Canadian women's hockey team features 10 Olympic rookies
The Canadian women's Olympic hockey team was announced Tuesday. It's a 23-woman squad comprised of first timers and veterans of past Olympics, who will head to Beijing Jan. 26.
Until then, they'll be based in Calgary where they'll prepare in a bubble, taking all the precautions necessary in a pandemic.
The roster will have plenty of experience, including 13 players who won the silver medal at the 2018 Olympics six who won gold in 2014 and two who won gold in Vancouver at the 2010 games.
They'll also have fresh faces, with 10 players making their Olympic debuts at Beijing, including forward Sarah Fillier.
"We kind of found out a little bit earlier so I got to share it with my family," said Filier. "And it's something I've been working for since watching the Canadian women play in 2018, so to be able to share that with my family … was a special moment."
For Olympic veteran Marie Phillip Poulin, the opportunity to share the Olympic experience with 10 first-time players is what makes the Olympics so much fun.
For Olympic veteran Marie Phillip Poulin, the opportunity to share the Olympic experience with 10 first time players is what makes the Olympics so much fun.
"Ten rookies coming on this team," she said. "They deserve it – and for them to enjoy the journey and to have fun, obviously.
"It's going to be a tough next month for us," she added, "but we're looking forward to it – but have fun. I think we've had fun all year long and it's just going to keep going. Especially with that jersey on. It's an honour for all of us and it's going to be exciting."
Hockey Canada had to cut down from 29 players to 23 so no doubt there were a lot of difficult choices made.
The team is expected to be a fast, speedy squad, which suits the international women's game, and the expectation every Olympics is that it will be a Canada-U.S. final for gold.
With files from Glenn Campbell
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.