Two years after a dominant gold-medal performance in Women’s Hockey at the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, New York, Team Canada has assembled the roster that will aim for the podium once again.
Today, U SPORTS announced the 21 student-athletes who will wear the maple leaf in Women’s Hockey at the 2025 Games in Torino, Italy.
Led by Head Coach Kelly Paton (Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks), the roster reflects balance, featuring:
- 5 players from the Canada West conference,
- 6 players from the OUA,
- 5 players from the RSEQ, and
- 5 players from the AUS.
“We are excited to announce the group of student-athletes who will represent Canada at the upcoming 2025 FISU Winter World University Games,” said Paton. “We are incredibly fortunate to build a team from such a high caliber pool of talent within U SPORTS, which reflects the strength of women’s hockey in Canada. As a staff, we’ve worked to build a vision that supports a fast, physical style of play, and we look forward to seeing these athletes carry that into our team game in Italy. Representing Canada on the international stage is a tremendous honour, and we are confident our group will wear the maple leaf with great pride and passion.”
The 32nd edition of the FISU Games will take place from January 13-23, with the Women’s Hockey event running from January 12-22 in Torino.
Canada’s roster features three 2024 U SPORTS All-Canadians:
- Gabrielle Santerre (Bishop’s University)
- Mackenzie Keenan (University of New Brunswick)
- Émilie Lussier (Concordia University)
Santerre is coming off a historic season, earning U SPORTS Rookie of the Year and U SPORTS Player of the Year honours for her 45-point debut campaign with the Gaiters.
The roster also includes players from the past two U SPORTS championship-winning teams: the Concordia Stingers and the Mount Royal Cougars. The Stingers contingent includes:
- Émilie Lussier
- Jordyn Verbeek
- Emilie Lavoie
- Alexandra-Anne Boyer
The Cougars are represented by:
- Aliya Jomha
- Alex Spence
- Kaitlyn Ross
Two members of the gold-medal winning team from 2023 return this year:
- Leah Herrfort (University of Waterloo)
- Scout Watkins-Southward (University of Toronto)
Herrfort, the 2023 OUA Player of the Year, recorded 7 points in 7 games in the 2023 tournament in Lake Placid.
“Being selected to represent Canada and U SPORTS is an incredible honour. To have the opportunity to do it twice is truly special and something I will never take for granted. I have the opportunity to represent my country alongside 20 very talented athletes, and I couldn’t be more excited. FISU is an amazing chance to meet players from different provinces while making memories and representing our country with pride.”
The goaltending trio of Verbeek (Concordia University), Ross (Mount Royal University), and Grace Beer (Dalhousie University) boasts a combined record of 22-6, with each maintaining a goals-against average under 1.70 and a save percentage over .920.
Team Canada will open its schedule on Saturday, January 11 against Chinese Taipei.
Click the link to view roster:
https://en.usports.ca/sports/Team_Canada/2024-25/Releases/2025WHOCKROSTERFISU
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for university sports in Canada. Every year, over 15,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches compete for 23 national championships in 13 different sports. U SPORTS also provides high-performance international opportunities at FISU Winter and Summer World University Games, World University Championships, and various educational initiatives.
U SPORTS collaborates with 58 members, four conferences, the Canadian sport system, and Corporate Canada to support university sports across the country.
For further information, please contact:
John Bower
Director, Marketing and Communications
U SPORTS
Phone: 780-667-5646
Email: jbower@usports.ca