Vacancies for Canadian women’s hockey teams are expanding on world championship rosters

CALGARY – Women were given the same job opportunities as men at the hockey world championships. This brings a new dynamic to the Canadian team, although the same parity has yet to be extended to women for the 2026 Olympics.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has expanded the women’s rosters to 22 skaters and three goaltenders from 20 and three for both the Women’s Championship and the Women’s Under-18 Championship from 2025.

Canada opens the defense of its women’s world title against Finland on April 10 in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.

A more immediate impact is that Canada will carry 25 players for the first three games of the Rivalry Series with the United States in November to adjust to additional personnel.

“There is a benefit from a critical experience perspective and from a management perspective,” said Canadian team general manager Gina Kingsbury. “You think: ‘This is great, I can bring two more players.’

“But there’s also another way of thinking: ‘Okay, now we see that in some ways we’re being treated the same as the men.'”

Teams will still dress 20 skaters and two goalies per game, but two extra skaters means internal competition for playing time during a tournament, Canadian head coach Troy Ryan said.

“That rule gives you the opportunity to give more athletes the opportunity and with that positive comes a potential dynamic within the team that needs to be managed,” Ryan said. ‘The communication surrounding it will have to be very important.

“It makes it even more competitive. Once you select that roster, it gives you a little bit of leeway if you need to make a change.”

An expanded roster also gives Ryan the leeway to include a player he doesn’t yet have a conclusive opinion on, with less risk.

“It’s not a real gamble, but it gives you the opportunity to take a little bit more of a chance on a potential athlete, whether that’s a power play specialist, or a younger player with limited experience, and you’re not sure if they are ready,” he explained.

“It will allow some of those decisions to be made much more comfortably than possible in the past.”

The 48 players invited to the September training camp in Thorold, Ont., were informed that the expanded rosters for the world championship would likely be approved by the IIHF by the end of that month.

“They were surprised and I think happy about the two additional spots that are now available,” Kingsbury said.

Women’s Olympic hockey rosters still consist of 23 players, compared to men’s 25.

The IIHF did not respond to emailed questions about whether the 2026 Olympic women’s rosters will also expand to mirror those of the men’s in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

Kingsbury was not hopeful. The International Olympic Committee and the organizing committee would consider it late to adjust the numbers of athletes at the Winter Games.

Among the other changes in women’s hockey announced at the IIHF’s recent semi-annual conference was a realignment of the world championship pools starting in 2026, which will eliminate a preliminary round match between Canada and the US.

From 2026 – in a host city yet to be named – the women’s championship will return to ‘snake sowing’ for its groups. That format corresponds to the men’s under-20 championship and the women’s under-18 championship.

In an effort to reduce lopsided scores, the IIHF in 2012 began placing the top countries in one pool and the lower seeds in the other.

One problematic optic was that a team could advance winless through Pool A and still play a quarterfinal against a Pool B team that won four games to get there.

Whether countries like Hungary and Norway will be ready to hold their own against the Canadian and American women — and avoid flashy scores that provide a lightning rod for criticism of international women’s hockey — remains to be seen.

Canada will host the 2026 Women’s Under-18 Championship and the 2027 Women’s Championship, with dates and locations yet to be announced.

The annual Rivalry Series between Canada and the US was reduced from seven games to five this winter to account for players from both teams who are now full-time pros in the PWHL.

The series kicks off on November 6 in San Jose, California, followed by games on November 8 in West Valley City, Utah and November 10 in Boise, Idaho. The Canadian leg is on February 6 in Halifax and on February 8 in Summerside, PEI

USA Hockey announced Thursday that the men’s, women’s and para teams will wear helmet stickers this season in memory of NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew who were killed Aug. 29 when a vehicle struck them while they were bicycling. The sticker shows Johnny’s jersey number 13 and Matthew’s 21.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press