McDonald has repeat on her mind

As the national U18 women’s hockey team prepares to defend its title at the IIHF world championships, East St. Paul’s Hayley McDonald is putting the onus on herself to lead the charge.

As a 16-year-old at last year’s tournament in Finland, the talented forward was one of the youngest players on the roster, but she had a major impact, helping Team Canada unseat the U.S. and capture gold after it settled for bronze in 2024.

McDonald scored four times and tallied seven points in six games while skating on a lethal top line alongside fellow Manitoban Sara Manness at centre, and Toronto-born left winger Maxine Cimoroni.

Now McDonald, who turns 18 on Jan. 7, is expected to play a starring role as Team Canada looks for its fourth world championship in five years in Nova Scotia from Jan. 10-18.

“I feel very excited. And obviously, I was last year, but especially coming into my second year, it’s going to be different, being the older age group and taking on a bigger role on the team. And obviously there’s going to be pressure, but it’s nothing that any of us can’t handle,” McDonald said recently.

“What I want to do is just be better than I was last year, and I feel like I can contribute way more than I did last year, and I know I put up a good amount of points, but I feel like this year I can really impact the team.”

McDonald is also proudly carrying the weight of the province this year, as she was the only Manitoban to make the Canadian roster. Last year, she was joined by Manness and her twin sister Kate, a blue liner, who hail from La Salle. The Manness sisters, who play NCAA Division 1 at Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., are aged out and will have to cheer on their former teammate from the couch.

“It’s kind of cool, I’m not gonna lie,” Manness said of being the lone Manitoban. “Last year playing with Sara was honestly like a dream come true, because her and I played together at Balmoral Hall for a year, and we connected really well, and we built a lot of chemistry. And then adding Maxine Cimoroni on our line, last year, we were very dominant, and this year I’m hoping to find chemistry with some other players like I did with those two.”

McDonald has already built a reputation as a dynamic forward, but perhaps this will be her best opportunity to showcase her skills, playing a prominent role on the international stage.

McDonald quickly grew into a sensation while playing at Balmoral Hall in the Junior Women’s Hockey League, tallying 42 goals and 76 points in 53 contests as a Grade 9 athlete. In her encore in Grade 10, she shredded defences to the tune of 58 goals and 93 points in 60 games, which led her to pursue greater competition elsewhere.

Last off-season, she left her hometown Blazers and transferred to the Rink Hockey Academy (Kelowna) of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. McDonald didn’t skip a beat in her first season, finishing eighth in scoring after sniping 25 times and registering 51 points.

This season, McDonald’s numbers have dipped slightly (eight goals and 25 points in 17 games), but the teen has remained impactful as her club sits near the top of the CSSHL standings at 15-1.

“There’s some ups and downs, but overall, our team’s been doing extremely well, and I’ve been doing pretty well personally,” said McDonald, who will play at the NCAA Division 1 level at Ohio State University in the fall.

“I feel like since the tournament last year, I’ve grown so much as a player and as a person, and I feel like I’m even more ready than I was last year.”

More prepared, but equally thrilled about the opportunity to represent her country again. McDonald said there’s a special feeling that comes with playing in this tournament, and she expects that to only be heightened as a defending champion.

“There’s going to be an even bigger target on our back this year,” she said. “And I know all our whole team is going to be hungry to go back to back.”

Canada will begin its title defence Jan. 10 against Switzerland at Membertou Sport & Wellness Centre. The national team will also face Sweden and Hungary in preliminary play.

Canada is searching for a ninth gold medal at the U18 worlds, which would tie the U.S. for the most at the tournament. The Canadians also have seven silver and two bronze medals.

TSN will broadcast 12 tournament games, including all of Team Canada’s preliminary-round games from Membertou, and two quarterfinals, both semifinals and the medal games, which will be played at Centre 200 in Sydney.

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