Canada will host the USA on October 28 in Windsor, Ontario. It will be the first time the two teams have faced off since USA beat Canada in overtime of the gold medal game at the 2026 Olympics. In fact, USA beat Canada twice at the Olympics, four times at the Rivalry Series, and twice at the 2025 World Championships. 

In other words, the October 28 game will be Canada's first chance to set a new direction this season. It's also Canada's first chance to show a new look under new GM Daniele Sauvageau, who built a Walter Cup winning roster with the Montreal Victoire, and was the first woman inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder last year.

There might not be as many changes as some anticipate for Canada unless Sauvageau chooses to blow it all up and begin the build toward the 2030 Olympics now. With Canada's exciting young prospects including forwards like Sara Manness, Stryker Zablocki, and Roslie Tremblay, there is skill on the way. Sauvageau will keep an eye on the future, but she's also going to field rosters she believes can still win now. How that mix plays out for Canada in terms of replacing their aging core will be interesting to see.

With Sauvageau, she could look to players who have been outside Canada's national pool, like Jessie Eldridge who she signed as a free agent this offseason in Montreal, and Rebecca Leslie who was a breakout star with built in chemistry with national team veterans like Brianne Jenner to change direction. Or she could blow it all up and start with youth.

Eleven members of Canada's Olympic roster are now in their 30s. Canada will be without captain Marie-Philip Poulin following her offseason knee surgery, as well as veteran Blayre Turnbull, who is having a baby, and could be without defender Claire Thompson, who has yet to decide if she'll continue her hockey career.

Canada has to shake things up, and needs to find new talent. But how much talent is available that is currently better than Canada's veteran core? The answer is, 'not much', but that might not matter as Canada begins to build for the future, and it might turn out that giving up some veteran depth sparks the program via new chemistry. In net Ann-Renee Desbiens is the only lock. Looking at last season's performances as the only measuring stick, Canada should select Raygan Kirk and Eve Gascon as two and three, or three and two. They could also stay faithful to Emerance Maschmeyer. It will also be interesting to see if Canada brings Kayle Osborne back after she struggled down the stretch with New York. It's still Desbiens' show, but it's time to find her heir, and Gascon and Kirk are the best options at the moment.

The blueline is a major question for Canada. Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, and Sophie Jaques are probably the only sure bets. It's still up in the air whether or not Claire Thompson keeps playing hockey, the 38-year-old Jocelyne Larocque needs a successor, Erin Ambrose had an uncharacteristic down year, and Kati Tabin's debut with Canada saw limited time in key games. All can still play at this level, but there are other defenders who might get Canada closer to beating USA. Tabin might have the inside edge with her Montreal connections.

Nicole Gosling should be the fourth lock for Canada's blueline this time around. She was spectacular all season in the PWHL emerging as Montreal's best defender, and clearly one of the best Canadian blueliners in any league. To add more mobility and puck moving capabilities, a defender like Kendall Cooper has earned the opportunity to compete for Canada. She was a former captain for Canada's national development team, and was clearly one of the more impactful and consistent Canadian blueliners in the PWHL last season. Canada should also bring back Chloe Primerano, planting her as a fixture now and for the future. Depending on Sauvageau's personal preferences, Canada could also call back any number of current PWHL blueliners to step in.

Up front, Marie-Philip Poulin and Blayre Turnbull won't be there. Time to call in Rebecca Leslie, Jessie Eldridge, Hannah Miller, Caitlin Kraemer or Danielle Serdachny to fill the spots. If Canada is going to replace any of their other veterans, there will be a time when Natalie Spooner and Brianne Jenner aren't in the picture. Will that be November? Maybe not for both. Jenner is coming off a stellar season. Spooner however, is likely on the outs. The same could be said for Kristin O'Neill who has performed well for Canada internationally, including at the Olympics, but hasn't emerged as a top line player in the PHWL. She'll get that chance in San Jose, and she's still a player who can keep up with USA's speed, but if Canada wants to shoot for real impact in their lineup that can push their roster over the top, O'Neill may be the odd player out. Sauvageau traded O'Neill to New York last year, which doesn't bode well for the forward. Kristin O'Neill's international performance has earned her the right to remain a depth member of the roster, but Sauvageau needs to make changes, and to do that, some players will need to be moved. Jennifer Gardiner was a standout rookie in Montreal before moving to Vancouver in expansion, and she was a standout for Canada at the 2025 Worlds before Troy Ryan buried her in Milan. Given Gardiner is on the young side for Canada, and continues to trend up, Sauvageau is probably going to keep her. 

But what about the sure things? Daryl Watts, Sarah Fillier, Julia Gosling, Laura Stacey, and Sarah Nurse are probably about as close as they come. Canada will also have players like Emma Maltais, Brianne Jenner and Emily Clark. Maltais probably sticks as Sauvageau showed her interest in the forward by signing her in Montreal. At the moment, outside of five players up front, there are no sure things for Canada's forwards.