CALGARY, AB – Hockey Canada announced Monday the roster for the National Women’s Team selection camp, scheduled for April 2-5 at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto, Ont. This marks the first time that Canada’s National Women’s Team has held a selection camp prior to the IIHF World Women’s Championship since the 1997-98 season.

CLICK HERE FOR CANADA’S NATIONAL WOMEN’S TEAM SELECTION CAMP ROSTER

At the conclusion of the selection camp, 21 players will be chosen to represent Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship, which will be held April 16-25 in Zurich and Winterthur, Switzerland. Once the final roster is chosen, Canada’s National Women’s Team will hold a camp from April 6-9 in Ann Arbor, Mich., including two exhibition games against the United States, before the team departs for Europe.

“It’s going to be an exciting camp, with Canada’s top women’s talent on the ice in Toronto,” said Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada’s head scout of national women’s team programs. “We are confident that players we’ve selected for camp will represent Canada proudly at the world championship, regardless of which 21 players are chosen.”

“With the depth we currently have in women’s hockey in Canada, we feel it is necessary to hold a selection camp to ensure we select the best players possible for the world championship,” said Kalli Quinn, Hockey Canada’s director of female national teams. “It should be a very competitive four days in Toronto.”

Canada’s selection camp roster includes four goaltenders, 12 defencemen and 21 forwards. Of the 37 players invited, 21 helped Canada win gold at the 2010 4 Nations Cup last November in St. John’s, N.L., 17 were part of the roster that won the gold medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C., and 16 players competed at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Championship in Hämeenlinna, Finland, winning a silver medal.

BREAKDOWN OF SELECTION CAMP ROSTER

• 21 players played at the 2010 4 Nations Cup in St. John’s, N.L.
• 17 players played at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.
• 16 players played at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Championship in Hameenlinna, Finland
• 14 players from U.S. universities
• 12 players from the Canadian Women’s Hockey League
• 11 players from Canada’s 2011 National Women’s Under-22 Team
• Eight players from Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)
• Two players from the Western Women’s Hockey League
• One player from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC)

Players and staff will depart Canada on April 9 for Zurich, Switzerland, where the team will hold a pre-competition camp from April 10-14, including a game against Switzerland on April 14.

Canada will attempt to win its 10th gold medal all-time at the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship, having previously won gold in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007. Canada’s National Women’s Team has appeared in every gold medal game since the first IIHF World Women’s Championship in Ottawa, Ont., in 1990, winning silver in 2005, 2008 and 2009, in addition to its nine gold medals.

Canada opens the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship on April 16 against Switzerland, and will also face Kazakhstan and Finland in preliminary round play. The 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship includes two groups of four teams, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the medal round, which starts on April 23.

CLICK HERE FOR THE 2011 IIHF WORLD WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters, will air three games from Switzerland – Canada’s final preliminary round game versus Finland on April 19, a semifinal on April 23 and the gold medal game on April 25 (check your local listings).

For further information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, go to www.HockeyCanada.ca.