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Hayley McDonald celebrated her 18th birthday with a hat trick.
The East St. Paul, Man., forward helped Canada defeat Finland 11-0 in Under-18 Women’s World Championship pre-tournament action in Halifax earlier this week.
But McDonald brings more than just offensive skill. She’s this team’s quiet leader looking to propel Canada to back-to-back gold medals for the first time since 2022-23.
“You can’t teach heart and she’s all heart,” head coach Vicky Sunohara said in an interview with CBC Sports. “She will do whatever it takes for the better of the team. She leads by that on and off the ice.”
Canada will begin its title defence against Switzerland on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Membertou, N.S., which is co-hosting the tournament with Sydney in Cape Breton. The gold-medal game is set for Jan. 18.
McDonald is one of nine returning players from the team that shut out the United States in last year’s final.
It’s a solid mix of veterans and newcomers that make up what Sunohara describes as a deep team. They’ll be relying on all four lines rather than one or two stars to carry the load.
There hasn’t been much time to gel, but Sunohara can already see a team working in the same direction and communicating well.
“Our leadership group has done a great job of sharing their experiences and expressing to us that they had a lot of support last year by the returning players and our leaders,” said Sunohara, who earned two Olympic gold medals in her own playing career.
“They want to carry that on and be the same and be a great support and lead by example and make the new players feel welcomed and valued. They’re doing such a great job.”
The list of returnees also includes Caileigh Tiller, who recorded 10 points over five games for Canada at last year’s tournament, including the goal that secured the gold medal against the U.S.
This year, she’ll be joined on Team Canada by twin sister, Chelsea, who plays defence.
Playing at home
Three Maritimers will get to play close to home while making their Team Canada debuts: Kendall Doiron (Boylston, N.S.), Jaylee MacKinnon (Clark’s Harbour, N.S.) and Megan Mossey (Charlottetown, PEI).
All three were key parts of taking Team Atlantic on a historic run all the way to the final at Under-18 Nationals last year. The team ultimately fell to Quebec, but it was the first trip to the championship game for a team from the Atlantic region.
Doiron was named that tournament’s top forward and Mossey its top defender.
“It’s an honour,” Doiron said about playing for the national team. “My first time being able to wear the maple leaf in games and it being in front of home crowds and my family not having to travel far is pretty special.”
Doiron plays at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, an American prep school that’s produced plenty of talented hockey players from Nova Scotia, including Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Blayre Turnbull.
Host Karissa Donkin and women’s hockey analysts Tessa Bonhomme break down the selections, snubs and surprises of who made Team Canada for the women’s hockey team.
Her run with Team Atlantic taught Doiron how to step up and be a leader. Her progression hasn’t gone unnoticed by Hockey Canada.
“She’s not trying to do things or be anybody she’s not,” Sunohara said. “She’s a complete player. Her speed, her consistent pressure that she puts on the puck — we knew that she had a lot of offensive upside but we’re happy with the way she’s playing a complete 200-foot game. She’s consistent.”
All three Canadian goaltenders, Maija St-Pierre, Rowan Houweling and Léa-Rose Charrois, are new to the team.
St-Pierre was named the top goaltender of the tournament at U18 Nationals with Ontario’s Blue team, while Charrois helped Quebec to the title.
An American challenge
Canada lost two out of three games to the United States in a tune-up summer series last year, and the Americans remain the Canadians’ top competition in the quest to repeat as champions.
At times in that series, Sunohara said her team struggled in their own end. It’s been a priority for the Canadians to improve.
“They’re definitely offensively skilled,” she said about the American team. “They play a fast game. They’re a smaller group, but they’re going to be a challenge for us.”
With Canada and the U.S. in separate groups, they won’t play until teams cross over after the preliminary rounds. That could be in yet another final.
Canada has named its 23-player women’s hockey roster for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. Marie-Philip Poulin leads the defending champions, alongside assistants Blayre Turnbull and Renata Fast. Sixteen players return from the 2022 gold-medal team, with seven set to make their Olympic debut.
While the Americans have captured nine Under-18 championships to Canada’s eight, there’s also the Czech Republic, the country that upset Canada in the semifinals in 2024.
Canada could also see a Slovakian team led by 17-year-old Nela Lopušanová, who has put up 26 points over 15 games at the U18 level. The talented teen, who will play at Wisconsin University next season, is within reach of American Kendall Coyne Schofield’s tournament points record (33).
“We’re going one day at a time and working,” Sunohara said. “We feel that if we focus on ourselves that good things will happen and the results will take care of themselves.”
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