Marie-Philip Poulin and Rebecca Johnston are the headliners of Canada’s women’s hockey team which will participate in the Beijing Olympics, and whose composition was unveiled by virtual mode on Tuesday.
Poulin and Johnston will represent the country for the fourth time in their Olympics careers after winning gold medals in 2010 and 2014, and silver in 2018.
“It’s really hard to describe the emotion felt at an opening ceremony,” said Poulin. You realize you are there. It’s always an honor to play for Canada. “
The 23-player squad includes three goalies, seven defenders and 13 forwards.
Thirteen of those players were on the squad that lost the 2018 Games gold medal final in South Korea, 3-2 in a shootout to the United States.
The Canadians open the tournament on February 3 – the day before the opening ceremony – with a preliminary game against Switzerland. The grand finale will be presented on February 16.
“We are confident with the work already done, but we also look forward to continuing the work in order to be successful in Beijing,” said head coach Troy Ryan of Spryfield, NS.
Twenty-nine players gathered in a centralized environment in Calgary in July to begin Olympic preparation. Defender Meaghan Mikkelson and forwards Victoria Bach and Kristin O’Neill were the last players to cut.
Canadian female hockey players are taking every precaution to avoid contracting the coronavirus and to be able to fly to Beijing on January 26, said the director of hockey operations of the roster, Gina Kingsbury.
“As of now, we’re basically in a bubble,” Kingsbury said. Collectively, we will do everything to stay safe and create the right environment. Not only to stay healthy, but also to be our best and to prepare. “
Defender Jamie Bourbonnais and forwards Jessie Eldridge and Julia Gosling were released on December 3.
Mikkelson, who has appeared in three Olympics and who, at 37, was the oldest of the centralized players, did not appear in any games until mid-December.
A serious knee injury during a Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (AJHPF) game in May required surgery and a long period of rehabilitation.
Defenders Erin Ambrose and Micah Zandee-Hart, who were released from the 2018 squad, have been named to the 2022 roster.
Kristin Campbell, Ann-Renée Desbiens and Emerance Maschmeyer will be the goalies.
The defensive brigade will reunite Ambrose, Zandee-Hart, Ashton Bell, Renata Fast, Jocelyne Larocque, Ella Shelton and Claire Thompson.
Emily Clark, Mélodie Daoust, Sarah Fillier, Brianne Jenner, Emma Maltais, Sarah Nurse, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jillian Saulnier, Natalie Spooner, Laura Stacey and Blayre Turnbull will join Poulin and Johnston to form the attacking squad.
Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in overtime on August 31 to claim their first World Championship title since 2012. This competition has been rescheduled and relocated to Calgary after Nova Scotia canceled the tournament. , which was due to take place in April.
Canada’s women’s team have played a total of 27 games since July at the World Championships, and against women’s teams from the United States and Finland, male junior A and Under-17 players. and against the AJHPF.
A nine-game streak against the United States has been reduced to six, however, due to COVID-19 cases with the Canadian squad, which also delayed the Olympic squad’s reveal. for December 22.