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Three goalkeepers, seven defenders and 13 attackers selected for the tournament.

The team is led by captain Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner — who leads the PWHL in goals — Sarah Fillier and longtime goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens. Ella Shelton, who scored the first goal in PWHL history and leads the league in scoring among defensemen, will also feature on Canada's blue line alongside Toronto's top pairing of Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast.

Twenty players return from the 2023 World Championship roster that won silver medals. Two players will make their debut in the tournament: cousins ​​Julia and Nicole Gosling.

“We are excited and confident about this 23-player team, a group with championship experience, veteran leadership, character and youth, and we are excited to begin the journey,” said general manager Gina Kingsbury in a press release Thursday afternoon.

The 10-team tournament begins April 3 in Utica, New York. Team Canada will open the tournament on April 4 against Finland, face Switzerland on April 5 and face Czechia on April 7 before a rivalry match against the reigning world champions, the United States. . the next day.

The US roster has yet to be selected – 39 players have been selected invited to final selection camp which will take place from March 27 to 30 before the start of the tournament.

Turnover from 2023

There aren't many new faces on Team Canada and as a result, there aren't too many significant cuts. Micah Zandee-Hart (PWHL New York), has been a mainstay on Canada's blue line since his world debut in 2019. He missed the start of the PWHL season following summer surgery and appears to have been left off the blue line depth chart by Ashton Bell, who was left off the roster this year, and Clarkson University star Nicole Gosling.

With her cousin, Julia Gosling will make her world championship debut. He just finished his senior season with 51 points with St. Louis. Lawrence in the NCAA, which ranks ninth in the nation in points per game.

Claire Thompson has not been part of the national team since the 2023 World Championships, while he was studying at medical schoolbut it should be noted that it is No on Canada's roster in 2024. The same goes for Rebecca Johnston, who played last year and went undrafted in the PWHL draft.

Patty Kazmaier, finalist

Canada's roster will feature two of the top ten players in women's university hockey this season. Fillier and Danielle Serdachny were announced Thursday morning among the 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Prize.

Since his debut at the World Championships in Calgary in August 2021, Fillier has been a star for Team Canada, winning two world championships and an Olympic gold medal. He is one of the best players in the world with an impressive combination of speed, skill and balance on the puck. He's coming off a career-high 30-goal season at NCAA second-ranked Princeton.

Serdachny, meanwhile, will make his global debut in 2023 and will play mostly deep roles. He starred in his final season at Colgate this year with 57 points in 36 games, which ranks fifth in the country. Serdachny also made an impact in two Rivalry Series games for Canada, scoring twice, including the game-winning overtime goal in December to help spark Canada's comeback and win the series in seven games.

Why Corinne Schroeder wasn't on the list

It looks like Schroeder will have the chance to beat Team Canada in a major tournament for the first time in his career. In February, she was named to the Rivalry Series roster against Kristen Campbell, but did not get any game action. Since then, Campbell has been outstanding for PWHL Toronto, which appears to have once again closed the door on Schroeder .

It's proof of how difficult it is that a Canadian team that has a goaltender as good as Schroeder still can't crack the lineup. He was the PHF Goaltender of the Year in 2022-23 and has been a star in the PWHL this season. Schroeder has the best save percentage and goals-against average among the league's starting goaltenders.

Canada remains committed to its goaltending depth chart of Desbiens, Emerance Maschmeyer and Campbell, and has enjoyed success in recent years – Desbiens only lost once in the gold medal game as Canada's number one player (2023).

It would take something unexpected – like an injury, retirement or significant dip in form – for Canada to change its goaltending core at this point.