Sights set on Canada’s crease

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This article was published 06/04/2021 (1957 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Team Canada boss Gina Kingsbury will have a bevy of talented veterans to choose from when she stocks her roster for next month’s world women’s hockey championship.

But adding youth to the mix is also a priority as she looks to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and beyond.

“From a program perspective, I think as a GM you have to kind of wear a hat where you’re always looking ahead and looking at what the future holds, but at the same time we’re in a position where we really need to be successful right away,” said Kingsbury by telephone from Calgary Tuesday afternoon. “Winning worlds is a priority.”

Nowhere will the blend of experience and youth be more crucial than in goal where 34-year-old Shannon Szabados, a veteran of more than a decade with the nats, is taking time away from the international game while she raises a daughter born in 2020.

The candidates to replace her include Ann-Renée Desbiens, Genevîeve Lacasse, Emerance Maschmeyer, Kassidy Sauvé, Shea Tiley and Brandon product Kristen Campbell.

Campbell, a 23-year-old University of Wisconsin grad, will be the youngest puckstopper at Team Canada’s pre-worlds camp in Halifax, slated for April 15-23. 

She is one of 47 players vying for a roster spot at the worlds to be held in Halifax and Truro, N.S., May 6-16. Rosters have been expanded to 25 players for this pandemic-delayed event, including three goaltenders.

“I’m the youngest out of all the goalies and obviously it’s a huge stage,” said Campbell on Monday. “I guess this is my third or fourth camp with the national team and I think at the end of the day, you just have to focus on yourself and what you do well and not get comparing yourself (to the others). Obviously, your goal is to make the team and that’s what I’ve had my sights set on here for the last few years.”

Based in Calgary since August, Campbell has been hard at work.

She gets goaltending instruction from Hockey Canada’s Brad Kirkwood three or four times a week and has on-ice sessions three times a week with Team Canada hopefuls Sauvé, blue-liners Micah Zandee-Hart and Brigette Lacquette and forwards Blayre Turnbull, Rebecca Johnston and Meaghan Mikkelson.

Campbell also participated in national team evaluation camps in Calgary and Halifax held in January and March, respectively. Since Wisconsin’s hunt for a second consecutive NCAA was halted last spring by the pandemic, her game action has been limited.

As a member of Calgary’s franchise in the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association, Campbell played in some exhibitions against the University of Calgary last fall but little else in terms of game action.

“I got to play a game in the January camp (with the nats) and then a half game in the March camp, so there’s been sprinkles of competition but it’s obviously not what we’re used to,” said Campbell. “But it’s a different landscape this year for everyone.”

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“I think Kristin has done a lot of great things and we’ve really loved her progress here over the year…,” said Kingsbury, who replaced Melody Davidson as director of the national team in 2018. “She’s really putting in the time and certainly the energy to work on her game in a very unorthodox year for goalie without games.”

Campbell is self-assured heading into the pre-worlds camp.

“It’s been a lot of training but I feel like I’ve never been more confident in my game, just because of how much extra work I’ve been able to put in,” she said. “Obviously we’re not getting game play but then you just trust your preparation and everything that you’ve worked towards in practice.”

 Campbell completed work on her rehabilitation psychology degree at Wisconsin but, for now, appears to be putting her academic life aside.

“My focus is on hockey and really with the PWPHA,” said Campbell. “They have some great things going… a lot of American teams have been playing games already and I’m looking forward to eventually getting to play games with them and keep pushing for that sustainable league. In the five-year picture, I want to keep training out here and keep competing and work towards cracking a spot on the national team.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14