CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada announced on Thursday the 42 players who have been invited to the National Women's Under-22 Team selection camp, August 7-14 at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary.

The players were selected to be part of the selection camp based on evaluations done by Hockey Canada regional scouts and the National Women’s Team coaching staff during the 2008-09 season. These evaluations included performances with Canada’s national team, under-18 and under-22 programs, their club teams, along with the National Women's Under-22 Team strength and conditioning/skating camp in May in Calgary, among other criteria.

In addition to the 38 players who were born in 1988 or later, Hockey Canada has added four players to the roster who had previously used up their under-22 eligibility (Bettez, Blais, Guay, Hosier). These players were eligible for Canada’s National Women’s Team, but were not selected for centralization ahead of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As Hockey Canada does not operate a program for identified senior players that have not been centralized, these four players will train with the under-22 program for the 2009-10 season. All four players previously played for Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team.

The players attending camp are eligible to represent Canada at the 2010 MLP Cup in Ravensburg, Germany in early January. Canada has won the tournament six times in seven years, losing just two games. Hockey Canada will use the camp to select 22 players for a three-game series against Canada’s National Women’s Team in Calgary in mid August.

Seventeen players (Bendus, Bettez, Birchard, Blais, Bram, Deluce, Fridfinnson, Haverstock, Karpenko, Kessler, Knox, Maschmeyer, Ptolemy, Rougeau, Smith, Spooner, Thibault) return from last year's National Women's Under-22 Team, while six members of Canada’s silver medal-winning 2009 National Women’s Under-18 Team (Fortino, Frykas, McKeough, Pacholok, Phillips, Wong) will attend the camp.

“We are excited with the players we have chosen to bring to the selection camp,” says Margot Page, head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team. “A number of these players will be in the running for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, and we are thrilled to begin the road towards Sochi.”

The National Women’s Under-22 Team selection camp will see the 42 players divided into two teams – Red and White – which will compete with Sweden’s national women’s team in a series of games.

National Women's Under-22 Team Selection Camp

Breakdown by Province

British Columbia – 1 (Pattenden)

Alberta – 5 (Boras, Copeland, Fischer, Maschmeyer, Pacholok)

Saskatchewan – 1 (Ptolemy)

Manitoba – 8 (Bram, Fridfinnson, Frykas, Hewett, Karpenko, Kohanchuk, Miles, Phillips)

Ontario – 17 (Bendus, Bero, Birchard, Deluce, Fortino, Hosier, Jones, Kessler, Knox, Lacasse, McKeough, Prevost, Smith, Spooner, Thibault, Watchorn, White)

Quebec – 7 (Baribeau, Bettez, Blais, Emard, Guay, Rougeau, Scanzano)

Nova Scotia – 2 (Haverstock, Wong)

Prince Edward Island – 1 (Ramsay)