Projecting the Canadian women's hockey roster looking to defend gold at 2026 Games
Many of the players who won an Olympic title in 2022 look to return next year in Italy
In a year's time, the Canadian women's national team will be in Italy and looking to defend Olympic gold.
A lot has changed since the Canadians defeated the Americans in Beijing in 2022, including the creation of the PWHL.
The league has the potential to change international women's hockey, from growing talent outside North America, to giving players a big platform to audition for their national team. It's the first time the best players in the world have all competed under the same umbrella.
It will also change the way the Canadian Olympic team is chosen. Gone are the days when Olympic hopefuls would move to Calgary for months to compete for a spot. Instead, players will be preparing primarily by competing with their PWHL teams.
Canadian GM Gina Kingsbury said the team will also have training blocks before and during the PWHL season. They may not always include games, but will give Hockey Canada a chance to evaluate players and have them train and bond together leading up to the Olympics.
While more change is on the horizon as the PWHL grows, the Canadian team that will compete in Milan-Cortina in 2026 should look quite similar to the team that won gold in 2022.
The American team has been overhauled since the last Olympics. Much of the U.S. roster comes from the NCAA ranks.
A winning culture
The Canadian entry is likely to be a bit older. It's built around a core that developed a winning culture during the dark days of the pandemic. That group has led Canada not just to Olympic gold, but also three world championships over the last few years.
Part of that came from getting to know each other more deeply during the pandemic. But it's also been about making sure young players aren't afraid to make mistakes and can navigate the nerves that come with wearing the maple leaf, veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque said.
WATCH | Projecting the 2026 Canadian women's Olympic hockey team on Hockey North:
"You've earned the jersey and we want everyone to feel comfortable and confident in themselves," said Larocque, who is looking to play for Canada at her fourth Olympics next year.
"I think in this environment, everyone feels confident in their abilities and that can bring out the best in everyone."
The Canadian roster should look significantly different by 2030, when some of the key pieces of the team may have moved on. It's a "balancing act" for Kingsbury, who has to think about both the present and the future.
"You're always wanting to make sure that you have sustainable success for years to come," Kingsbury told CBC Sports. "But we can't ever forget that we want to be successful now, and success now produces success later."
Projected roster
That veteran core begins with the captain, Marie-Phiip Poulin, who will play in her fifth Olympic Games.
Beyond scoring in gold-medal games more often than any other player, male or female, the Montreal Victoire captain also works harder than anyone else. She never takes being on this team for granted.
"It's always a privilege to be able to wear that jersey," Poulin said.
She's likely to be joined by Brianne Jenner (Ottawa Charge) and Blayre Turnbull (Toronto Sceptres), who are key leaders on this team.
All three wore letters on the team that won gold in Beijing, and the journey to the top of the podium begins with them.
"If you're in our locker room and you understand our culture, everyone has a voice and everyone's able to share that voice," forward Sarah Fillier said.
"Everyone's opinions are respected and everyone wants to know how everyone's feeling. As soon as you step in that locker room, you're considered a leader no matter what and you always feel super valued."
Other locks from the 2022 squad include reigning PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner (Toronto), Emily Clark (Ottawa), Laura Stacey (Montreal), Emma Maltais (Toronto), Fillier (New York Sirens) and Sarah Nurse (Toronto), who broke the points record for a single Olympic tournament in Beijing.
Future leaders
Fillier will only be 25 at her second Olympics next year, and is likely to lead this team into 2030 and beyond.
Drafted first overall by the Sirens last year, Fillier has had a stellar rookie PWHL campaign. As of the February international break, she leads the league in points (15 in 14 games).
Fillier can run her own line down the middle or, as she's done all season with New York, she can play on the wing with another talented centre, such as Poulin.
They'll also be building around Danielle Serdachny (Ottawa) up front. The 2024 PWHL second-overall pick has size, skill and confidence. When she made her senior national team debut in 2022, Serdachny looked off Poulin to score the game-winning goal herself.
She showed her poise in big moments again at the world championship last year, when she scored the overtime game winner in the final against the United States.
Serdachny featured on a line at that tournament with Kristin O'Neill (Montreal), a hard-to-play-against forward who has become Canada's go-to fourth-line centre. O'Neill was on the taxi squad that travelled to China in 2022, but didn't get to play.
In the mix for the final spots up front include Julia Gosling (Toronto), 2022 gold medallist Jamie Lee Rattray (Boston Fleet), Daryl Watts (Toronto) and Jennifer Gardiner (Montreal).
Watts would add more offensive firepower to Canada's top six. Gardiner, meanwhile, has earned a spot on Montreal's top line and power play alongside Poulin in her rookie season.
"Game after game, she gets more confidence," Poulin said about Gardiner. "She's fast. She sees the game, and she has such a great shot."
Competition on the blue line
The biggest competition on this roster looks to be on the back end, where Canada has no shortage of options.
"We have 10, 12 [defenders] that we feel like we can rely on and can wear the jersey any given night against the USA," head coach Troy Ryan said.
Reigning PWHL defender of the year Erin Ambrose (Montreal) is likely to be there, as will Renata Fast (Toronto), Ella Shelton (New York) and Claire Thompson (Minnesota Frost), who is back in the national team fold after time away attending medical school.
Larocque, a Canadian team mainstay, also seems likely to be on the roster, even if it's in more of a depth role than she played in 2022.
Beloved by her teammates, Poulin picked Larcoque as the most underrated player in the league before the PWHL launched, noting she will do anything for the logo on her jersey.
The final couple of spots are where things get interesting.
The group of defenders pushing for a job on Team Canada include Walter Cup champion Sophie Jaques (Minnesota), Jaime Bourbonnais (New York), Micah Zandee-Hart (New York), Ashton Bell (Ottawa), and two college players, Nicole Gosling and Chloe Primerano.
The defender of the future
Primerano will be 19 years old at the next Olympics, the youngest on the Olympic team since Poulin debuted in Vancouver in 2010.
But she is already holding her own with the University of Minnesota after graduating from high school a year early, and looks to be Canada's defender of the future. Giving her a taste of the Olympics now, even if it's low on Canada's depth chart, could set her up for a bigger role in 2030.
Primerano was called up for the Rivalry Series last year. When Ryan turned to her in a shootout, she scored the game winner.
Beyond her skating and poise with the puck, it's her eagerness to learn that has impressed Larocque, who feels the young player is ready for the big stage.
"I'm very impressed with what I see, and I think her game is just going to keep growing," Larocque said. "She's so young and she works so hard and she's humble, and I think she fits with this group really well."
WATCH | Primerano on Hockey Canada experience, Olympic dreams:
Zandee-Hart, meanwhile, brings more of a shut-down mentality to Canada's blue line. She's had a solid season for New York, where she's captain, after missing part of last season while recovering from off-season surgery.
"We've got a lot to choose from and a lot of different looks," Kingsbury said.
'We've got some offensive [defenders] that are really critical to our blue line. We've got some stay-home, shut-down D that are really important as well. So I think a mix of veterans, of maybe some newer D that are coming up the ranks as well that are hungry to be in a position with us."
Familiar faces in net
As in 2022, Canada is certain to look to Ann-Renée Desbiens (Montreal) and Emerance Maschmeyer (Ottawa) in net.
Desbiens was the starter in 2022 and has been spectacular for the Victoire this season. But Maschmeyer has made the case to earn a look, too. She's been the Charge's MVP this season.
Kristen Campbell (Toronto) went to Beijing as Canada's third goaltender, but it was New York's Corinne Schroeder who got the call for the second leg of the Rivalry Series this season.
Campbell was the PWHL's goaltender of the year in 2024. She has struggled coming out of the gate this season, and has found herself sharing the net with rookie goaltender Raygan Kirk. Schroeder, meanwhile, has been steady for the Sirens.
It's an example of a player using the league to make a case for a look on the national team.
"She's been consistently dominant in our league," Kingsbury said about Schroeder.
"That shows that she has the ability to play at this level. We've been very impressed with her in the PWHL and it's earned her a spot here with us this week."
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