Ten PWHL Players Who Have Earned Invites To Canada's Summer Camp

When Canada's camp kicks off this summer in preparation for the 2026 World Championships, there could be new coaches and management at the helm, but regardless of who is running the team, there will certainly be a new wave of invites joining Canada's national program. 

Canada brought an all-PWHL team to the 2026 Olympics, which after being walked over by USA at every stage of the preparation process, managed to take the powerhouse Americans to overtime of the gold medal game before they ultimately fell on Megan Keller's golden goal.

Canada will likely lean into a new wave of collegiate players like Issy Wunder, Kahlen Lamarche, Sara Manness, Stryker Zablocki, Eve Gascon, Jocelyn Amos, Chloe Primerano, Caitlin Kraemer, and others, but they'll also be looking to find players who are coming into their prime in the PWHL, who have been game tested with and against the best.

Here's a look at 10 PWHL players who whether they receive an invitation or not, have earned one via their play in the PWHL this season.

Cooper could end up a finalist for PWHL Rookie of the Year. Flirting with the top 20 in league scoring as a rookie defender is an achievement in itself, but Cooper has played big minutes for Minnesota, one of the top teams in the league. She's mobile, aggressive, and can join the rush, but also has the skating and compete to handle top talent. Training with a large group of USA's best on the Frost gives Cooper another edge. She's still only 23.

Unequivocally, it was a mistake to leave Nicole Gosling at home for the 2026 Olympics. Canada's blueline was a soft spot on the roster, and Gosling has gold medal experience from the World Championships, and has improved every day in the PWHL. The former ECAC Defender of the Year and NCAA First Team All-Star is everything Canada needed in terms of her first pass ability, attention to defensive detail, and offensive upside.

A veteran, who pre-COVID was part of Canada's Rivalry Series roster, Leslie however, was one of several Canadian prospects who suffered from the PWHPA era from a lack of competitive opportunity. After biding her time in the PWHL's first two seasons and working her way back to the scoring forward she was known as collegiately and in the CWHL, Leslie has been a breakout star in Ottawa sitting among league scoring leaders all year. Her chemistry with Brianne Jenner and Sarah Wozniewicz would give Canada instant chemistry on a line. 

Ann-Renee Desbiens remains Canada's unquestioned starter, but there's no real answer to what comes next. Emerance Maschmeyer remains a logical part of Canada's puzzle, Eve Gascon and Rhyah Stewart are future pieces, but Canada's crease needs a push, and Kirk who has emerged as a legitimate starter in the PWHL with Toronto deserves a look. She's played herself into that opportunity.

Speed, compete, defensive acumen, good decision making, and a penchant for big moment offense. They're all attributes of Wozniewicz's game. She can play a purely energy line depth role, but she can also be a spark plug on a scoring line doing some of the heavy lifting and driving puck possession and generating turnovers. Worth a look, because Canada's two-way specialists are aging.

Her numbers don't scream it yet, but Cherkowski has earned an abundance of scoring chances, that when they start to click in the PWHL, which they will, she looks like a future break out star. Watch for a similar upward trajectory to the one Julia Gosling experienced this year. She gets to the net, and stickhandle through traffic, and plays big.

Hustler plays a heavy game, that can punish opponents. She also has obvious offensive upside. The ability to muscle opponents off the puck along the wall, separate defenders in the corner, and be a net front force are all parts of Hustler's upside. 

You can see Serdachny's game breaking abilities in Seattle. She can take over a shift and drive chances single handedly. She's the type of big, powerful forward Canada has leaned on and found success through for decades. After scoring in the last two gold medal games at the World Championships, Canada left Serdachny home from Milan. They need her back.

Some question Eldridge's 200-foot game, but even as a power play and offensive start specialist, few in the game score with her consistency. She again comes from USA Hockey heavy programs in the PWHL, so she's used to their pace. Eldridge might not push someone from a roster spot, but she deserves that opportunity.

Plenty of experience, plenty of repetitions against top lines in the PWHL, Bourbonnais has settled into a more reserved game in the PWHL that may actually help Canada. She keeps attackers to the outside, makes reliable first passes, and is a good decision maker at the offensive blueline. Sometimes less is more, and Bourbonnais has the potential to be a steadying presence for Canada.