Never have players on the Canadian women鈥檚 hockey team looked forward to the rigours of pre-Olympic preparation more.
Ice time wasn鈥檛 always available during the COVID-19 pandemic, let alone skating in large groups or playing a game.
Olympic team alumni have said the months they lived, trained and played games in Calgary before a Winter Games were the closest they came to feeling like professional hockey players.
It鈥檚 the only time they get dedicated ice time, a regular slate of games, full-time coaching, hockey expenses covered and access to similar medical and health supports the male pros get.
The majority of Canada鈥檚 players are without a league since the collapse of the Canadian Women鈥檚 Hockey League over two years ago, and the pandemic hampering the formation of a replacement has the players welcoming the gruelling months ahead.
鈥淚t means a lot,鈥� Canadian forward Blayre Turnbull said. 鈥淓specially after the past couple years, some of us haven鈥檛 really had true hockey seasons.
鈥淭he fact that we鈥檒l all be able to spend the season together and play and practise as a team, it means a great deal to all of us.鈥�
The 29 players invited to centralize in Calgary arrived in July.
A 25-player roster was chosen for the world championship concluding Tuesday in their home arena at Calgary鈥檚 Canada Olympic Park.
Canada faces Switzerland and defending champion the United States takes on Finland in Monday鈥檚 semifinals.
After a week鈥檚 break following the world championship, the Canadian women resume their quest to be chosen for the 23-player Olympic roster and win the gold medal in Beijing in February.
After winning four straight gold, Canada lost in a 3-2 shootout to the U.S. in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.
Olympic women鈥檚 rosters will remain at 23 鈥� three goaltenders and 20 skaters 鈥� in Beijing.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is expected to approve in September expanding women鈥檚 rosters to 25 to equal the men鈥檚 for future world championships, and then lobby the International Olympic Committee to do the same for 2026.
Hockey Canada鈥檚 director of national teams Gina Kingsbury intends to name the Olympic roster before December鈥檚 holiday break.
Before that, however, the women will be put through a sustained high volume of dryland training, practice skates and games.
Twenty skaters 鈥� Canada went with 12 forwards and eight defenders in 2018 鈥� will be selected from nine defenders and 17 forwards.
Goaltenders Ann-Renee Desbiens of La Malbaie, Que., Emerance Maschmeyer of Bruderheim, Alta., and Kristen Campbell of Brandon, Man., are Beijing-bound, but are competing for coveted starts there.
A reshuffling of the coaching staff may be afoot.
Head coach Troy Ryan of Spryfield, N.S. must decide how he wants to replace assistant Jim Midgley, who was named to the coaching staff of the NHL鈥檚 New York Rangers during the women鈥檚 championship.
Kori Cheverie of New Glasgow, N.S., and Doug Derraugh of Arnprior, Ont., remain as Ryan鈥檚 assistants.
Canada will play more games against the U.S. and Finland women this winter, and less against local male triple-A clubs than in previous centralizations.
Eight games against the U.S. women and as many against Finland鈥檚 women are planned, including travelling to Finland in November for a series there.
The American women start their 鈥渞esidency鈥� in Blaine, Minn., in October.
Canada opens its pre-Olympic series against them Oct. 22 and Oct. 25 in Allentown, Pa., and Hartford, Conn. respectively.
鈥淲e鈥檝e really increased our international competition,鈥� Kingsbury said. 鈥淲e鈥檇 be looking at the same amount of games, if you include the world championship games, as we would in our normal centralization.鈥�
The world not yet free of COVID-19, Kingsbury expects plans may change.
鈥淚f we鈥檝e learned anything in the last 16 months, it鈥檚 you have to adapt and be able to adjust,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t helps that our entire group is double-vaccinated.鈥�
Since the 2006 Olympics, the women made games in Alberta鈥檚 male triple-A league a cornerstone of their centralization schedule.
Kingsbury wants to arrange exhibition games against them, and possibly Junior A clubs, but didn鈥檛 want to be locked into a league鈥檚 schedule this time.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to join the league as we have in the past. It鈥檚 not COVID,鈥� Kingsbury said. 鈥淲e felt strongly about increasing our international games and playing more women鈥檚 hockey at its highest level.
鈥淲e felt really strongly about making sure the schedule was optimal for our needs. That wasn鈥檛 always the case tied to a league.鈥�
Combined financial assistance from Hockey Canada and Sport Canada鈥檚 Athletes鈥� Assistance Fund (AAF) during centralization gives the players them a few thousand dollars a month to live on.
Kingsbury declined to state exact figures for this season.
Between Hockey Canada and Sport Canada, it worked out to roughly $5,000 per month in 2017-2018.
The money allows players to concentrate more on hockey and less on side gigs for cash.
鈥淣ot having to have side gigs, not having to work, it already takes enough energy out of you training for the Olympics,鈥� forward Natalie Spooner said.
鈥淛ust having that as our main focus, it feels really good and lets us really bond as a team. We鈥檙e really a team and we鈥檙e going to be together here for the next six months.鈥�
Own The Podium, which provides technical expertise and directs targeted Sport Canada funding to sports based on medal potential, significantly raised the money for women鈥檚 hockey in the four-year quadrennial since Pyeongchang compared to the previous quad.
Hockey Canada received a combined $5.9 million for women鈥檚 hockey compared to $4.6 million over the four years before 2018.
鈥淲e feel we鈥檝e got a good plan in place. It鈥檚 obviously quite costly,鈥� Kingsbury said. 鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 be able to do it without the support of Hockey Canada and certainly the support of Own The Podium.鈥�
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
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