PWHL standout Hannah Miller barred from playing for Canada at upcoming world tourney

After a standout season in the Professional Women's Hockey League, Toronto Sceptres forward Hannah Miller won't be suiting up for Team Canada at the world championship in April after all.

Miller was named to the 25-player roster after putting up one of the best performances in the PWHL this season. The 29-year-old from North Vancouver has posted 24 points in 26 games in her second season with the Sceptres, helping the team climb from the league basement into playoff position.

But Miller previously competed for the Chinese team, and was ruled ineligible to play for Canada by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Hockey Canada said in a statement on Monday.

"The IIHF stipulates a two-year timeline from when Miller last played overseas in order for her to be eligible to play for Canada," the statement says.

Team Canada general manager Gina Kingsbury said the decision was disappointing.

"We remained optimistic and believed she had met all the conditions outlined by the IIHF to represent her country, including the two-year timeline around the transfer portal," Kingsbury said. "Hannah has worked hard this season, earned a spot on our roster and we will look forward to future opportunities for her to wear the Maple Leaf."

Miller played for Canada at the Under-18 world championships in both 2013 and 2014, earning back-to-back gold medals.

She signed with the Kunlun Red Star (KRS) Vanke Rays in 2018, a Chinese team that used to compete in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Chinese national team recruited North Americans ahead of the 2022 Olympics to try to bolster its roster ahead of a Games on home soil.

Miller played for China at the 2022 Olympics and that year's Division B world championship, a tier below the top tournament. She led China to a championship at that tournament, and was named top forward.

She spent five seasons playing for the Vanke Rays, which moved over to the women's league in Russia when the CWHL folded in 2019. She also spent a season in the Swedish Women's Hockey League. 

Miller returned to North America last season, after the Sceptres drafted her 74th overall in the 2023 PWHL draft.

She will be replaced on Team Canada by Sceptres teammate Julia Gosling, who won gold with Canada at last year's world championship in Utica, N.Y.

Gosling has registered 10 points in 27 games in her first season in the PWHL. She's earned a role on the top power play in the league, spending time on both Toronto's first and second power-play units.

But the Canadian team has lost a potential top-six centre option in Miller.