The last two seasons, fans and players looked at the Rivalry Series as an afterthought. It remained an honor to be called to play for Canada or USA’s national team, but the real focus was on the PWHL and World Championships.
This year, however, the Rivalry Series, albeit a significantly shrunken event–down to only four games from the seven played only two years ago–will take on new meaning to everyone.
The Series, which opens this week in Cleveland and Buffalo before wrapping up in Edmonton in December, will serve as the final international tune-up opportunities for Canada and USA ahead of the 2026 Olympics.
While the PWHL will play a significant role this year in how Olympic rosters are formed, head-to-head competition between Canada and USA, who have perennially found themselves in the gold medal game at the World Championships and Olympics, cannot be overlooked.
Canada’s Last Hurrah With Current Group
Unlike Team USA, whose roster features a strong core of 20-something players in or recently out of the NCAA, Canada’s core is in their last hurrah. The Rivalry Series will be a moment for those veterans to prove they can be part of one final Olympic Games, or that for Canada to have their best chance at gold in Milano Cortina, the nation must look younger.
Canada’s core that is nearing the end of their international line includes Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque, and Natalie Spooner. But there’s a deeper issue for Canada: by the time another Olympic Games rolls around in 2030, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Blayre Turnbull, Sarah Nurse, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Renata Fast, Emerance Maschmeyer, and Erin Ambrose, along with Jenner, Larocque, and Spooner, will all be on the wrong side of 35. Hannah Miller will turn 35 likely in the middle of the 2030 Olympics.
In fact, only a small fraction of Canada’s current national team will be under 30 when the 2030 games roll around, so the pressure is on for this group to perform. While Canada is not looking beyond Milano Cortina, for some of their young players, this is the chance of a lifetime to earn their place in the present, and for the future. For Canada to beat the fast and talented American lineup, they’ll need to lean on some of their young stars, rather than relegate them to checking roles in favour of veterans.
This could mean elevated looks for Danielle Serdachny, Julia Gosling, Sophie Jaques, Caitlin Kraemer, Chloe Primerano, and Eve Gascon, with Sarah Fillier already entrenched in her role. Nicole Gosling could also earn her way into the conversation through a strong PWHL start.
No American Drop Off Expected This Year
For the past several seasons, Team USA has jumped out to a strong start to the Rivalry Series before faltering late. That shift had less to do with Canada’s play, and more to do with USA’s roster shifts that saw NCAA stars participate in early Rivalry Series dates, and not later in the season. This year, that won’t happen. USA’s college players will be in the mix for both legs of the Rivalry Series, and have been training as part of Team USA at stops in Minnesota and New York in recent months.
It means USA will have access to not only their PWHL core, but also NCAA standouts like Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, Laila Edwards, Kirsten Simms, Lacey Eden, Joy Dunne, Emma Peschel, and Ava McNaughton from start to finish. It’s a smaller group than in years past, but impactful nonetheless.
USA’s roster is incredibly deep at all positions and has no apparent weaknesses. The team had enough strength up front to continue their experiment moving Laila Edwards to the blueline, which, coupled with the return of defender Lee Stecklein, bolsters what was their weakest link. After losing the 2022 gold medal game to Canada, USA has been on a path to reclaim their spot on the top of the podium, a process which will hit a new gear this week at the Rivalry Series.
Who Are The Bubble Players For Each Nation?
The Rivalry Series will likely give some clarity to the pecking order for each nation, but some of that has already become clear. For Canada, the blueline battle looks to rest with Chloe Primerano, Nicole Gosling, Jocelyne Larocque, Kati Tabin, and Sophie Jaques. Right now, Gosling and Larocque look like the duo on the outside looking in, although Gosling was a strong performer for Canada at the 2024 Worlds the last time they won gold. Tabin is the other name that will need to win her way in.
Up front Canada has decisions to make when it comes to Caitlin Kraemer, Julia Gosling, Danielle Serdachny, Brianne Jenner, and Kristin O’Neill. If Hannah Miller’s bid to be eligible for the Olympics is granted, as expected, things will get even tighter for Canada up front. Jenner is likely the first out for Canada unless she has an exceptional opening to the 2025-26 PWHL season.
USA’s bubble might be even tighter than Canada’s. Up front the competition for final roster spots will be fierce between Grace Zumwinkle, Casey O’Brien, Jesse Compher, Lacey Eden, Joy Dunne, Hayley Scamurra, and Britta Curl-Salemme. Strong PWHL starts for Compher, Zumwinkle, Curl-Salemme, O’Brien and Scamurra will be important, while Simms, Eden, and Dunne are lighting up the NCAA and need to transfer that success to the Rivalry Series.
On the back end, it will be nearly impossible to steal a spot from the outside. Emma Peschel deserves a look, but remains a long shot, and Rory Guilday has work to do to reclaim her roster spot. She was effective for USA in recent international competitions, but was pushed out by the shift of Edwards and return of Stecklein. A strong PWHL start will go a long way for Guilday. Savannah Harmon and Anna Wilgren are other defenders likely sitting on the bubble.
One thing is true for both teams – Olympic decisions are made without the same strings that have held some players to World Championship rosters. From the historic cuts of Angela James and Cammi Granato, to watching players centralize for a year only to be omitted from final rosters, the decisions are always about the here and now, and there will certainly be final roster decisions that are hotly debated when the dust settles.
