THE YOUNG PLAYERS ... ARE GIVING THE VETERANS A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY.

Laura Schuler said of the four first-timers. “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 who are 30 or older on the roster, this was already going to be a young Team Canada. But the additions of Potomak, 19, and 22-year-olds Stacey, Ambrose, Fast, Halli Krzyzaniak and Emerance Maschmeyer and Emily Clark at 21 — 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 to be sharing a dressing room with her idols. 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 that 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,” said Ambrose. “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.”

Indeed, this is a talented group of young players. Ambrose, who grew up playing AAA hockey against boys, tied for eighth among blue-liners in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League with eight assists in 17 games. Fast tied for fourth among blue-liners 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,” said Stacey. “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.”