Canada Camp Showcases League Standouts

CALGARY, Alta. – Six members of the Cornell Big Red and three former League standouts are among 40 players that are attending Canada’s National Women’s Team September Camp/Fall Festival, scheduled for September 17-25 at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary, it was announced Thursday by Hockey Canada.

Cornell forwards Jessica Campbell, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston and Catherine White, and defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau shall attend the camp/festival, along with former Dartmouth standouts Gillian Apps and Cherie Piper, and former Harvard standout Christina Kessler.

Cornell forward Chelsea Karpenko and former Harvard standout Sarah Vaillancourt were invited to the Camp/Fall Festival but are unable to attend.

Apps and Kessler are among 18 players who participated in the 2011 IIHF 12 Nations Invitational Tournament in Vierumäki, Finland, in August and September, while Campbell, Fortino, Jenner, Rougeau and White are among 17 players who attended Canada’s National Women’s Under-22/Development Team training camp in Rockland, Ont., in August.

Kessler is one of six players who attended the 2011 IIHF High Performance Women’s Camp in Bratislava, Slovakia, in June, while the trio of Apps, Johnston and Piper are among 14 members of Canada’s gold medal-winning team from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.

The camp roster comprises four goaltenders, 12 defencemen and 24 forwards, who will be split up into Red and White teams for several practices and two intersquad games. The nine day camp will also include four exhibition games, which will see Red and White take turns facing off against the Calgary Royals and Calgary Northstars, both Midget AAA boys’ teams from the Alberta Midget Hockey League.

The September Camp/Fall Festival will serve as a first evaluation opportunity for the coaching staff, led by head coach Dan Church, and the scouting staff, led by head scout of National Women’s Team programs Melody Davidson. Following the camp, players will be monitored at international events, such as the 2011 4 Nations Cup in Nyköping, Sweden, as well as with their club teams during the 2011-12 season, prior to selecting the team that will represent Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship in Burlington, Vt., in April 2012.  

“We look forward to seeing the top 40 female players from across the country take to the ice in Calgary for a competitive camp and fall festival,” said Kalli Quinn, director of female national teams for Hockey Canada. “Combining intersquad action with exhibition games against local Midget AAA boys’ teams will not only help prepare us for the 2011-12 season, but will also be an important step on the road to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.”

While centralized in Calgary during the 2009-10 season, Canada’s National Women’s Team played 30 games against Midget AAA teams, before going on to win a gold medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. All of the intersquad and exhibition games, as well as the practices, at this month’s National Women’s Team September Camp/Fall Festival are open to the public and free of charge.