AGOSTA BATTLES FOR CANADA
Newest members of Team Canada have the talent and confidence to succeed now
Ruthven’s Meghan Agosta, left, vies for position with the United State’s Monique Lamoureux on Friday during first-period action at the women’s world hockey championship in Plymouth, Mich. The U.S. won 2-0.
Shannon Szabados didn’t want to use the “R” word, because it just wasn’t right.
Yes, the four women who made their world hockey championship debut were technically rookies.
But as Szabados said, motioning to five-foot-10 power forward Laura Stacey, they sure don’t look like rookies. Nor do they play like them. “They seem like veterans already,” the 30-year-old Team Canada goalie said before Friday’s tournament opener against Team USA.
“They’re faster, they’re stronger and they definitely shoot the puck harder. The young players coming up are giving the veterans a run for their money. They’re all playing an important role for us and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them score some big goals or make some big plays.”
Much like Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and other rookies who stepped into the NHL and immediately made a significant impact, the next wave of female hockey players — including Stacey (Kleinburg, Ont.), Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.), Erin Ambrose (Keswick, Ont.) and Renata Fast (Burlington, Ont.) — are hoping to do the same in this week’s tournament.
Actually, hope is not the right word. With the team looking ahead to next year’s Olympics in Pyeong Chang, South Korea, Canada understands the younger players will have to step up and carry the torch following Hayley Wickenheiser’s retirement.
“They all bring something incredible,” Team Canada head coach Laura Schuler said. “Laura Stacey’s a big, powerful, strong forward that can score goals for us. Sarah Potomak is one of the leaders in the NCAA in terms of putting the puck in the net.
“Renata Fast has so much speed to her game and is something that’s going to help us on our blue-line to have that added speed there. She’s a player where even if she gets caught, she’s so fast that she can get back. And Erin Ambrose’s vision is outstanding — just outstanding — where she continues to put points up on the scoreboard for us.”
With just three players 30 or older, this was already going to be a young Team Canada. But the additions of Potomak, 19, Emily Clark, 21, and 22-year-olds Stacey, Ambrose, Fast, Halli Krzyzaniak and Emerance Maschmeyer make it even younger.
For Ambrose, who admitted to looking around the dressing room and thinking, “Oh my god, these are players that I literally looked up to my whole life,” it’s a bit surreal. But the amount of youth on the team means there is no time to hang back and earn your stripes.
Whether you are an unproven teenager or a three-time Olympic gold medallist, each player was told early on she is expected to play a key role in this tournament and beyond.
“You can’t look ahead (to South Korea), but you also can’t get your feet wet,” Ambrose said. “That’s when you get yourself in trouble. You’ve got to put yourself all in and if mistakes happen, you can’t hold back from that. If you make a mistake, it happens. I think we rookies understand that and are confident in our play. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be here.”
This is a talented group. Ambrose, who grew up playing AAA hockey against boys, tied for eighth among defencemen in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League with eight assists in 17 games. Fast tied for fourth among defencemen with four goals in 22 games. And Stacey, who was named CWHL rookie of the year, tied for sixth in overall scoring with 11 goals and 24 points in 20 games.
As captain Marie-Philip Poulin, 26, said of the offensively dominant Stacey, “even on this team, everyone is looking up to her.”
“I definitely think it’s been great for younger kids to get these opportunities and kind of roll with them,” Stacey said. “But I think (a large part of it is) the veteran players who are very welcoming and pushing us to be our best, because we do have something different that we can bring to the game. It’s really encouraging. This is kind of the last opportunity to show ourselves for that, before the decision (for South Korea) is made. For me, it’s an opportunity to show that I can be at my best and be a consistent player.”