Canadian head coach Melody Davidson
CALGARY, AB - Melody Davidson, general manager of Canada’s National Women’s Program and head coach of the National Women’s Under-18 Team, announced Canada’s 20-player roster for the 2008 IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship, which will be held January 7-12, 2008 in Calgary, AB.
Canada’s roster includes 15 members of the team that swept the USA’s Women’s Under-18 Select Team in a three-game series in Ottawa in August. Team Canada was selected based on evaluations done by Canada’s coaching and scouting staffs at various events, including the National Women’s Under-19 Program evaluation camp, the National Women’s Under-18 Team series against the USA and the 2007 National Women’s Under-18 Championship.
Davidson worked together with assistant coaches Jim Fetter and Danielle Goyette, along with Hockey Canada’s scouting staff, in assembling the 20-player roster.
”We are very excited about the roster we have assembled to represent Canada at the first IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship,” Davidson says. ”We feel these players will give us the best opportunity to find success at the world championship.”
January’s world championship will be the first ever held at the women’s Under-18 level, with eight teams - Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and the Czech Republic - taking part in the six-day tournament.
The event marks the second time Canada has played host to an inaugural IIHF women’s championship. In 1990 Ottawa played host to the first-ever IIHF World Women’s Championship, a championship won by the host Canadians.