Hockey Canada announces roster for National Women’s Team camp

Hockey Canada announced the roster and coaching staff for the upcoming BFL National Women’s Team Training Camp in Calgary, Alta.

The camp will run from Jan. 17-30 in a “bubble” environment. Forty-seven players were invited and 35 will participate; most of the players not participating are currently competing in the NCAA and can’t attend due to school commitments.

Hockey Canada is conducting the camp to evaluate players ahead of the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship, which Canada will host in Halifax and Truro, N.S., from April 7-17. The tournament is still scheduled to take place, although all other Women’s World Championship tournaments below the top level have already been canceled by the IIHF. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, plans can obviously change quickly for this tournament, too.

Troy Ryan was named head coach of Canada’s national team for the second year in a row. Kori Cheverie, Doug Derraugh, and Vicky Sunohara join him as assistants, and Brad Kirkwood was named goaltending coach.

The roster is made up of 20 players from Ontario, 5 from Quebec, 3 from Manitoba, 2 from British Columbia, 2 from Nova Scotia, 2 from Alberta, and 1 from Saskatchewan. 22 players originally named to the canceled 2020 World Championship roster will participate in this camp. You can read up on more fun numbers here.

A very quick rundown of some players to watch:

• Julia Gosling, F: The St. Lawrence forward is a really solid prospect up front and brings a good mix of size, skill, and poise to her game. She was a standout for the Saints in her first NCAA season, notching nearly a point per game.
• Claire Thompson, D: After a breakout career with Princeton in the ECAC, Thompson was slated to make her first World Championship appearance with Canada last year before the tournament was canceled. Thompson is one of several young players on D who bring plenty of promise to this blue line.
• Victoria Bach, F: Since starting her pro career a few seasons ago, Bach has really hit her stride. A fantastic goal-scorer in her college, she’s added a deeper dimension to her game and has an opportunity to make a big difference among Canada’s forwards./

For the official Hockey Canada release, click here. For the full camp roster, click here.