CALGARY, Alta. – The top players in the country have been invited to attend Canada’s National Women’s Team Fall Festival from Sept. 11-18 in Calgary.

The 44 players selected will take to the ice on two teams, Red and White, over the seven-day camp that will feature eight games along with practices at the Markin MacPhail Centre. Tickets for all games featuring National Women’s Team hopefuls and alumnus will be available for purchase at the door for $5.

The Fall Festival serves as an important evaluation opportunity for Canada’s National Women’s Team coaching staff, including head coach Laura Schuler (Scarborough, Ont./Dartmouth College, ECAC) and assistant coaches Dwayne Gylywoychuk (Winnipeg/Hockey Manitoba) and Troy Ryan (Spryfield, N.S./Hockey Canada), and goaltending coach Brad Kirkwood (Calgary/University of Calgary, CWUAA), alongside Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada’s general manager of national women’s team programs.

“The Fall Festival is a critical touchpoint for the players in our program as they come together for the first time on the ice this season with our coaching staff,” said Davidson. “These 44 players have worked hard to earn their invites and this is a great opportunity for them to show if they have what it takes to represent Canada at the senior level on the international stage throughout the 2016-17 season.”

The roster for Canada’s National Women’s Team Fall Festival includes:

• 22 players who won silver with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Kamloops, B.C. (Agosta, Bram, Clark, Davis, Fortino, Howe, Krzyzaniak,  Jenner, Johnston, Lacquette, Larocque, Maschmeyer, Mikkelson, Poulin, Rattray, Rougeau, Saulnier, Spooner, Turnbull, Wakefield, Watchorn, Wickenheiser);
  
  
• 22 players who won a silver medal with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2015 4 Nations Cup in Sundsvall, Sweden (Agosta, Birchard, Bram, Campbell, Clark, Davis, Edney, Fast, Fortino, Howe, Krzyzaniak, Lacquette, Lefort, Maschmeyer, Nurse, S. Potomak, Poulin, Rougeau, Saulnier, Spooner, Turnbull, Wakefield);
  
  
• 16 players who won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia (Agosta, Daoust, Fortino, Irwin, Jenner, Johnston, Lacasse, Larocque, Mikkelson, Poulin, Rougeau, Spooner, Szabados, Wakefield, Watchorn, Wickenheiser);
  
  
• 10 players who won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Development Team at the 2016 Nations Cup (Ambrose, Bach, Daoust, Gosling, Hart, Lacquette, Leslie, Rattray, Stacey, Terry);
  
  
• Nine players who were a part of Canada’s National Women’s Development Team for a three-game series against the United States in August in Calgary, Alta. (Bach, Clark, Gosling, Hart, Howe, Krzyzaniak, Leslie, Nurse, S. Potomak);
  
  
• Two players who were a part of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team for a three-games series against the United States in August and won a silver medal with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team at the 2016 IIHF Women’s Under-18 World Championship (A. Potomak, Shirley).

Along with the 44 players named, camp staff was also selected for the upcoming Fall Festival. A complete listing of camp staff can be found online here.

Following Canada’s National Women’s Team Fall Festival, players will be monitored at the Women’s National Team events, Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team and Development Team events, and international events, such as the 2016 4 Nations Cup in Vierumäki, Finland, as well as with their club teams during the 2016-17 season. These evaluations will assist coaches and scouts in selecting the team that will represent Canada at the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Plymouth, Mich., March 31 – April 7, 2017.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team Program, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter.com/HC_Women.