CALGARY, Alta. – Eighty-five of the top women’s players in the country have been invited to attend Canada’s National Women’s Development Team and Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team selection camps from Aug. 5-21 in Calgary.

The camps – part of the National Teams’ Summer Showcase – will be on the ice at the Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park, and will see 42 development team invitees and 43 under-18 invitees vie for spots on the two 23-player squads that will play a pair of three-game series’ against the United States from Aug. 17-21.

Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada’s general manager of national women’s team programs, led the player selection with assistance from Hockey Canada regional scouts.

“The depth of talent across Canada at the under-18 and development level will be on display in August when we host these 85 players in Calgary,” said Davidson. “When it’s best-on-best competition on the ice it gives the coaching staffs a unique opportunity to evaluate the players in both programs. There will be tough decisions to select the top 23 players that will wear the maple leaf when Canada faces off against the United States in the three-game series.”

CIS, Sweden part of prep for Canada’s National Women’s Development Team

From Aug. 5-14, 42 players – six goaltenders, 12 defencemen, and 24 forwards – will be split into two teams, Red and White, and participate in several practices and intrasquad games, as well as off-ice dryland training, fitness testing, and classroom sessions.

Canada’s National Women’s Development Team selection camp will also include Sweden’s national women’s team, and a select team of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) players who will be aiming to represent Canada at the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in January. A full camp schedule can be found here.

Of the 42 players invited to selection camp and the 22 members of the select CIS team, 23 players will be selected to play for Canada’s National Women’s Development Team in a three-game series against the United States, Aug. 17-20 in Calgary.

Following the series, Hockey Canada scouts, along with the team’s coaching staff, will continue to evaluate players with their club teams during the 2016-17 season, in preparation for selecting the Canadian team that will compete at the 2017 Nations Cup in Germany next January, as well as for possible invites to camps and events with Canada’s National Women’s Team.

Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team

From Aug. 7-14, 43 players – six goaltenders, 12 defenceman and 25 forwards – will be split into two teams, Blue and Gold, which will participate in several practices and three intrasquad games, as well as off-ice dryland training, fitness testing and classroom sessions. A full camp schedule can be found here.

Of the 43 players invited to selection camp, 23 will be selected to play for Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team in a three-game series against the United States, Aug. 18-21 in Calgary.

Following the series, Hockey Canada scouts, along with the team’s coaching staff, will continue to evaluate players with their provincial and club teams during the 2016-17 season, including at the 2016 National Women’s Under-18 Championship in Regina from Nov. 9-13, in preparation for selecting the Canadian team that will compete at the 2017 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, Jan. 7-14, 2017, in Prerov and Zlin, Czech Republic. Players are also eligible to be selected for Canada’s National Women’s Team senior events throughout the 2016-17 season.

For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team Program, please visitHockeyCanada.ca, or follow through social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter.com/HC_Women.