Saskatoon’s Clark among 23 named to Olympic women’s hockey roster

A familiar face is making her way back to Team Canada for the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Saskatoon’s Emily Clark has made the women’s Olympic hockey roster for the second Olympic cycle in a row. Clark is the lone Saskatchewan-born member of the team.

Its roster features three goaltenders, seven defencemen and 13 forwards:

• Goaltenders: Kristen Campbell (Brandon, Man.), Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.) and Emerance Maschmeyer (Bruderheim, Alta.)
• Defence: Erin Ambrose (Keswick, Ont.), Ashton Bell (Deloraine, Man./University of Minnesota Duluth, WCHA), Renata Fast (Burlington, Ont.), Jocelyne Larocque (Ste. Anne, Man.), Ella Shelton (Ingersoll, Ont.), Claire Thompson (Toronto, Ont.) and Micah Zandee-Hart (Saanichton, B.C.)
• Forwards: Clark, Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.), Sarah Fillier (Georgetown, Ont./Princeton University, ECAC), Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont.), Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont.), Emma Maltais (Burlington, Ont./Ohio State University, WCHA), Sarah Nurse (Hamilton, Ont.), Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.), Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont.), Jill Saulnier (Halifax, N.S.), Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont.), Laura Stacey (Kleinburg, Ont.) and Blayre Turnbull (Stellarton, N.S.)

The roster features 13 returnees from the 2018 silver-winning squad, along with six who won gold in Russia in 2014. Two more members were on the ice in 2010 for Team Canada’s gold medal-winning team.

“We started with 29 athletes, which shows the depth of the talent pool that has been a part of our entire journey, and we are excited for the 23 players chosen to represent Canada,” head coach Troy Ryan said in a Hockey Canada press release.

Canada opens preliminary round action on Feb. 3 against Switzerland.