TORONTO, ON - Top women hockey players from across Canada are in Toronto, Ontario this week for the final evaluation camp for Canada's National Women's Team's before naming the roster for the Women's World Championship in late February, the Canadian Hockey Association announced on Thursday.

The evaluation camp will begin January 27th at the Beatrice Ice Gardens, on the campus of York University with daily practices and two Red/White intra-squad games on January 29th and 31st. Canada will play two exhibition games against the USA: on February 2nd, in Buffalo, NY and on February 4th at the TSN Challenge at the Air Canada Centre during NHL All-Star Weekend. Tickets for the TSN Challenge are available at TICKETMASTER (1-416-872-5000).

"The coaching staff is very excited about this camp as it is our last chance to evaluate players before naming our roster for the Women's World Hockey Championship at the end of February," said Melody Davidson, Head Coach of the National Women's Team. "The depth we have at all positions gives us an indication of the progress women's hockey continues to make in Canada."

This evaluation camp is the third step of three in evaluating the top women's players in Canada. The other evaluations included an October camp in Toronto, and the 3 Nations Cup held in Montreal in December, 1999. Thirty-one players make up this third evaluation camp roster, of which 16 were members of the 1999 World Championship team, and 15 of the players where a part of the silver medal winning team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Twenty-five of the 31 players will play for Canada in the two exhibition games against the USA. Six players: defender Gillian Ferrari (Thornhill, ON) and forwards Kelly Béchard (Sedley, SK), Caroline Ouellette (Montréal,QC), Laura Schuler (Scarborough, ON), Colleen Sostorics (Kennedy, SK) and Corinne Swirsky (Thompson, MB) will only take part in the evaluation camp, as they were previously part of the evaluation process earlier in the season, which has provided the coaching staff with an opportunity to evaluate over forty players during competition.

These players are all still vying for a spot on the final roster for the 2000 IIHF Women's World Championship, where Canada's National Women's Team will be attempting to capture an unprecedented sixth consecutive World Hockey Championship title.

The 2000 IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship will be held in Mississauga, Ontario from April 3-9, 2000. Tickets are currently on sale at all TICKETMASTER outlets or by calling 416-872-5000. The 2000 IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship will serve as the qualifying event for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Practices and inter-squad games during the evaluation camp at the Beatrice Ice Gardens are open to the public, but seating is limited.

NHL All-Star media accreditation will be accepted for the TSN Challenge, with the exception of photographers who will require specific accreditation for the TSN Challenge. Accreditation forms must be returned no later than February 1st.