(Featured image courtesy of: Yan Huckendubler)
Canada’s Women’s National Field Hockey Program has named its National Team and development squad rosters for the upcoming 2016 competition period.
In total, 53 athletes have been named to three squads: the Women’s National Team (WNT), Senior Development Squad (SDS), and Junior Development Squad (JDS).
Each of the 12 athletes named to the Women’s National Team competed at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto where the Canadian women won bronze this past summer.
The National Team is led by veterans Thea Culley (Rossland, BC), Kate Gillis (Kingston, ON), Danielle Hennig (Kelowna, BC), and Abigail Raye (Kelowna, BC), who combine for more than 520 senior international matches played for Canada.
Also named to the WNT roster is 21 year-old forward Hannah Haughn, who is two matches shy of 100 in her senior career and will become the youngest Women’s National Team athlete ever to reach the milestone. Stephanie Norlander, a 19 year-old forward from North Vancouver also makes the jump to the National Team from the SDS and is the youngest member of the National Team.
The Senior Development Squad includes a group of athletes who have a wealth of experience and also competed at the 2015 Pan Am Games, including Shanlee Johnston (Vancouver, BC), Holly Stewart (North Vancouver, BC), and Amanda Woodcroft (Waterloo, ON).
All senior athletes will centralize and train full-time in Vancouver in the New Year. Joining the full-time National Training Centre for the first time is a group of seven JDS athletes who will centralize with the senior athletes.
Among those junior athletes is Waterloo’s Nikki Woodcroft (the younger sister of Amanda), formerly of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS); Hamilton’s Hannah Eborall, a 2015 Under-18 Women’s National Champion with Team Ontario; and 16 year-old Thora Rae (Vancouver, BC).
The centralized JDS also comprises of athletes with senior experience, including Priya Randhawa (Surrey, BC) and Lauren Logush (Richmond Hill, ON).
In total, 33 athletes from across the country are named to the Junior Development Squad.
2016 Women’s National Team
Name | Position | Hometown | Caps |
Abigail Raye | Defender | Kelowna, BC | 139 |
Brienne Stairs | Midfielder | Kitchener, ON | 84 |
Danielle Hennig | Defender | Kelowna, BC | 103 |
Hannah Haughn | Forward | North Vancouver, BC | 98 |
Kaitlyn Williams | Goalkeeper | White Rock, BC | 70 |
Karli Johansen | Defender | North Vancouver, BC | 52 |
Kate Gillis | Forward | Kingston, ON | 139 |
Madeline Secco | Midfielder | Victoria, BC | 66 |
Natalie Sourisseau | Midfielder | Kelowna, BC | 82 |
Sara McManus | Defender | Tsawwassen, BC | 92 |
Stephanie Norlander | Forward | North Vancouver, BC | 32 |
Thea Culley | Forward | Rossland, BC | 142 |
2016 Senior Development Squad
Name | Position | Hometown | Caps |
Alex Thicke | Midfielder | North Vancouver, BC | 22 |
Alison Lee | Defender | Toronto, ON | |
Amanda Woodcroft | Midfielder | Waterloo, ON | 35 |
Beckett Frisch | Goalkeeper | Calgary, AB | 6 |
Holly Stewart | Forward | North Vancouver, BC | 35 |
Kathleen Leahy | Defender | Victoria, BC | 18 |
Rosie Beale | Defender | Victoria, BC | 8 |
Shanlee Johnston | Defender | Vancouver, BC | 35 |
2016 Junior Development Squad – Centralized
Name | Position | Hometown | Caps |
Alexis de Armond | Midfielder | Victoria, BC | |
Hannah Eborall | Defender | Beamsville, ON | |
Lauren Logush | Goalkeeper | Richmond Hill, ON | 22 |
Shannon Pereira | Midfielder | Scarborough, ON | |
Margaret Pham | Forward | Mississauga, ON | |
Priya Randhawa | Forward | Surrey, BC | 1 |
Rowan Harris | Goalkeeper | Ottawa, ON | |
Thora Rae | Forward | Vancouver, BC | |
Nikki Woodcroft | Forward | Waterloo, ON |
2016 Junior Development Squad
Name | Position | Hometown |
Abbey Maclellan | Forward | Pownal, PEI |
Adrienne Houle | Forward | Burlington, ON |
Alexis de Armond | Midfielder | Victoria, BC |
Anna Mollenhauer | Midfielder | Victoria, BC |
Ashley Mendonca | Defender | Brampton, ON |
Brie Ricker | Forward | BC |
Cailean Meredith | Forward | Tsawwassen, BC |
Cassandra Mascarenhas | Midfielder | Mississauga, ON |
Dakota Chan | Defender | BC |
Ellie Cookson | Midfielder | Oakville, ON |
Emma Wingrave | Midfielder | Oakville, ON |
Hannah Eborall | Defender | Beamsville, ON |
Isabella Fraser | Midfielder | Vancouver, BC |
Jaslan Stirling | Forward | Mississauga, ON |
Jordyn Faiczak | Forward | ON |
Katarina Angus | Defender | West Vancouver, BC |
Kayla Sliz | Midfielder | ON |
Laura MacLachlan | Forward | Vancouver, BC |
Lauren Logush | Goalkeeper | Richmond Hill, ON |
Lindsay Cole | Forward | Victoria, BC |
Margaret Pham | Forward | Mississauga, ON |
Nicky Bajus | Defender | BC |
Nicole Godman | Midfielder | BC |
Nikki Woodcroft | Midfielder | Waterloo, ON |
Priya Randhawa | Forward | Surrey, BC |
Rebecca Plouffe | Defender | Oakville, ON |
Robin Fleming | Goalkeeper | Duncan, BC |
Rowan Harris | Goalkeeper | Ottawa, ON |
Samantha Gomes | Defender | Brampton, ON |
Samantha McIlwrick | Defender | Coquitlam, BC |
Sara Goodman | Midfielder | Duncan, BC |
Shannon Pereira | Midfielder | Toronto, ON |
Thora Rae | Midfielder | Vancouver, BC |
(Feature Image: Yan Huckendubler)