CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced Thursday the 27 players that will be centralized in Calgary with Canada’s National Women’s Team for the 2013-14 season, in preparation for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, taking place Feb. 7-23 in Sochi, Russia.

The 27-player centralization roster includes three goaltenders, nine defencemen and 15 forwards. Twenty-two of the players named to the centralization roster claimed the silver medal at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship earlier this month in Ottawa, Ont. One player from that world championship roster, forward Sarah Vaillancourt (Sherbrooke, Que./Montreal, CWHL), announced her retirement last week.

The five players centralized that were not on the world championship roster are:

• defenceman Brigette Lacquette (Waterhen, Man./University of Minnesota Duluth, WCHA)
• defenceman Tara Watchorn (Newcastle, Ont./Alberta, CWHL)
• forward Vicki Bendus (Wasaga Beach, Ont./Brampton, CWHL)
• forward Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que./McGill University, CIS)
• forward Jenelle Kohanchuk (Winnipeg, Man./Boston University, Hockey East)

The centralization roster also features 13 gold medallists from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.

“I’m excited to get to work preparing for Sochi with this group of talented athletes,” said Canada’s National Women’s Team head coach Dan Church. “As a coaching staff, we are looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead and working with the players and staff to put together the best team for the Olympics.”
All 27 players named to Canada’s National Women’s Team centralization roster will visit Calgary in late May for orientation and fitness testing in preparation for the 2013-14 season. The players and staff will return in August to start training full-time with Hockey Canada, based out of the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park.

As part of its preparation for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the 2013-14 season will be highlighted by Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2013 4 Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November,  a series of games against the United States and close to 30 games against Midget AAA boys’ teams from the Alberta Midget Hockey League. The team’s final game schedule will be announced this summer.

The final roster that will be nominated to Canada’s National Women’s Team for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games will likely be determined by late December, about two months prior to the start of competition in Sochi.

For more information on Canada’s National Women’s Team and Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/nwt, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_women.