25 players named to roster for final women's hockey Rivalry Series games
CBC
The Canadian women’s hockey team will bring back plenty of familiar faces for its final pre-Olympic games in Edmonton next week.
The last two games of the 2025-26 Canada-United States Rivalry Series are set for Dec. 10 and 13 inside Edmonton’s Rogers Place. Both games begin at 9 p.m. ET.
Twenty players who competed in the first leg of the Rivalry Series last month will return to the 25-player roster, as the Canadian staff prepare to make final roster decisions.
The 23-player Olympic team is expected to be named in January, ahead of the Canadian team's first game on Feb. 5 against Finland.
“These last two games are crucial in our preparations with the [Milano] Cortina Games less than 70 days away,” Canadian GM Gina Kingsbury said.
Thirty players have been part of the Canadian team's training blocks ahead of these games, as the Canadian staff look to get a glimpse at everyone in contention for a spot on the Olympic team.
Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark will make her Rivalry Series debut, after rehabilitation from an injury kept her out in November. Veterans Jocelyne Larocque and Brianne Jenner, who both wear letters for Team Canada, are on the roster this time around, too, as is starting goaltender, Ann- Renée Desbiens and Nicole Gosling, a rookie defender with the Montreal Victoire.
Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Sarah Nurse won't be at the second leg of the Rivalry Series. She’s missed the last two Vancouver games with a lower-body injury that appears to have been sustained during the Goldeneyes’ first franchise game.
Vancouver forward Hannah Miller, Montreal defender Kati Tabin, New York captain Micah Zandee-Hart and University of Minnesota Duluth goaltender Ève Gascon all competed for the Canadian team in November, but have been left off this roster.
Miller’s eligibility to compete for Team Canada has been up in the air. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) ruled Miller, who previously represented the Chinese team, ineligible to compete in the world championship earlier this year. Hockey Canada appealed that decision, and is still waiting for an answer.
The United States leads the Rivalry Series 2-0 after two lopsided victories in Buffalo and Cleveland in November. The Americans have outscored the Canadians 10-2.
“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," Kingsbury said.
PWHL and NCAA play will also be a deciding factor in who makes the final Canadian roster. The PWHL will break for the Rivalry Series, and resume play on Dec. 16.
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