roster comes from past members of their national team who were omitted from the 2026 Olympic roster. Leading that discussion will be Nicole Gosling, who was one of the PWHL's best defenders last season from start to finish. Gosling should be in Canada's top four, not just on the roster, and there's not a defender in the lineup, perhaps outside of Renata Fast, who Canada couldn't sacrifice to make room for Gosling. To make Canada's blueline more youthful, reliable, and mobile, it would not be surprising to see them infuse Kendall Cooper to the blueline as well, or perhaps Ashton Bell, who has only won gold in her international career with Canada including an Olympic gold and three World Championship gold medals. It's hard to argue with that mix. Up front, Jessie Eldridge, Rebecca Leslie, and Danielle Serdachny are going to get long looks, but Canada could also look to shift things by infusing the speed and compete of young PWHL players like Sarah Wozniewicz and Abby Newhook. Canada isn't going to outskill USA head-to-head, but they can assemble a team that can hold its own in the speed column and outwork them.

Some might point to the fact Canada and USA have gone to overtime in three straight international championship games, but the reality is, USA has surpassed Canada at the world level. USA's core including Caroline Harvey, Taylor Fox, Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Haley Winn and others are still in or just entering their core, and they have no major holes to fill this season. With the exception of Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Lee Stecklein, who sometime in the next 3-4 seasons are likely to move on, there just aren't gaps in USA's roster. Canada on the other hand, fielded the oldest roster of any nation at the Olympics, and their age is showing. This season, some change will be forced with Marie-Philip Poulin, Blayre Turnbull, and Claire Thompson known to be missing from worlds, and others like Natalie Spooner and Emerance Maschmeyer, who are unable to attend camp, assumed to be gone. Still more of their aging veterans will be fighting for their national team lives at camp. There's little Canada can do except shuffle the deck widely and hope for new chemistry. Canada could also lean on PWHL chemistry and connections while forming lines, a tactic that could give a player like Rebecca Leslie, who was dominant last season on a line with Brianne Jenner, an edge. There is no obvious route for Canada to catch USA aside from waiting for their top prospects to gain another season or two of experience.

At the 2026 Olympics, Brianne Jenner donned the captain's "C" while Marie-Philip Poulin was out with injury. As long as Canada envisions Jenner as part of their roster moving forward, she's the odds on favorite to take over as captain. But it's not a long term answer in leadership. Poulin is expected to return next season, but a succession plan for leadership is something Daniele Sauvageau will be considering. Young leaders like Sarah Fillier should be considered. There will be at least one player wearing a new letter on their shirt at this tournament, and if it goes to a younger player, it might be a tip of the cap toward where Canada views their leadership moving in the future.