TORONTO, Ont. – Hockey Canada announced Wednesday Canada’s National Women’s Team roster for the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship, scheduled for April 16-25 in Zurich and Winterthur, Switzerland. The team was selected following a selection camp at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto which ran from Saturday to Tuesday.

Canada’s roster includes three goaltenders, six defencemen and 12 forwards. 18 players helped Canada win gold at the 2010 4 Nations Cup last November in St. John’s, N.L., 16  were part of the roster that won the gold medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C., and 16 played at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Championship in Hämeenlinna, Finland, winning a silver medal.

BREAKDOWN OF ROSTER

• 18 players played at the 2010 4 Nations Cup in St. John’s, N.L.
• 16 players played at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.
• 16 players played at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Championship in Hameenlinna, Finland
• Nine players from U.S. universities
• Seven players from the Canadian Women’s Hockey League
• Two players from Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)
• Two players from the Western Women’s Hockey League
• Two players from Canada’s 2011 National Women’s Under-22 Team
• One player from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC)

In order to finalize the roster, 15 players were released from Canada’s National Women’s Team selection camp: 

Goaltender Liz Knox (Stouffville, Ont./Wilfrid Laurier University, CIS); defencemen Courtney Birchard (Mississauga, Ont./University of New Hampshire HE), Delaney Collins (Pilot Mound, Man./Brampton, CWHL), Laura Fortino (Hamilton, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC), Stefanie McKeough (Carlsbad, Ont./University of Wisconsin, WCHA), Lauriane Rougeau (Beaconsfield, Que./Cornell University, ECAC) and Britni Smith (Port Perry, Ont./Toronto, CWHL); forwards Vicki Bendus (Wasaga Beach Ont./Mercyhurst College, CHA), Ann-Sophie Bettez (Sept-Îles, Que./McGill University, CIS), Emmanuelle Blais (Montreal, Que./Montreal, CWHL), Bailey Bram (Ste. Anne, Man./Mercyhurst College, CHA), Mallory Deluce (London, Ont./University of Wisconsin, WCHA), Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC), Noémie Marin (Acton-Vale, Que./Montreal, CWHL) and Jesse Scanzano (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que./Mercyhurst College, CHA).

Canada’s National Women’s Team will hold a camp from April 6-9 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, including two exhibition games against the United States at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, before departing for Europe on April 9.

Canada will attempt to win its 10th gold medal all-time at the IIHF World Women’s Championship, having previously won gold in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 20. Canada’s National Women’s Team has appeared in every gold medal game since the first IIHF World Women’s Championship in Ottawa, Ont., in 1990, winning silver in 2005, 20, in addition to its nine gold medals.

Canada opens the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship on April 16 against Switzerland, and will also face Kazakhstan and Finland in preliminary round play. The 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship includes two groups of four teams, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the medal round, which starts on April 23.

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters, will air three games from Switzerland – Canada’s final preliminary round game versus Finland on April 19, a semifinal on April 23 and the gold medal game on April 25 (check your local listings.