Team USA unveiled its 2023 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship roster Saturday. Here’s what you need to know:
- USA’s roster comprises of 14 forwards, eight defense and three goalies.
- USA finished runner-up at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship, losing 2-1 to Canada in the gold medal game.
- The 2023 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship takes place from April 5 to 16 in Canada.
Team USA’s roster
Forwards:
- Hannah Bilka
- Alex Carpenter
- Lacey Eden
- Becca Gilmore
- Taylor Heise
- Gabbie Hughes
- Tessa Janecke
- Amanda Kessel
- Hilary Knight
- Abbey Murphy
- Kelly Pannek
- Abby Roque
- Hayley Scamurra
- Britta Curl
Defense:
- Cayla Barnes
- Rory Guilday
- Savannah Harmon
- Caroline Harvey
- Megan Keller
- Lee Stecklein
- Haley Winn
- Nicole LaMantia
Goalies:
- Aerin Frankel
- Nicole Hensley
- Abbey Levy
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
A ton of turnover from 2022
There’s a lot to unpack with this roster with a ton of turnover from the team that represented Team USA eight months ago at 2022 world championships.
Abbey Murphy is back after getting cut from the 2022 roster — and you can bet she’s going to be a thorn in the side of her opponents. Britta Curl will also return to her first national team since 2021. Five others are going to be making their world championship debuts: Haley Winn, Tessa Janecke, Gabbie Hughes, Becca Gilmore, Abbey Levy and Nicole LaMantia.
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Winn has emerged as one of the top young defenders for Clarkson. Janecke broke every freshman program record at Penn State this season including single-season points, assists, and goals — and was named the USHCO co-rookie of the year (along with Caroline Harvey). Levy is coming off a strong college career and a strong season that ranked third among NCAA goalies. Hughes was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier trophy as the top player in college hockey in 2022. Gilmore played this season for the Boston Pride and got some looks at the Rivalry Series. And LaMantia just won her third NCAA championship with Wisconsin this season.
To make room for these players, Team USA cut five players from 2022 worlds: Hannah Brandt, Grace Zumwinkle, Jincy Dunne, Maddie Rooney, and Jesse Compher. Kendall Coyne Schofield is also not on the roster, she is pregnant. And Alex Cavallini, the U.S. starting goalie at the Beijing Olympic Gold Medal game — was cut after returning to the team three months postpartum. — Salvian
Impact players remain
As shocking as some of the cuts might be, the impact players from the last world championships and Rivalry Series are still on Team USA. Hilary Knight, Amanda Kessel and Alex Carpenter will remain at the top of the forward group. Lee Stecklein is one of the most complete defenders in the game. Haley Scamurra and Kelly Pannek are excellent depth. Taylor Heise, Hannah Bilka and Caroline Harvey will have even more experience coming into this tournament. Coyne Schofield — the U.S. captain — leaves the biggest hole up the middle, and in the leadership group. If I had to bet on the next captain of Team USA — and not go with an obvious choice like Knight — I’d go Stecklein. But we can revisit that in a few days!
The cuts, for the most part, are working around the edges of the roster, and bringing in new young faces with an eye to 2026, but they’re still notable. Brandt is a tough cut, given she plays well with Knight. While Dunne, Zumwinkle and Compher are young players in their own right. At the end of the day, though, Team USA has lost three straight major tournaments to Canada … something needed to change didn’t it?
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These moves could add the injection of youth and talent the U.S. team needs — or be too much change and cause some issues with the group with only four days before opening day of the tournament. We’ll get our first look at the roster when Team USA opens up the tournament against Japan on April 5 at 3 pm eastern. — Salvian
It’s Nicole Hensley’s net
In previous tournaments, the U.S. team has spread out the starts, while Team Canada has leaned on Ann-Renée Desbiens as their clear cut No. 1 goalie. Cutting Maddie Rooney — the winning goalie of the 2018 Olympic shootout — signals that it’s Hensley’s net, and that it’s time to get other young goalies into the fold. Frankel had a good year in the PWHPA, while Levy is coming off an excellent season with Boston College where she posted a .947 save percentage and 1.77 goals against average. — Salvian
What they’re saying
Katie Million, director of women’s national team program for USA Hockey: “We had an incredibly competitive week. Choosing a team is never easy, but these 25 players earned the right to represent our country at the world championship.”
John Wroblewski, head coach of the 2023 Women’s National Team: “We’re excited with the team we’ve selected. We have a combination of youth, experience, skill and depth and we’re looking forward to the chance to bring a gold medal back to the United States.”
Required reading
(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)
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