The United States and Canada have named their rosters for the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship, which is set to take place in Denmark beginning Aug. 25.

The tournament comes just six months after the bitter rivals met in the gold-medal game at the Beijing Olympics. This marks the first time a world championship and the Olympics have been held in the same year, and Canada could double its gold medal total for 2022 after besting the United States 3-2 in Beijing.

U.S. Roster

For United States, a total of 18 players from the Olympics will take the ice in Denmark.

Lacey Eden and Aerin Frankel, who were part of the 2021 national team but not named to the Olympic roster, are also included, as well three newcomers to round out the 23-player roster: Hannah Bilka, Taylor Heise and Rory Guilday.

Forward Hilary Knight will make her 12th world championship appearance, while Kendall Coyne Schofield will make her ninth.

John Wroblewski will lead the team as head coach.

“We had an incredibly competitive week at this year’s national festival,” said Katie Million, USA Hockey ‘s Director of Women’s National Programs. “Choosing a team is never easy, but these 23 players earned the right to put on the U.S. jersey. We’re excited to bring this team to Denmark, as we look to take home a women’s world championship title.”

Goaltenders: 

• Aerin Frankel
• Maddie Rooney
• Nicole Hensley

Defense:

• Caroline Harvey
• Cayla Barnes
• Jincy Dunne
• Lee Stecklein
• Megan Keller
• Rory Guilday
• Savannah Harmon

Forwards

• Abby Roque
• Alex Carpenter
• Amanda Kessel
• Grace Zumwinkle
• Hannah Blika
• Hannah Brandt
• Hayley Scamurra
• Hilary Knight
• Jesse Compher
• Kelly Pannek
• Kendall Coyne Schofield
• Lacey Eden
• Taylor Heise

Canada roster

Canada also will have 18 members from their gold-medal winning Olympic team returning for worlds. The reigning champions will attempt to win back-to-back world titles for the first time since they won three straight from 1999 to 2001.

“We had a great year, we had the world championship, we had the Olympics, we had a moment where we celebrated, but now we’re back to work,” captain Marie-Philip Poulin said. Poulin factored heavily in the last two tournaments, scoring the overtime winner at last summer’s worlds to beat the U.S. and scoring twice in the Olympic final to help Canada to gold.

Among the other returning veterans are forwards Blayre Turnbull and Brianne Jenner, who was named MVP of the Olympic tournament. Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens will return to the net for Canada.

“We want to keep building on that and see how far we can push ourselves and push our team,” Turnbull said. “Although it was a pretty quick turnaround, I don’t think there was much hesitation with the older girls on the team to get back here and to get back to this environment.”

Rebecca Johnston, Melodie Daoust, Natalie Spooner and Claire Thompson – all members of the Olympic team – did not report to camp for various personal reasons and have not been named to the team.

Goaltenders

• Ann-Renée Desbiens
• Emerance Maschmeyer
• Kristen Campbell

Defense

• Jocelyne Larocque
• Meaghan Mikkelson
• Renata Fast
• Ella Shelton
• Ashton Bell
• Erin Ambrose
• Micah Zandee-Hart

Forwards

• Laura Stacey
• Jessie Eldridge 
• Sarah Fillier 
• Brianne Jenner 
• Sarah Nurse
• Emily Clark 
• Emma Maltais 
• Marie-Philip Poulin 
• Blayre Turnbull 
• Kristin O’Neill 
• Sarah Potomak 
• Jamie Lee Rattray 
• Victoria Bach

Notre Dame standout Olivia Miles will forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft, instead opting to stay in the NCAA for her final year of college eligibility. But she reportedly will not for the Fighting Irish.

Miles is set to enter the transfer portal, posted ESPN’s Shams Chariana on Monday, moving on from Notre Dame after back-to-back Sweet 16 exits.

"Notre Dame's Olivia Miles — the projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft this month — will forgo the draft and enter NCAA's transfer portal, sources tell ESPN," the journalist posted on X. "The 22-year-old top prospect makes unprecedented decision to use her one year remaining of college instead of the draft."

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Miles shakes up the 2025 WNBA draft

Miles will certainly have her choice of top-ranked NCAA programs. But the projected No. 2 draft pick’s decision also has major implications on both the 2025 WNBA Draft and the 2026 draft lottery.

The junior started all 34 games this season for Notre Dame. She averaged a career-high 15.4 points per game while maintaining 48.3% effectiveness from the field.

"I love college. I think I've outgrown it a little bit, though, so that makes my decision tougher to stay. It's comfortable, a place where you have security," the star guard told ESPN after Saturday's loss.

With UConn’s Paige Bueckers sitting comfortably at No. 1, expected Top 5 pro recruits USC’s Kiki Iriafen, South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao, and fellow Irish Sonia Citron could all see a rankings boost.

As South Carolina women's basketball returns to the Final Four, the 2024 NCAA champions’ March Madness journey hasn’t exactly mirrored last year’s dominance. But their resilience has kept them very much in contention.

The Gamecocks bounced back from third-quarter deficits in their last two tournament games, relying on tight defense and smart positional rotations to wear opponents down.

“It is that type of year, that for us, there’s not any blowouts,” head coach Dawn Staley said after her team’s Elite Eight win over Duke. “We have to grind for every single win that we can get.”

South Carolina taps into depth after WNBA departures

After losing center Kamilla Cardoso to the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Gamecocks harnessed their depth, relying on strict minute restrictions to disrupt game flow and launch second-half runs.

Sophomore standout MiLaysia Fulwiley has popped off the bench, complementing leading scorer Joyce Edwards and inside show-runner Chloe Kitts.

One of the team’s key veteran leaders, senior Te-Hina PaoPao has been a grounding force as the only player averaging 25+ minutes per game.

Defense is key to Gamecocks victory

For the Gamecocks to become back-to-back champs, they’ll have to lean hard on their time-honored calling card: defense.

"Look, I mean, at this point it's not going to look pretty. Okay? It's not," Staley said after South Carolina narrowly escaped Sweet 16 opponent Duke. "There are stretches in each game that is not going to look pretty… Some of it's not going to look as smoothly as us coaches and players envision or how you practice, but you certainly have to get down and play the kind of game that's presented in front of you, and we'll do that."

“If we’re not scoring a whole lot of points, then we gotta up our defense,” she continued. “If we’re scoring a lot of points, we gotta up our defense.”

The USWNT announced their final match of the summer’s three-game international window yesterday, with the team set to take on northern neighbors Canada in Washington, DC on July 2nd.

The friendly rounds out a bill that also includes two previously announced clashes with the Republic of Ireland scheduled for June 26th (Commerce City, Colorado) and 29th (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Canada coach Casey Stoney has an edge on the US

With much of Europe focused on the 2025 Euros, July’s bout with Canada will mark the North American nations’ 67th meet-up — but the first under Canada’s new boss.

Coach Casey Stoney arrived in Canada after parting ways with the San Diego Wave last June, her two years of NWSL experience providing extra familiarity with many USWNT stars.

Stoney previously led WSL side Manchester United for four seasons, giving her further insight into current USWNT manager — and ex-Chelsea head coach — Emma Hayes’s style.

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USWNT faces Brazil without injured defender Tierna Davidson

Yesterday, the US posted a major roster change ahead of this month’s friendlies against Brazil, with Gotham center-back Tierna Davidson officially sidelined due to a knee injury suffered last weekend.

Davidson will be replaced by 19-year-old Angel City defender Gisele Thompson, who earned her first two senior caps during February’s SheBelieves Cup.

While Hayes’s USWNT is all about fierce competition and roster experimentation, mounting injuries could force the team into thinner lineups than expected — and up the competition across the board.

No. 1 seed Texas and No. 2 seed UConn punched their tickets to Tampa last night, joining No. 1 seeds UCLA and South Carolina in the Final Four after two tight matchups closed out the NCAA tournament’s fourth round.

Texas got the best of in-state foe TCU 58-47, behind a game-high 18-point performance from SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker.

UConn then handled USC 78-64, holding off the JuJu Watkins-less Trojans as superstar guard Paige Bueckers followed up her career-high 40-point Sweet 16 performance by dropping 31 points on the night.

"We're just so grateful, but we know like the journey isn't done," Bueckers said after the game. "We want our story to continue as long as possible, and we have business to finish."

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Texas books first Final Four appearance since 2003

After four Elite Eight appearances in five years, the Longhorns finally punched their ticket to the Final Four — their first time back since 2003 — behind a tenacious defense that forced 21 TCU turnovers.

“Anybody that watched that game today, when they turned the TV off, they had to go, ‘Wow, that freaking team plays their ass off,’” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said after the game.

"I'm having fun with it now," Booker told reporters. "March Madness — you’re supposed to have fun."

"I’m so proud of myself and proud of my team to get to this moment," Harmon said after registering 13 points against TCU.

"Rori Harmon is still that girl," echoed Booker.

Bueckers leads UConn to the NCAA Final Four

The Huskies are headed to their fourth Final Four in the last five years. They advanced on a balanced scoring strategy that saw three different players put double-digit points on the board.

In addition to Bueckers’s 30-piece, freshman phenom Sarah Strong ran the frontcourt. Strong paired 22 points with 17 rebounds and four assists for her fifth postseason double-double. Additionally, Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen bolstered the backcourt with 15 points of her own.

"There's Disneyland, there's Disney World and then there's UConn World," Auriemma said. "These are fantasy numbers that make no sense. You couldn't predict this and you couldn't script this at all."

All four remaining teams have the potential to win a national championship. Now it’s a matter of who can deliver when the going gets tough.