CALGARY, Alta. – Canada’s national women’s team programs will officially kick off the 2018-19 season this week with the start of Canada’s National Women’s Development Team and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team selection camps being hosted in Calgary, Aug. 4-12, 2018. 

Leading Canada’s National Women’s Development Team through selection camp and the Canada-USA series will be head coach Nadine Muzerall (Etobicoke, Ont./Ohio State University, WCHA). Muzerall, who won a silver medal as assistant coach of Canada’s National Women’s Development Team at the 2017 Nations Cup in Füssen, Germany, will be joined by assistant coaches Candice Moxley (Markham, Ont./Markham, CWHL) and Britni Smith (Port Perry, Ont./Clarkson University, ECAC), as well as goaltending consultant Amanda Mazzotta (London, Ont./Quinnipac University, ECAC) and video coach Rick Traugott (Toronto/Hockey Canada).

Howie Draper (Edmonton/University of Alberta, CW) has been named head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, and will be with the group through the August selection camp and three-game series versus the United States, as well as at the 2019 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship in Obihiro, Japan. Draper, who won silver at the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Kamloops, B.C., with Canada’s National Women’s Team, will be joined behind the bench by assistant coaches Kori Cheverie (New Glasgow, N.S./Ryerson University, OUA) and Courtney (Birchard) Kessel (Mississauga, Ont./Toronto, CWHL). Gord Woodhall (Winnipeg/Winnipeg, MFMHL) will support the team as goaltending consultant, while Maryelle Hannam (Bridgetown, N.S./Saint John, NBPEIMMHL) joins the group as video coach.

In all, 12 alumnae of Canada’s national women’s team program will play a role in the two selection camps being hosted at WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre.

“As a program, we’ve been building towards this selection camp for a number of months now, and we’re all looking forward to working with this group of coaches and team support staff with an opportunity to host our development and under-18 women’s teams’ first international competitions of the year Aug. 16-19 right here at the home of Hockey Canada,” said Gina Kingsbury, director of women’s national teams. “While there is a selection component to the upcoming camps, this is also a huge opportunity for us to continue to work on developing our national team pipeline of high-performance athletes, and we feel that under the leadership of Nadine with our development team, and Howie with our under-18 team, we have the right group in place to ensure all of the players attending our selection camps will leave Calgary having improved both on and off the ice.” 

84 players invited to selection camp

In addition to announcing the teams’ coaching staff, Hockey Canada has unveiled the list of players invited to participate in Canada’s National Women’s Development Team and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team selections camps running at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary Aug. 3-11.

The selection camps – part of the Team Canada Summer Showcase – will see 41 players take to the ice for the development team camp, and 43 players participate in the under-18 selection camp, as they compete for a spot on the Canadian teams that will face the United States in their respective three-game series in mid-August.

Kingsbury worked closely with Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada's head scout, national teams – women’s, on the player selection process, with assistance from regional scouts Brian Hart (Ontario), Greg Hermiston (British Columbia), Chris Higgins (Ontario), Scott Lambton (Quebec), Rod Larsen (Manitoba and Saskatchewan), Doug McLeod (Alberta), Gary Soper (Ontario), and Troy Ryan (Atlantic). 

“As we begin our new Olympic cycle, it’s important that we continue to identify and develop those players who have made their mark among Canada’s deep pool of female hockey talent,” said Kingsbury. “These are players who we believe have the potential to be part of our program for many years to come, and we’re excited to be working with many familiar names who have been part of our program in the past, as well as be introduced to new players who have shown us through their on-ice performances that they could fit well within our program. I expect that all 84 of these players will arrive this week ready to work hard and make our selection decisions very difficult.”

From Aug. 3-11, 41 development team camp invitees – four goaltenders, 15 defencemen, and 22 forwards – will participate in several practices and intrasquad games, as well as off-ice training, fitness testing, and classroom sessions. 

The camp will also feature Japan’s national women’s team and a select team of U SPORTS players. A full camp schedule can be found at HockeyCanada.ca/Showcase.

Following camp, a team will be selected to play for Canada’s National Women’s Development Team in a three-game series against the United States, set for Aug. 16-19 at the Markin McPhail Centre. Tickets to those games are available online now and start at $10, with special experience packages available to minor hockey players. 

From Aug. 6-11, 43 under-18 team camp invitees – six goaltenders, 14 defencemen, and 23 forwards – will be split into two teams, Red and White, and participate in practices and intrasquad games, off-ice training, fitness testing, and classroom sessions. 

Of the 43 players participating in camp, a team will be selected to represent Canada as members of the National Women’s Under-18 Team when they take on the United States in a three-game series in Calgary, Aug. 16-19. 

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.