Atlantic Canada has produced their share of star hockey players. With the last two U-18 national championships, and this winter's U-18 World Championships being played in Atlantic Canada, all eyes are on women's hockey out East.

At the 2025 U-18 Canadian national championships, Team Atlantic is ushering in the next wave of the best and brightest Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador have to offer.

Among those are Team Atlantic captain and St. Lawrence University commit Kendall Doiron, and assistant captain and University of Minnesota commit Megan Mossey. The pair understand the importance of this event for girls and women in Atlantic provinces.

"Being the host team and having a crowd here every day cheering for us really gets the energy going and it really just means a lot to me and the whole team," said Doiron. 

Doiron, a product of Nova Scotia, is in her third consecutive national championship tournament representing Team Atlantic. She has watched the talent coming from Atlantic Canada on both the men's and women's side and sees the calibre of hockey in the region continuing to grow. 

"It's great to have something like this in our home provinces to get the representation out there," said Doiron. "Obviously these provinces, Nova Scotia especially, where I'm from, there's been lots of big names, Blayre Turnbull for one in the PWHL, Sydney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, all those players, but to see Team Atlantic come so far, even throughout these past three years, and we see it every game here, the growth has been really cool to see. Honestly we're just building every year, every game, and getting our names out there is really cool."

Mossey is another product of that growth. The defender and Prince Edward Island product is considered one of the best U-18 blueliners in Canada, and is a lock to represent Canada at the 2026 U-18 World Championships. Similar to Doiron, she's excited to see women's hockey take center stage in Atlantic Canada.

"It's definitely an honor to represent Team Atlantic at nationals and especially in Atlantic Canada," said Mossey. "It's great that we have a home crowd, and we get a lot of momentum from them." 

"There's definitely a lot of strong players coming out of Atlantic Canada," Mossey continued. "To play at home and show the younger girls and young kids how we do it, work hard every shift, and our passion for the game, it's definitely influential and a good thing."

Doiron and Mossey are among the leaders in that movement. Doiron is in her second season playing at Shattuck St. Mary's, a prestigious program known for developing elite hockey players, while Mossey is a top blueliner in the OWHL with the league's best team, the Etobicoke Dolphins. They've both left their homes to find stronger competition, which they're now bringing back to Team Atlantic.

"It has helped my game a lot, playing against a higher league and having some more experience," said Doiron of playing at Shattuck St. Mary's. "But also the biggest thing is it's helped me grow as a person maturing a little bit, being able to live away from home, I'm very grateful to get that experience, it's helped me a lot on the ice and off the ice."

"Getting to play at a lot of different events gives me great experience," echoed Mossey. "Especially in Etobicoke where we get to practice and play with and against great players on and off the ice. It helps shape my game, and hopefully I can bring that back here to help."

Doiron and Mossey aren't alone among talented players on Team Atlantic. Jaylee MacKinnon is another standout who represented Canada at the U-18 summer series against USA this summer and she's also committed to play for St. Lawrence. Team Atlantic's roster also includes Claire Sanford, a Colgate commit, and Katie Hurley, a St. Cloud State commit, among others who will soon choose their collegiate destinations. 

The duo, and their Atlantic teammates are in the spotlight this week in Newfoundland and Labrador for the U-18 national championships, but given their talent, Doiron and Mossey are not likely to come out of the spotlight any time soon. And with their help, nor is the burgeoning girls and women's hockey scene in Atlantic Canada.

"It's always heading in a better direction, especially from Atlantic Canada," said Mossey of the women's game. "We have a lot of passionate girls and passionate hockey players, everyone loves the game."