For the players fighting to make the Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team, two Rivalry Series games against the United States this week could be an opportunity to cement their spots on the team.
The games on Wednesday and Saturday in Edmonton (both airing at 9 p.m. ET on TSN) will be the final tune-up for the national team ahead of Canada’s first Olympic game in February.
It’s also the last opportunity for head coach Troy Ryan and his staff to tweak and experiment before the real thing.
“These last two games are crucial in our preparations with the Milano Cortina Games less than 70 days away,” general manager Gina Kingsbury said when the roster was named last week. “We are confident we have built a group that will give us a chance to be successful as we finish off the series in front of our fans and a hometown crowd.”
Canada was outplayed, and outscored by a combined 10-2, by the United States in the first two games.
But the roster will look a bit different in Edmonton.
The Canadian team started rookies Kayle Osborne (New York Sirens) and Ève Gascon (University of Minnesota Duluth) in net during the two November games.
Starting goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens (Montreal Victoire) was left off that roster for rest, but she’ll be back on Team Canada this week. Presumably, Desbiens and long-time backup Emerance Maschmeyer, who earned a shutout for the Vancouver Goldeneyes over the weekend, will start these final two games.
Several other veterans will also return to Team Canada, including Ottawa Charge teammates Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque and Emily Clark, the latter of whom was still recovering from an injury during the November national team window. Montreal Victoire rookie defender Nicole Gosling will also get a shot.
To make room, a few players who appeared in November were left off this squad. That includes Gascon, defenders Micah Zandee-Hart (New York Sirens) and Kati Tabin (Montreal Victoire), as well as Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Hannah Miller, whose eligibility to compete for Canada is still in the hands of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Vancouver’s Sarah Nurse, who’s on long-term injured reserve, won’t be playing at the Rivalry Series, either.
All the players who’ve appeared at the Rivalry Series this season come from a pool of 30 who have attended training blocks with Hockey Canada throughout the fall. Only 23 players can make the Olympic roster.
With all of that in mind, TSN hockey analyst Cheryl Pounder isn’t concerned for the Canadians, which will have veteran players with plenty of winning experience.
“I don’t think this is necessarily a forecast or a foreshadow of what is to come,” Pounder, who will be part of the CBC Olympic coverage, said in an interview with Hockey North. “But I do see there’s holes there or areas that they need to improve on that they would certainly take away from it.”
In net, the only job up for grabs is the third goaltender spot behind Desbiens and Maschmeyer. Osborne isn’t likely to see game action at the Rivalry Series, but she’ll have a chance to continue to showcase her ability as the Sirens’ starter when the PWHL resumes play next week.
Most of the forward spots are spoken for, too, with a number of veterans likely to return from the 2022 team, including Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal Victoire), Laura Stacey (Montreal Victoire), Blayre Turnbull (Toronto Sceptres) and Sarah Fillier (New York Sirens).
The most interesting battle at that position might be at the bottom of the lineup, where several players are fighting for a handful of spots.
Julia Gosling (Seattle Torrent), Kristin O’Neill (New York Sirens), Danielle Serdachny (Seattle Torrent), Caitlin Kraemer (University of Minnesota Duluth) and Jennifer Gardiner (Vancouver Goldeneyes) are among the players looking to lock up a spot in Edmonton this week.
Gosling, in particular, has been impressive in her first three games with the Torrent, and has shown off her fantastic shot. She could also be an asset on the power play for Canada, where she can shoot from distance or play a Natalie Spooner-esque type of role in front of the net. She logged time on the Canadian power play during the November games.
O’Neill, meanwhile, has been playing in all situations for New York. No one across the PWHL has won more faceoffs than O’Neill, who has been Canada’s go-to fourth-line centre over the last couple of seasons.
On defence, Renata Fast (Toronto Sceptres), Ella Shelton (Toronto Sceptres), Erin Ambrose (Montreal Victoire) and Claire Thompson (Vancouver Goldeneyes) figure to be locks. That leaves six players competing for likely three spots.
Veteran defender Larocque is a reliable option for one of those spots. Milano Cortina would be her fourth Olympic Games, and Larocque could bring some calmness off the ice, having done and seen just about everything in her career.
Two-time Walter Cup champion Sophie Jaques (Vancouver Goldeneyes) and 18-year-old Chloe Primerano (University of Minnesota), two smart defenders with strong offensive instincts, should get long looks for the last two spots.
Pounder didn’t think Jaques or Primerano had strong performances in the first two Rivalry Series games.
“But I do see a situation where they’re both on this team,” she said.
Pounder suggested either could find themselves on the team’s third pairing alongside a steady veteran like Larocque. She played alongside Primerano during stretches with Team Canada last season.
One factor the team won’t be able to prepare for in Edmonton is skating on a smaller-than-expected ice surface at the Olympics.
Both ice surfaces in Milan will be smaller than an NHL-sized surface, coming in at about 196.85 feet by 85.3 feet, according to the IIHF. NHL-sized ice measures 200 feet by 85 feet.
The IIHF brushed aside concerns about the smaller ice in a statement released on Monday.
“While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications,” the statement said.
“All involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, NHL, NHLPA, [International Olympic Committee] and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play.”
But Pounder can see how smaller ice will change the game. With less room to maneuver, it could make things more physical. Small bursts of speed will also be important.
That could help a player like Jaques, who has the heaviest pass in the game, Pounder said.
“Will I think it be the deciding factor at this stage of the game?” she said. “I don’t think so. But it does make a difference on how you play.”
The Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team is expected to be named in January.
The team will open the Olympic tournament against Finland on Feb. 5 at 3:10 p.m. ET.
