Canada and USA will look to move significantly closer to finalizing their Olympic rosters this week at the final Rivalry Series stop in Edmonton. Here's a look at five roster battles to watch.
The Rivalry Series wraps up this week in Edmonton. It's a crucial moment for both Canada and the United States as they enter their final stretch of preparation ahead of the 2026 Olympics.
For both nations, there are crucial roster spots up for grabs.
1. Can Canada's Aging Veterans Earn One More Olympic Games
Brianne Jenner and Jocelyne Larocque were both left off Canada's first Rivalry Series roster, but are back this time around. Larocque has been playing big minutes for the Ottawa Charge, and Jenner showed signs of life with a four point game early in the PWHL season, although she's been nearly invisible in Ottawa's three losses.
If one or both make Team Canada, it will be their final Olympic Games. If this is the end, both will go down as all-time Canadian greats. Either way, the duo are in a fight for their national team lives they haven't faced in more than a decade.
2. Who Gets The Start For USA?
When you look up and down USA's roster, there just aren't holes. They are five lines deep up front where you could conceivably elevate or demote any player into another role and watch them thrive. For USA it means the biggest roster battles are internal. Who will get a scoring line role, who will pair with who on the blueline, and perhaps most notably, who will be USA's starter at the Olympic Games?
Aerin Frankel is the leading candidate not only as USA's starter at recent World Championships, but due to her stunning start in the PWHL this season leading underdog Boston to tops of the PWHL standings. But the only person between her and that starting position is her former Northeastern and current USA netminding partner, Gwyneth Philips. Both have similar accolades individually, but Philips' ability to step in for Frankel during the gold medal game at the 2025 World Championships, followed by Philips' clutch performance to earn PWHL playoff MVP honors will also weigh on John Wroblewski's decision. Right now Frankel is the frontrunner, but this isn't likely to be a placement decided in Edmonton. These goalies will look to prove themselves until February.
3. Where Does Caitlin Kraemer Fit In?
If Canada doesn't see room for Caitlin Kraemer on their roster, they probably should make some. The University of Minnesota-Duluth sophomore is the reigning NCAA national rookie of the year, an honor captured by Team USA forward Joy Dunne. In the past several seasons the award has gone to current Canadian and American national team members including Sarah Fillier, Tessa Janecke, Daryl Watts, and Hannah Bilka.
There just aren't a ton of young forwards with Kraemer's upside in Canada's pool, and with the right mentorship and opportunity, Kraemer could have a similar energizing impact to USA's youth. The question is if she can show enough potential this week to win that chance.
4. Will Rory Guilday Return?
Rory Guilday has represented USA at three World Championships, but they were all in the post-2022 Olympic era. She's looking to become an Olympian for the first time around, and has done everything possible for the Ottawa Charge in the opening weeks of the PWHL season to show she's an elite defender. Guilday has been the anchor on Ottawa's top pairing, and while she's likely fighting for USA's 7th spot on the blueline, she'll be a tempting option for Team USA given her experience, size, and versatility.
To earn that spot, Guilday needs to outperform Ohio State's Emma Peschel who was the other defender who factored into USA's first Rivalry Series lineup, along with Savannah Harmon and Anna Wilgren who were both on the roster, but didn't play.
She's not alone in her fight, as other American players who have been in and out of national rosters like Jesse Compher will feel the pinch to perform this week.
5. Who Will Win Out On Canada's Blueline?
Forget the re-introduction of Jocelyne Larocque, there's another aspect to Canada's blueline that will be solidified this week. Canada currently has a large number of offensively inclined defenders who have had defensive lapses in their national team performances, or who may be too stylistically similar to other blueliners.
Canada will almost certainly bring young star Chloe Primerano, but with a healthy blueline top to bottom, it will likely mean the Canadians need to cut a veteran. Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, Claire Thompson, and Erin Ambrose are locks. Who joins next is the question. Canada did not bring back Micah Zandee-Hart who was perhaps their most defensively reliable player in the opening games of the Rivalry Series, and they also left behind Kati Tabin, who was taking her first crack at the national roster.
It places the real battle in the lap of Primerano, and enigmatic defender Sophie Jaques. When Jaques is confident and on her game, she can activate an offense from the blueline. But Jaques comes with risk. Defensively, she's shown inconsistency internationally, and after the overtime blunder by Larocque to hand USA gold at the 2025 Worlds, Canada might lean toward reliability and consistency over high risk, high reward players.
Sophie Jaques can be a tremendous asset to Canada in the right situation. But Canada's brass has shown a tendency to tap the same tricks over and over rather than trying something new, even if they continue to receive negative results. Canada will be watching their blueline under a microscope this week in Edmonton where every pass, angle, and decision will be critiqued.