Everything you need to know about Canada at the women's hockey world championship

Less than 2 months is each that separated Toronto Sceptres guardant Hannah Miller from playing her archetypal crippled with the Canadian elder nationalist team.

After a standout play with the Sceptres wherever she scored 24 points successful 26 games, the 29-year-old Miller was named to the Canadian roster that volition play for a satellite title successful the Czech Republic.

But the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) deemed the guardant from North Vancouver, B.C., ineligible earlier this week. Toronto guardant Julia Gosling was named successful her place.

Miller competed for China astatine the 2022 Olympics but hadn't fixed up her Canadian citizenship to bash so. There's a two-year waiting play that Hockey Canada thought Miller had satisfied, based connected erstwhile she played for China astatine the Olympics.

But according to Canadian GM Gina Kingsbury, the contented was a declaration Miller signed with the Shenzhen KRS nine team, which falls nether the umbrella of the Chinese nationalist team. That declaration ended connected May 31, 2023, which means the Chinese federation inactive owns Miller's rights until May 31 of this twelvemonth — conscionable implicit a period aft the satellite title ends.

"Rules are rules and it's beauteous achromatic and white," Kingsbury told CBC Sports from the Czech Republic, wherever her squad begins play connected Thursday. "Very disappointing evidently from a programme perspective, but besides disappointed for her."

Miller earned a spot based connected her versatility. Her quality to play centre oregon wing, to termination penalties and spot successful connected the powerfulness play, was thing that appealed to Hockey Canada. 

She earned golden for Canada astatine back-to-back under-18 satellite championships, but it's uncommon for a subordinate to marque the elder squad aboriginal successful their career. That is changing present that the PWHL has go the apical valuation tool.

League games are connected par with planetary competition, which gives GMs similar Kingsbury a bully consciousness of however a subordinate mightiness fare connected Team Canada. It means players who don't marque the nationalist squad retired of assemblage inactive person a accidental to make and beryllium they belong.

"I deliberation you're going to spot much and much mature athletes coming onboard to our roster," Kingsbury said.

The tourney begins Wednesday successful České Budějovice, a metropolis adjacent the Czech Republic's confederate borderline with Austria. Canada begins its defence of its satellite title connected Thursday against Finland (1 p.m. ET). The gold-medal crippled is acceptable for April 20.

Here's a person look astatine the Canadian team, which features respective caller faces.

Gardiner, Watts played their mode connected to Team Canada

The guardant group, arsenic always, volition beryllium led by skipper Marie-Philip Poulin. She led the Montreal Victoire to a playoff spot, starring the league successful goals scored (17) on the way.

She is 1 of 12 forwards to instrumentality from the radical that bushed the Americans for golden past year. That includes respective different veterans, including Brianne Jenner (Ottawa), Natalie Spooner (Toronto), Sarah Nurse (Toronto), Laura Stacey (Montreal), Blayre Turnbull (Toronto) and Emily Clark (Ottawa).

They'll beryllium joined by younger players similar 24-year-old Sarah Fillier (New York), 23-year-old Danielle Serdachny (Ottawa) and 24-year-old Gosling (Toronto) who volition beryllium the aboriginal of this squad for years to come.

Poulin could find herself playing with her Montreal linemate, Jennifer Gardiner, who has made her archetypal elder satellite title team. The 23-year-old from Surrey, B.C., was an alternate for past year's team, and played good successful an accumulation crippled against Finland past year. Then, she scored the series-clinching extremity for Canada astatine the Rivalry Series successful February.

"She's fast," Poulin told CBC Sports in February. "She sees the crippled and she has specified a large shot. We're precise fortunate to person her successful Montreal."

Her chemistry with Poulin apt didn't wounded Gardiner's case. Head manager Troy Ryan tin plug and play a unsafe apical enactment of Gardiner, Poulin and Stacey.

But nary 1 made the squad solely based connected their quality to play with idiosyncratic else, Kingsbury said.

"We had ever somewhat circled her arsenic 1 of the adjacent ones up," the GM said. "Her play each play agelong successful the PWHL showed that she's acceptable for the situation of playing connected the planetary stage."

Toronto's Daryl Watts volition besides marque her elder nationalist squad debut aft a fantastic archetypal play successful bluish and yellow. She trails lone Fillier and American Hilary Knight successful points crossed the league, and volition adhd much playmaking to Canada's apical six.

A conflict connected the bluish line

Defence whitethorn beryllium the astir absorbing presumption to ticker arsenic Canada works toward naming its Olympic roster. With an expanded roster size astatine worlds (25, compared to 23 astatine the Olympics), Canada was capable to bring 8 defenders to worlds.

Kingsbury compared it to gathering a puzzle. The squad needs violative defenders and much defensive, shutdown options to equilibrium things out.

"We've got a batch to take from," she said. "Probably a bully occupation to have, but challenging if you're a D trying to marque our roster due to the fact that we bash person immoderate important defenders successful our country."

Returning from past year's squad is Renata Fast (Toronto), Erin Ambrose (Montreal) and Ella Shelton (New York), each of whom are apt to spell to Italy successful 2026. Veteran Jocelyne Larocque (Ottawa) besides returns for her 12th satellite championship.

Claire Thompson (Minnesota) is backmost successful the representation aft clip distant attending aesculapian school, and hasn't seemed to miss a beat. She acceptable a caller Olympic grounds for points by a defender successful 2022, and could easy beryllium reunited with her defence spouse from that tournament, Ambrose.

New York Sirens skipper Micah Zandee-Hart is backmost aft a tough, injury-impacted archetypal PWHL play past year.

But the astir intriguing additions to this roster are Sophie Jaques (Minnesota) and 18-year-old Chloe Primerano (University of Minnesota).

Jaques played a immense relation successful Minnesota's Walter Cup triumph past play and tin anchor a powerfulness play, though she'd person to borderline retired quarterbacks similar Fast and Ambrose to get an accidental there. She sits 2nd down Fast successful points by a defender this play successful the PWHL.

Primerano, meanwhile, is the youngest subordinate to marque Canada's elder squad astatine worlds since Poulin. On apical of playing successful the NCAA a twelvemonth aboriginal this season, Primerano captained Canada's under-18 squad to golden and scored a shootout crippled victor for the elder nationalist squad astatine the Rivalry Series.

It was that maturity astatine the under-18 level, and her quality to travel successful to the elder squad and execute nether agleam lights, that convinced the Canadian brass that she's ready.

"I'm precise impressed with what I see, and I deliberation her crippled is conscionable going to support growing," Larocque said astir her younger teammate successful February. "She's truthful young and she works truthful hard and she's humble, and I deliberation she fits with this radical truly well."

The satellite title volition beryllium a bigger accidental and signifier for Primerano to amusement she's acceptable to play astatine the highest level. The prize astatine the extremity could beryllium a travel to her archetypal Olympics.

Desbiens expected to play

Canadian starting goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens is connected the semipermanent injured reserve successful the PWHL aft leaving a Montreal Victoire crippled with an wounded past month. Evaluating her wellness stretched retired the process for Hockey Canada to sanction its roster, arsenic they waited to spot if Desbiens would beryllium available.

But Desbiens is successful the Czech Republic and is expected to play astatine worlds. When she could play has yet to beryllium determined.

"She's done precise good successful her progression and her wellness is decidedly going successful the close direction," Kingsbury said. "We would ne'er bring an athlete, particularly successful the goaltending satellite wherever we lone person three athletes, that wouldn't beryllium capable to conscionable leap successful and play."

Ottawa starter Emerance Maschmeyer, who was besides wounded successful March, volition miss the tournament. It could mean much starts for Toronto's Kristen Campbell, who has been successful the third-goaltender relation for Canada implicit the past fewer years. Campbell has had an up-and-down play with the Sceptres but has trended up arsenic of late, arsenic Toronto has surged up the standings.

Rounding retired the goaltending trio is 21-year-old Ève Gascon, who impressed Hockey Canada with the improvement squad astatine the Six Nations tournament, wherever she had to vie against respective members of the American elder nationalist team.

The goaltender from Terrebonne, Que., who plays astatine the University of Minnesota Duluth, was targeted arsenic a aboriginal goalie successful the Canadian programme in part due to the fact that of her precocious hockey IQ.

"Another lawsuit of idiosyncratic that wholly earned it," Kingsbury said. "This is not america investing successful the aboriginal oregon america giving a acquisition to idiosyncratic arsenic a subordinate of our team. She's earned the close to correspond our country."