While everyone is looking to earn a chance with Canada and USA's senior national teams, some appear closer than others to making the jump. Here's a look at those players.
On the ice last summer for Canada and USA's Summer Series were now World Championship American gold medalists Tessa Janecke, Abbey Murphy, Britta Curl, Nicole LaMantia, and Abbey Levy, and Canadian World silver medalist Danielle Serdachny.
Each year, the summer event propels the next wave of stars to North American national teams. In 2019-2020, Canada's Development roster featured Sarah Fillier, Emma Maltais, Jamie Bourbonnais, and Kristin O'Neill all played, before graduating to the senior national team. It's a never ending pipeline.
The U-18 series is another step on the journey to represent hockey's two most powerful women's hockey nations.
This year will be no different. Here's a look at some of the players closest to joining their national programs heading into the USA-Canada Summer Series.
Team USA
With USA bringing in more collegiate players than Canada in recent years, their Development Team roster is still overflowing with players who will soon challenge for senior national team roster spots. Perhaps the player closest was kept off this year's roster, Laila Edwards. Following USA's National Festival, Edwards was kept with the senior national team, and will likely find herself in Rivalry Series action this season. On the current Development Team, Yale standout Elle Hartje and Ohio State's Kiara Zanon are the top two NCAA scorers on the roster, followed by Casey O'Brien. The trio will all be watched closely by USA's national program this season. Similarly, younger forwards such as Kirsten Simms and Elyssa Biederman are two players who could follow Tessa Janecke and Edwards from their age group to the national program. Joy Dunne is the only 2005 born player on USA's roster.
On the blueline, the strength of USA's roster is in their youth. USA's blueline on the senior national team is already young and skilled, but there's another wave coming in players such as Vivian Jungels, Grace Dwyer, Emma Peschel, and Sydney Morrow. One or two of those players could crack Team USA's roster by the conclusion of their NCAA careers.
In net, USA Hockey has a plethora of depth at all levels. It's likely Gwyneth Philips, JoJo Chobak, and Amanda Thiele will be turning pro before they get a call to USA's crease, but it's a good problem for the nation to have.
Team Canada
For the first time in recent seasons, Canada's Development team underwent a youth movement this year. Recent graduates Gabrielle David and Sophie Jacques could, and likely should have been on Canada's senior national team last year. Hockey Canada also chose to leave behind Jennifer Gardiner, Stephanie Markowski, and Julia Gosling, a trio of players who were eligible for the Development Team, and would have certainly helped Canada against USA in this series in favour of a younger roster.
Anne Cherkowski and Abby Newhook at the forwards to watch who will soon be challenging for senior national team spots, but if Canada chooses to respond to USA's youth movement with one of their own, 2005 born standouts Jocelyn Amos, Jade Iginla, Emalee Pais, Alex Law, and Jordan Baxter could soon be battling for spots.
Canada's future blueline looks promising, as their current blueline was an issue at the World Championships. The group of Brooke Disher, Sara Swiderski, Tova Henderson, Alyssa Regalado, and Ava Murphy will all be looking to earn a closer look in this series.
While Canada's current development team looks promising, their U-18 team features perhaps the brightest stars in the grouping. Caitlin Kraemer (2006) broke Marie-Philip Poulin's U-18 goal scoring record last season, and 2007 defender Chloe Primerano might be the best blueliner to emerge from Canada in more than a decade.
In net, Eve Gascon is the likely heir apparent to Canada's crease, but Hannah Murphy is rapidly claiming her own spot. She has the size and athleticism to be Canada's goalie of the future.