CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada has announced the 23 players who will compete for a gold medal on home ice with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship, April 5-16 at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont. The roster includes three Greater Toronto Hockey League alumni: Laura Stacey, Natalie Spooner, Claire Thompson, and Jaime Bourbonnais.

Three goaltenders, seven defence and 13 forwards were selected by head coach Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S.), in consultation with Gina Kingsbury (Rouyn-Noranda), director of hockey operations, and Cherie Piper (Scarborough, Ont.), senior manager of player development and scouting. Members of the 2022-23 season coaching staff, including Kori Cheverie (New Glasgow, N.S.), Doug Derraugh (Arnprior, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC), Rachel Flanagan (Pontypool, Ont./University of Guelph, OUA), Caroline Ouellette (Montréal, Que./Concordia University, RSEQ) and goaltending consultant Brad Kirkwood (Calgary, Alta.), also provided input.

“Our staff had some very difficult decisions selecting this roster and that speaks to the depth that we have within our program,” said Ryan. “We are confident that we have assembled a talented roster with a great deal of character and leadership. Our entire staff is excited to have the opportunity to work with each of these athletes as we begin this journey toward a World Championship.”

The roster includes:

• One player who will make her IIHF Women’s World Championship debut (Serdachny)
• 18 players who captured Canada’s 12th women’s worlds gold medal at the 2022 event in Denmark (Ambrose, Campbell, Clark, Desbiens, Fast, Fillier, Jenner, Larocque, Maltais, Maschmeyer, Nurse, O’Neill, Poulin, Rattray, Shelton, Stacey, Turnbull, Zandee-Hart)

“We are extremely excited for the 23 players who will have the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf on home ice and compete for a  gold medal in front of friends, family and Canadian hockey fans,” Kingsbury said. “It is special to host women’s worlds in Canada and welcome the nine other competing federations while showcasing the talent and class of competition in our game. We know the atmosphere in Brampton will be electric and we are excited for the chance to go for gold next month.”

The 10-team tournament features Canada in Group A with Czechia, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, while Group B includes Finland, France, Germany, Hungary and Sweden.

Canada will open the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship against Switzerland on April 5, and will also face Czechia on April 7 and Japan on April 8. It will close out the preliminary round against its cross-border rivals, the United States, on April 10, with all Team Canada preliminary-round games starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Prior to the start of the official tournament, Canada will play one pre-tournament game against Finland on April 1. Additional details about pre-tournament games will be announced in the coming weeks.

TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will carry extensive game coverage throughout the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship, with TSN airing all 31 games from the CAA Centre. RDS will provide coverage of all Team Canada games, two quarterfinals, both semifinals, and bronze and gold medal games.

Canada has captured 12 gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2021, 2022), in addition to eight silver (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) and one bronze (2019).

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, please visit HockeyCanada.ca.

GTHL ALUMNI: 

• Jaime Bourbonnais (Mississauga Jets)
• Natalie Spooner (West Mall Lightning)
• Laura Stacey (Toronto Royals)
• Claire Thompson (Humber Valley Sharks)

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