New-look Team Canada aiming for gold at 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship
A much different looking Team Canada will take to the ice at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
Seven Canadians are expected to make their world championship debut at this year’s tournament, an event that will be held in its new time slot on the hockey calendar.
The annual tournament has traditionally been held in April but has been permanently moved to November to better align with the North American (particularly the PWHL) and European women’s hockey calendars. This year’s tournament will take place November 6-16 in Denmark, where games will be split between the cities of Herning and Esbjerg.
A Canadian squad featuring a mix of new and familiar faces will look to win world championship gold for the first time since 2024. Canada fell 4-3 in overtime to the rival United States at last year’s tournament in Czechia. Canada has won 13 world championship gold medals, including three since 2021.
Since the women’s worlds debuted in 1990, Canada and the United States have met in all but one gold medal game. The last two championship finals have needed overtime—as did the gold medal game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, where the Americans won 2-1.
Who is playing for Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship?
While Canada’s world championship roster is highlighted by new faces, the bigger storyline is perhaps who’s not part of this year’s team.
Longtime captain Marie-Philip Poulin will miss this year’s tournament after having knee surgery during the summer. The 35-year-old, who recorded three goals and an assist in five games at Milano Cortina 2026, has appeared in 72 career world championship games, posting 89 points.
Along with Poulin, veterans like Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque, Blayre Turnbull, Claire Thompson, Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner and Emerance Maschmeyer—all of whom skated with Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in February—will also not be participating in this year’s tournament.
Taking the spots of these veteran players will be the next generation of Canadian women’s hockey talent. Up front, Caitlin Kraemer, Rebecca Leslie, Sara Manness, Hayley McDonald, Rosalie Tremblay, and Sarah Wozniewicz are all expected to appear in their first world championship games while Kendall Cooper will do so on the backend.
While the seven may lack experience at the senior level, they’ve impressed elsewhere. Kraemer, Manness, McDonald, and Tremblay are all currently playing NCAA hockey. Kraemer, 20, was named the NCAA women’s hockey rookie of the year in 2024-25 and is captaining the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Tremblay, 18, is in her first season at the University of Wisconsin and has nine points in six games. Manness, who plays at Clarkson University, has been one of the highest scoring players in college hockey this season while McDonald, who plays at Ohio State, captained Canada’s under-18 team last season.
Leslie, who has several seasons of professional hockey under her belt, is poised to debut with the senior team at age 30. She’s teammates with Wozniewicz on the PWHL’s Ottawa Charge while Cooper is a member of the Minnesota Frost.
Canada’s forward group will look much different than it has in recent years, but there are still some familiar faces joining forces with this crop of new talent. Highlighting that list are three of Canada’s top four scorers from Milano Cortina 2026: Daryl Watts, Sarah Fillier, and Kristin O’Neill.
Canada will bring a fairly experienced defence core to Denmark with the likes of Sophie Jaques, Kati Tabin, Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, and Erin Ambrose all set to wear the maple leaf after doing so just a few months ago at the Olympic Games. They’ll join Cooper, 19-year-old Chloe Primerano of the University of Minnesota, and 24-year-old Nicole Gosling of PWHL Hamilton.
In net, veteran Ann-Renée Desbiens returns after appearing in five games at Milano Cortina 2026. She’ll be joined by Kayle Osborne of PWHL Hamilton and 19-year-old Ève Gascon of the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
What is Team Canada’s schedule at the IIHF Women’s World Championship?
Canada will play in Group B and be based in Herning at the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship along with Finland, Sweden, Japan and host Denmark. Group A, based in Esbjerg, will feature the United States, Czechia, Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
Canada will open the tournament on Nov. 6 when they take on Sweden at 9 a.m. ET. The team will then have a day off to prepare for back-to-back games against Japan on Nov. 8 and Denmark on Nov. 9. Canada will close out the preliminary round with a Nov. 11 game against Finland, who have won bronze at back-to-back women’s worlds.
The playoff round begins on Nov. 13 with all four quarterfinals taking place. The semifinals will happen on Nov. 15 while the bronze and gold medal games will be held on Nov. 16.
All of Team Canada’s games will be broadcast by TSN.
Team Canada 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship Roster
Forwards (14)
Caitlin Kraemer
Emily Clark
Jessie Eldridge
Sarah Fillier
Rebecca Leslie
Emma Maltais
Sara Manness
Hayley McDonald
Kristin O’Neill
Laura Stacey
Danielle Serdachny
Rosalie Tremblay
Daryl Watts
Sarah Wozniewicz
Defence (8)
Erin Ambrose
Kendall Cooper
Renata Fast
Nicole Gosling
Sophie Jaques
Chloe Primerano
Ella Shelton
Kati Tabin
Goaltenders (3)
Ann-Renée Desbiens
Ève Gascon
Kayle Osborne
