By Trevor Stynes
Nov 4 (Reuters) – Canada arrive at the IIHF Women’s World Championship with a new coach and general manager who have selected a significantly revamped roster as they seek to regain the upper hand on rivals the US after losing out at this year’s Winter Olympics.
The North American powerhouses have long dominated women’s ice hockey and are once again expected to contest the gold medal in Denmark, where they will not meet in the preliminary round for the first time since 2011.
The US followed up last year’s world title by winning gold at Milano Cortina, defeating Canada in overtime in both finals, and have largely kept faith with that Olympic squad.
“What this roster is all about is that we believe that as we’re preparing for the World Championship this year,” general manager Daniele Sauvageau said. “We’re also in a position to build towards 2030.”
Canada replaced Troy Ryan with Kori Cheverie as head coach and their 25-player roster includes only 13 players from the Olympics, compared with 20 in the US squad.
Canada’s veteran-heavy Olympic squad stood in contrast to a younger US one that included several college players. Now, Canada appear to be following a similar path.
FORCED CHANGES
Some changes were forced. Canada head into a tournament without their injured “Captain Clutch” Marie-Philip Poulin for the first time since she arrived on the scene in 2009.
There has been a deliberate shift towards youth, however, with seven Canadians in line to make their World Championship debuts. Six college players have been selected, including 19-year-old Chloe Primerano, who returns after her surprise omission from the Olympic squad.
The rivals split a pair of warm-up matches last week, offering little indication of which side holds the upper hand, although the US recorded a shutout win in the second meeting.
“I think everyone’s always looking at the US and Canada,” US forward Hilary Knight told reporters after Friday’s 4-0 victory.
“So when two duelling nations of our stature get on the ice, it’s a really prideful game. I think we’re just scratching the surface of what we’re capable of right now, which is really exciting.”
The other teams face a daunting task. In the previous 24 World Championships, Canada and the US have failed to meet in the final only once, when Finland took silver in 2019.
Switzerland claimed bronze at Milano Cortina, but are without injured captain Lara Stalder and lost all three matches in the Euro Hockey Tour last week.
The Czech Republic will seek to bounce back from an unexpected Olympic quarter-final exit, while Sweden, who reached the Olympic semis, will again fancy their chances of a deep run.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, additional reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by Ed Osmond)
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