International

Canada announces 2022 Olympic roster

Twenty-three players will done the maple leaf in China

After a great deal of suspense, Hockey Canada has announced its 23-player roster for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Roster

Defenders: Jocelyne Larocque, Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, Ashton Bell, Erin Ambrose, Micah Zandee-Hart, Claire Thompson
Forwards: Rebecca Johnson, Laura Stacey, Sarah Fillier, Jill Saulnier, Melodie Daoust, Brianne Jenner, Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, Emily Clark, Emma Maltais, Marie-Philip Poulin, Blayre Turnbull, Jamie Lee Rattray,
Goaltenders: Ann-Renée Desbiens, Emerance Maschmeyer, Kristen Campbell

Heading into today’s announcement, the roster was at 26, meaning three skaters were going to be cut. They were defender Meaghan Mikkelson and forwards Victoria Bach and Kristin O’Neill.

Mikkelson, the most veteran of the three cuts, recently came back from a knee injury, sustained in late May during a PWHPA game. She didn’t play in most of Team Canada’s exhibition games as she worked her way back to game speed but did play in the series against the PWHPA All-Stars and at least one of the Rivalry Series games against the U.S.

My Story: Here’s how I defied the odds & redefined success while falling short of making Team Canada for Beijing 2022 pic.twitter.com/W2TTG6wpv4
— Meaghan Mikkelson (@Mikkelson12) January 11, 2022

Bach, 25, is a bit of a surprise cut here. She’s played well during the exhibition and Rivalry Series games, though was largely quiet on the score sheet with only one goal and one assist in the six games. She had two assists, both primary, in seven games at the 2021 World Championship where she helped Canada win gold.

O’Neill, 23, played in three games at the 2021 Worlds and was scoreless. That was her first major tournament with the senior national team.

Canada goes into the Games — slated to begin on Feb. 2 — looking to make their way back to the top of the Olympic podium after winning a silver medal in 2018.

IIHF releases 2022 Olympic schedule