Wakefield a ‘nightmare’ talent at home and abroad
KAMLOOPS, B . C. A Swedish newspaper referred to Jennifer Wakefield’s departure from her club squad to Team Canada for these IIHF women’s world championship as a “nightmare.”
There are Canadian opponents here undoubtedly using similar terminology regarding the right winger with the big, booming shot from Pickering, Ont.
Wakefield has been one of Canada’s best players at the tournament so far. She had two goals and two assists in a 6-1 win over Finland Thursday at the Sandman Centre in Canada’s final preliminary game, helping push her squad directly to Sunday’s semifinals.
Canada will meet the winner of a Friday quarter-final between Finland and the Czech Republic.
“I’m playing with really good players over there,” said Wakefield, 26, who just completed her second winter with Linkoping, a top team in the main Swedish women’s league.
“I really credit learning from players from other nations. I play with three members from the Swedish team in a unit of five. We have players on our team from Austria and Norway. They are their top players. You try to take from their games what you can.”
Wakefield decided to accept an offer to play in Sweden after the 2014 Sochi Olympics, in part because it gave her a chance to tour Europe. She’s the lone member of this Canadian team playing club hockey abroad. The 5-foot-10, 172-pound right-handed shot wound up in Linkoping last season and helped them to the league title.
This season, she put up 38 goals and 55 points in just 18 regular season game and once again was part of Linkoping making the best-of-three championship series. They were up 1-0 in the final against Lulea when Wakefield came to Team Canada’s training camp for this tournament.
News of her leaving had broken prior to the series and it prompted the Swedish newspaper Expressen to write a story with the headline, which translated into English said, “Jennifer Wakefield stopped by association.” The “nightmare” reference was in the first paragraph.
Lulea wound up winning the final two games to clinch the championship.
Wakefield had said earlier this week her Linkoping teammates supported her and understood her national team takes precedence. She also said she thought her team, which also features star Swiss goaltender Florence Schelling, could win the series without her.
It is unclear whether she’s returning to Linkoping next season. With the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics quickly approaching, there may be a push to stay closer to home. The Canadian team has previously centralized leading into the Olympics.
“Would I love to go back? Absolutely. I think I’ve really improved over there. But what Hockey Canada wants, you do,” she said.
There’s an argument that Wakefield’s line, which features Rebecca Johnston on the other wing and Brianne Jenner at centre, has been the most dominant for Canada at this tournament ahead of the morecelebrated trio of Meghan Agosta, Marie-Philip Poulin and Natalie Spooner.
They were receiving the majority of power-play minutes when Thursday’s game was still in doubt. And going into Friday, Johnston was leading the tournament in scoring with two goals and five assist in three games, while Wakefield was right behind her with three goals and three assists.
Wakefield has scored in bunches for Canada before. Shehad four goals and four assists in five games at the 2013 worlds. She has also gone quiet for stretches, too. She had no points in a six-game exhibition series versus the Americans in 2013 and had one assist in five games in Sochi.
“She’s just on fire,” Canadian coach Laura Schuler said of this tournament. “That girl can shoot the puck. She’s a natural goal scorer.”