Canadian Women’s Olympic hockey roster leans into cohesioin and experience

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Canada’s Women’s Olympic hockey team is down to the 23 players who will represent this country in Milan Cortino and in the selection process they have leaned into their strengths.

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That starts with chemistry and cohesion and experience, something that has served the program well in the past and something they believe will serve them well again.

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A less successful than expected Rivalry Series that saw the Americans sweep all four games leading into this Olympics could have pushed management in another direction if one actually believed those games were indicators of what is to come.

Clearly management, from GM Gina Kingsbury, to a coaching staff led by Troy Ryan, did not feel that way.

As a whole, that group made the decision to stick with what they know and more importantly who they knew, Rivalry Series results be damned.

So 16 of a possible 23 players are back.

The newcomers or first-timer Olympians are Toronto Sceptres forward Daryl Watts, Montreal Victoire defender Kati Tabin, Vancouver defender Sophie Jaques, New York forward Kristin O’Neill, Seattle forward Julia Gosling (the past two who were alternates in Beijing), Vancouver forward Jenn Gardiner and New York Sirens goalie Kayle Osborne.

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They will join the likes of veterans such as Marie-Philip Poulin, Brianne Jenner and Sarah Fillier.

Left off for some of that veteran presence and cohesion were the likes of 19-year-old North Vancouver defender Chloe Primerano and 24-year-old Seattle Torrent forward Danielle Serdachny.

Kingsbury said age never entered into the equation.

“What played into the makeup of the team was what do we have and how do we put together the best possible team,” Kingsbury said.

“The experience and the heart of this team, I mean we saw it in the calls we made informing players they had made this team,” Kingsbury said.

“I think some of our coaches were surprised buy the amount of emotion from all our players on those calls,” Kingsbury said. “An athlete that has been named five times to an Olympic team or an athlete that is getting that news for the first time. That emotion is still there at all stages … That emotion, that heart, that chemistry and the connection among that group, I would put money on that. I believe in that especially at an Olympic Games when it’s a 12-day tournament, short-term and it’s just the spark that you need.”

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As for the Rivalry Series results that seem to have a good chunk of Canadian fans panicking, Kingsbury said history has shown those results to have no bearing on the actual outcome of the Olympic tournament.

They didn’t in Salt Lake City when the Americans won eight in a row heading into the 2002 Games before losing gold and they didn’t in 2018 for the PyeongChang Olympics when Canada owned the pre-Olympic exhibitions only to lose the gold medal final in a shootout to the Americans.

“I think (Caroline Ouelette, a National team assistant coach) alluded to it in the locker room after the fourth (Rivalry Series) game,” Kingsbury said of those eight consecutive losses to the U.S. in 2002 that preceded Canada’s gold medal win.

“And it was not to compare the two years or to say that it means we are winning gold this time,” Kingsbury said. “These games (leading up to an Olympics) never indicate what a Games has to offer. The goal of the Rivalry Series or the games leading up to an Olympics is just meant to prepare your team. It allows you to evaluate your team, see what you have, see what they have and then the games is a whole other beast.

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“So, yes, it was mentioned and it was mentioned so our young ones don’t panic,” Kingsbury said. “There’s no need to have panic right now and to honest if it were the opposite some message would have been delivered along the lines of ‘Hey, we won a lot before PyeongChang and we lost in a shootout.’

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is us taking the pieces we need to take, the lessons we need to take and make sure whatever we are doing now until the Games begin positions us in a good way to be successful. That’s all that matters.”

Blayre Turnbull, captain of the Toronto Sceptres and an assistant captain with the National team, is off to her third Olympics. Her belief in the squad assembled is rock solid.

She was asked if there was ever a concern that management might opt for big roster changes and maybe even a younger, less experienced, team in light of the struggles Canada had with the United States in the Rivalry Series.

“I think from the outside that was a concern for a lot of people who have no clue what’s going on in the inside and how confident we continued to feel throughout the course of those four Rivalry Series games,” Turnbull said. “I think our group, we just have a crazy amount of belief in one another. We trust each other and we trust our staff to give us the game plan that we need to win. Our confidence has never wavered. Any time we have lost it has been a lesson learned and an opportunity to figure out an area we can improve on or change. But I would say the cohesion and experience we have as a group is really something very special.”

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NURSE GETS THE NOD
Despite having played just one game in the PWHL after suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s home opener, Sarah Nurse has a spot on the Canadian roster.

But Nurse will have to prove she is fully back from the injury in the lead up to the Olympics or that spot could be handed to a reserve.

According to Ryan, Kingsbury and Nurse had a very frank discussion about what is expected of the Hamilton native in advance of the Olympics.

“Gina was very clear with Sarah and Sarah was very understanding,” Ryan said.

“Not only does she have to be ready to compete at the Olympic games, she has to be ready to compete and have an impact so Gina was very clear and Sarah fully understood and has assured us she will be ready.”

Canada has a week-long pre-Olympic camp in Switzerland and Nurse will have to have made her case to remain by then, or a roster change could be made. Nurse was not in the lineup for Vancouver last night as the Goldeneyes took on Ottawa, marking the 10th consecutive game she has missed with that upper body injury.

mganter@postmedia.com

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