CALGARY, Alta. – Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team coaching staff announced Wednesday that Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que./Boston University, HE) has been named captain, while Laura Fortino (Hamilton, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC) and Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC) have been named alternate captains, for an upcoming three-game series against the United States.

The puck drops on the series against the United States’ Women’s Under-22 Select Team starting Thursday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. MT, continuing Friday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. MT and Sunday, Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. MT at WinSport Canada Athletic & Ice Complex in Calgary.

Poulin, Fortino and Jenner all won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Burlington, Vt., in April. Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team also features:

• one player who won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Team at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. (Poulin);
• four players who won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18-Team at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in Zlin, Czech Republic, in January (Ambrose, Lefort, Maschmeyer, Stacey);
• nine players who won a bronze medal with Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team at the 2012 Meco Cup in Füssen, Germany, in January (Bram, Campbell, Davis, Edney, Kosta, Menard, Poudrier, Rattray, Saulnier).

Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team coaching staff earlier this week named Emily Clark (Saskatoon, Sask./Saskatoon, SFMAAAHL) captain of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team for its three-game series against the the United States’ Women’s Under-18 National Team, while Kristyn Capizzano (Oakville, Ont./Mississauga, PWHL) and Halli Krzyzaniak (Neepawa, Man./Pursuit of Excellence, Midget AAA) will serve as alternate captains. The under-18 games take place Thursday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. CT, Friday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. CT and Sunday, Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. CT, at the National Sports Centre’s Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minn.

Clark, Capizzano and Krzyzaniak all won a gold medal with Canada’s National Women’s Under-18-Team at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in Zlin, Czech Republic in January, along with Ashleigh Brykaliuk (Brandon, Man./Balmoral Hall, JWHL) and Catherine Dubois (Charlesbourg, Que./Ontario Hockey Academy, Midget AAA). Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team also features:

• one player who won the gold medal with Ontario Red at the 2011 National Women’s Under-18 Championship in Saguenay, Que., last November (Capizzano);
• one player who participated in the 2012 IIHF High Performance Camp in Vierumäki, Finland, in July (Heffernan);
• one player who won the gold medal with the Pembina Valley Hawks at the 2012 Esso Cup, Canada’s National Female Midget Championship, in Charlottetown, P.E.I., in April (Carels).

The 22-player rosters for both squads were selected by Kalli Quinn, Hockey Canada’s director of female national teams; Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada’s head scout of women’s national team programs and her team of scouts; along with team coaching staffs, following the National Women’s Under-22/Development Team and National Women’s Under-18 Team selection camps, which ran Aug. 2-12 at Hockey Canada’s home rink, the WinSport Canada Athletic & Ice Complex in Calgary.

Following the series, Hockey Canada scouts, along with Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team and National Women’s Under-18 Team coaching staffs, will continue to evaluate players with their club teams during the 2012-13 season, in preparation for selecting the Canadian contingent that will compete at the 2013 Meco Cup and 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship, both taking place next January in Füssen, Germany and Vierumäki, Finland, respectively.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Please contact Kristen Lipscombe, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of communications, for any Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team interview requests at (403) 826-4819 or [email protected].

For more information on Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team and Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/NWT, or follow along through social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_teamcanada.