The top annual women's hockey prize is up for grabs at worlds — but how much longer will that be the case?
Tournament begins Wednesday with Canada facing Switzerland in Brampton, Ont.
The biggest prize of the women's hockey year is up for grabs over the next two weeks.
The CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont., will host the world championship, the yearly measure of where each country stands on the sport's biggest non-Olympic stage.
It makes for a unique dynamic among sports: players have plied their trade in various leagues across the world since the fall with the aim of peaking for the annual international event.
But how much longer will that continue to be the case?
Team Canada assistant captain Renata Fast told CBC Sports she hopes a professional championship will soon reach the same level as an international title.
"That's the goal. That is the goal for sure. One day we'll get there. Obviously, it'll still be an honour to always represent your country, but that is going to be really important, that next step," Fast said.
In North America, the gap between two women's hockey factions — the Premier Hockey Federation and the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association — is well-documented. The PWHPA holds the vast majority of talent, while the PHF owns the established infrastructure.
Every single member of Team Canada either plays in the PWHPA or college, with top PHF talent like Brittany Howard and Loren Gabel left off the roster. Becca Gilmore, a forward, is the lone PHF player on the U.S. team.
The PWHPA will reportedly begin a formal pro league next fall, replacing the barnstorming series of Dream Gap Tour events it currently runs.
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World showcase
Whichever side emerges — and history tells us there is only room for one — will have momentum on its side as women's sports and women's hockey continue to grow in popularity.
The world championship can only accelerate that rise.
In men's hockey, which hasn't held an international best-on-best tournament since 2016's World Cup of Hockey in Toronto, it's commonly lamented that Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby will likely never suit up next to each other for Team Canada at their peaks as players.
The World Cup of Hockey has only taken place three times, all on an irregular basis, while most top professional players are unable to participate in the annual men's world championship due to a schedule that overlaps with the NHL playoffs.
The women's hockey version is the opposite: let's see the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse go against each other in a top competition with real stakes — something the Dram Gap Tour hasn't quite provided to date.
Canadian head coach Troy Ryan agreed with Fast that a significant pro championship is "ultimately what you want."
"I want [international hockey] always to be special, but I want the athletes to get to play in a professional league and grow that as much as they can as well," Ryan told CBC Sports.
Of course, there's one thing that professional hockey can never match: international rivalries.
"I never think that'll go," Ryan said. "That's always been a big foundation of the women's game, and I think it'll continue no matter what professional sports come."
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Canada holds upper hand in U.S. rivalry
The Canada-U.S. rivalry has turned somewhat lopsided in recent years, with Canada winning back Olympic gold in 2022 and also taking each of the past two world championship titles.
The recently played seven-game Rivalry Series only added insult to injury, as Canada overcame a 3-0 deficit to win four straight and steal the exhibition championship.
"We're not here to defend past world championships. The biggest thing you can do is find a way to win this world championship, and the recipe for previous ones won't be the same as this one," Ryan said.
With the Canada's tournament set to begin Wednesday against Switzerland at 7 p.m. ET, the team says the motivation is internal. Each tournament brings a new group of players who haven't necessarily been part of past triumphs. At these worlds, forward Danielle Serdachny is Canada's lone rookie.
Still, the American rivalry remains a driving force for some like Natalie Spooner. Spooner gave birth to son Rory in December and was on the ice four weeks later with a goal of making the roster for worlds.
She said she was excited to reunite with her teammates, but there was another thing on her mind.
"The intense rivalry with the U.S. too, I think will be one that I'm looking forward to," she told CBC Sports.
'Here to win a gold medal'
Canada will play in Group A alongside the U.S., Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Japan. All five teams are guaranteed entry to the quarterfinals, where they'll be joined by the top three teams from Group B (Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary). Russia remains banned from international hockey due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Canada meets the U.S. in its final group-stage game next Monday. The quarterfinals go Thursday, with the semifinals Saturday and the medal games on Sunday.
Asked what a successful tournament would look like, Fast said it would be the team "all buying into their roles and playing their hearts out and never, never giving up."
Ryan, though, had a different idea.
"We're here to win a gold medal."
