The FISU Canadian Women

One of the international competitions that seemingly is overlooked by most major media outlets is the FISU World University Games. Every two years, the best of the best university student-athletes gather in one location to engage in athletic competitions with 15 summer sports and 10 winter sports being played. Canada is sending a large contingent to Lake Placid, the host of the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games, and we found out who the 22 women are that will compete for the gold medal in Lake Placid against the world. I'm excited to see our best student-athletes compete against the world!

Before we get into seeing who is playing for Canada, the women's hockey event will run January 11-21, and Canada play Slovakia, Czechia, Japan, Great Britain, and USA in the round-robin before the semifinals begin on January 20. I'll have more about the schedule below the team information, but ESPN and ESPN+ hold the TV rights for this event so keep your eyes on their schedule for when women's hockey will be broadcast. Nothing's been revealed by the sports network yet in terms of a schedule, but I assume they'll have a few games on their setups at some point.

Without further adieu, let's see who will don the maple leaf crest on the front of the jersey for Canada in Lake Placid.

FORWARDS

Tatum Amy. The Cougars' captain is a 200-foot player, leads in assists, and is second in U SPORTS scoring.

Rosalie Bégin-Cyr. 2022 U SPORTS National Champion, and is third in RSEQ scoring this season.

Emmy Fecteau. 2022 U SPORTS National Champion, and she's first in RSEQ scoring this season.

Hannah Tait. Gryphons' captain who scores big goals while being defensively responsible.

Madison Willan. Leads Alberta in scoring and tied for fourth in Canada West scoring.

Audrey-Anne Veillette. Leads the RSEQ in goal-scoring and is second in RSEQ scoring overall.

Scout Watkins Southward. Her skill, scoring, and athleticism will be on display in Lake Placid.

Maggy Burbidge. Leads all of U SPORTS in scoring, goal-scoring, and is second in assists.

Lea MacLeod. Second in AUS scoring, she's an excellent play-maker who can score as well.

Maria Dominico. Second in scoring for the Lakers, her speed and skill will give opponents nightmares.

Shae Demale. Third in AUS scoring and third in U SPORTS goal-scoring, she'll haunt goalies' dreams.

Leah Herrfort. Leads OUA in goals and points, and is tied for third in helpers. Great PP player.

DEFENCE

Carley Olivier. Leads the OUA in blue line scoring, and is tied for the U SPORTS lead. Great vision.

Annabel Faubert. Has only played 5 games, but she's solid at both ends of the ice. Plays all situations.

Kelly-Ann Nadeau. Tied for the lead in RSEQ defender goals, all of her goals are at even-strength.

Jenna MacLean. UNB's second-leading defensive scorer, she's used in every situation for the Reds.

Isabella Pozzi. Arguably, the best Huskies defender on both sides of the puck. Moves the puck well.

Elizabeth Mura. A 2022 RSEQ Second Team All-Star, she's great in all three zones and can score.

Marie-Camille Théorêt. RSEQ's leading defensive scorer, Bishop's captain is good in all situations.

GOALTENDERS

Camryn Drever. Always near the top of CanWest stats, she'll be steady. Doesn't get rattled.

Kendra Woodland. Leads the AUS in wins, save percentage, and is second in GAA. Quick and big.

Aurélie Dubuc. Hasn't played a lot, but is tied for the RSEQ's top save percentage. Strong fundamentally.

Overall, this Canadian team is impressive when one accounts for scoring prowess, goaltending, defensive abilities, and special teams play. The top-five scorers currently in U SPORTS will all play for Canada while the squad boasts the top-three goal scorers and the top-three playmakers in the nation on the roster. Defensively, Canada has the fourth- and sixth-highest scorers for rearguards, but this team will be solid in both defending the net as well as getting the pucks up the ice to the talented forwards. Head coach Greg Bowles will have all sorts of options when it comes to lines and pairings.

This team likely will have the best goaltending at the tournament at Canada boasts the sixth- and eleveth-best goalies when it comes to GAA, and the second- and eighth-best goalies when it comes to save percentage. Two of the three netminders played at the U SPORTS National Championship last season where they proved that they can carry a team into and during the big games, and all three have shown excellence in the crease as starters for their teams. Again, Greg Bowles will have some tough decisions regarding who gets the starts.

Canada's opposition has been scheduled, and they'll play on:

• January 11 (8pm ET) against Slovakia.
• January 14 (430pm ET) against Czechia.
• January 15 (430pm ET) against Japan.
• January 17 (430pm ET) against Great Britain.
• January 18 (8pm ET) against USA.

All times are shown in Eastern Time mainly to help if you find a feed on ESPN or ESPN+. I'm not suggesting you should try to stream the games or anything, but if there were a feed for ESPN and/or ESPN+ programming over on onhockey.tv (please have your AV updated and an ad blocker) I'd recommend watching it there. It's your best bet for finding a way to watch the games in Canada.

With the Russians not participating, the normal team of professional players they send won't be attending, opening the door for other countries to step in and compete for a medal. I'd expect Team USA to be in the mix as they have a good squad, the British women have a Calgary Dino on their squad as Ella Howard will suit up in Lake Placid, and I expect all of Japan, Czechia, and Japan to be strong with their roster selections.

Everything will come together after the holiday season, but the initial prognosis is that the silver-medal streak that Canada is currently on since 2015 seems like it will come to an end based on the strength of this team. Before I put the cart before the horse, though, they still have to play the games, but I'll be cheering for Canada for ten days as they look to capture gold once more!

This squad looks to have all the necessary pieces for that to happen at the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!