CALGARY — Changes in women's hockey continued Monday when Hockey Canada announced the 48 players trying out for its 2026 world championship team.
The Professional Women's Hockey League upended how Canada, and other countries, have traditionally run their national women's teams.
Timelines and preparation for players and their federations were altered when the world championship shifted from its usual April time slot to November to avoid the PWHL season.
The 2026 world championship precedes the start of the PWHL's fourth season Dec. 5.
"Team Canada was almost like 12 months a year on the senior level," Canada's general manager Danièle Sauvageau recalled Monday.
"Now it will be a program being run mostly from June to November, because this is when Hockey Canada will be training their players leading up to the world championship."
Hockey Canada will choose its 25-player roster from an Oct. 8-14 camp in Quebec City for the world championship Nov. 6-16 in Herning and Esbjerg, Denmark.
Captain Marie-Philip Poulin won't attend selection camp as she recovers from off-season knee surgery.
Canada lost 2-1 in overtime to the United States in the Olympic women's hockey final Feb. 19 in Milan, Italy.
Eighteen players from the Olympic edition were among those summoned to selection camp, as were 14 from the NCAA ranks.
"The camp is an opportunity for every player to experience what we expect from them to play on Team Canada," Sauvageau said.
"We will compete and we will perform. What we want is that this compete level and this performance level will bring gold to us."
Montreal Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie will coach Canada in Denmark, where the Canadians open the tournament Nov. 6 against Sweden.
Canada's women lost 3-2 in overtime to the U.S. in the 2025 world championship final in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia, after beating the host Americans 6-5 in overtime for gold in Utica, N.Y., in 2024.
Three years of the PWHL changed Canada's talent pool as more women had more chances to be scouted.
"There's players in that category who have been successful," Sauvageau said. "What we want to see is could they translate this success, this level of skill, this level to compete with the best-on-best at the international level?
"In order to know that, we need to see them and we need to see what they could do among the group of players that will be in Quebec City."
Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, defenders Renata Fast, Erin Ambrose and Jocelyne Larocque and forwards Sarah Fillier, Emma Maltais, Sarah Nurse, Brianne Jenner and Emily Clark were among decorated veterans invited to selection camp.
Defender Chloe Primerano, who has a world championship under her belt at 19, forwards Caitlin Kraemer, 20, and Rosalie Tremblay, 18, were among young players seeking a foothold on the senior team ahead of the 2030 Olympic Games. Nine players were invited to their first national-team camp.
Poulin, whose knee was injured both in the Olympic tournament and during PWHL playoffs with the Victoire, and assistant captain Blayre Turnbull (pregnancy), were among seven players Hockey Canada said were invited to selection camp, but unable to participate.
Sauvageau declined to say why veteran defender Claire Thompson, forward Natalie Spooner and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer declined invitations.
Thompson was believed to be deciding between a return to medical school or continuing her hockey career.
"They have different reasons. They are all good reasons," Sauvageau said. "It is obviously up to the players to mention them or not."
This year's world championship won't be the tightest turnaround between an Olympic Games and the tournament.
The International Ice Hockey Federation held a women's championship in the same calendar year as a Winter Games in August and September of 2022, in Denmark. Canada defeated the U.S. 2-1 in the final in Herning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2026.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
