The Canadian and U.S. women's national teams are back at it. On Wednesday, the puck will drop on the Rivalry Series at Tech CU University in San Jose, California.

The last time the two teams met, Canada played spoiler on U.S. territory, winning the gold medal at the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, New York. Forward Danielle Serdachny scored the 6-5 winner in overtime.

In the wild-but-true category, the Canadians have rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to defeat their archrivals 4-3 in each of the last two Rivalry Series.

The format has shifted this year from a seven-game to a five-game series. This change is prompted in part by the increase in high-level competition for national team members via the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

The first Rivalry Series leg will be played at three different venues in the United States, including Salt Lake City, Utah (8 November) and Boise, Idaho (10 November). The series will shift north of the border for two games in 2025 in Atlantic Canada, including Halifax, Nova Scotia (6 February) and Summerside, Prince Edward Island (8 February).

For Canadian bench Troy Ryan, who also coaches the PWHL's Toronto Sceptres, it will be a full-circle moment when the Rivalry Series comes to his native Nova Scotia.

“Selfishly, there's some personal sides of it that make it extra-special,” said Ryan, whose resume features a 2022 Olympic gold medal and three IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship gold medals. “The cool part of it is so many people have been so kind and generous throughout my career that it's nice that they may get an opportunity to be there and support as a fan, or just be closer to our group. [The community] has been so supportive of me that it's just fun."as provided a showcase for the women’s game. This year's edition will be no different.

Memories of past Rivalry Series

Growing up, star American forward Taylor Heise recalls watching the rivalry between Canada and the United States. Heise, who led the 2022 Women's Worlds with 18 points, truly started to dream about representing her country as she learned more about the rivalry.

“I [got excited] about the USA Hockey circuit when I was 13 or 14, which was way older than most people when they figure out they want to play in the Olympics,” Heise said.  “I come from a basketball family, and I never understood the domain of hockey in Minnesota. Boy, do I ever know now! I remember watching [the Rivalry Series], and it may have been 2014 or 2015. It was at the Xcel Energy Centre. I told my parents immediately, 'We need to go.' I remember watching girls I grew up watching as well. I just knew I wanted to be there at one point, and here I am now.”

Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin has played in all five Rivalry Series since 2018-19.  Poulin says the series provides another opportunity for national teammates to reunite and pick up from where they left off the last time they played together.

“It's always special when we have the chance to get together from different teams,” Poulin said.  “When we do, it's like nothing has changed. I think it's special to travel together, and those games are very intense. Then, there are moments as a group within the dressing room. There are a lot of memories as a group throughout the Rivalry Series, and I am looking forward to many more.”

 

 

 

 

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Comparing the rosters

Canada and the United States feature two distinctively different rosters heading into the first three games of the series.

With 21 players who participated in the gold-medal run at the 2024 Women's Worlds, Canada keeps its main nucleus intact. Ryan is also using this series to expose some younger talents to senior national team competition.

“We believe it will be a great test for our younger players, like [Chloe] Primerano,” Ryan said.

Two Canadian roster additions have garnered a lot of excitement, including defender Chloe Primerano. The 17-year-old from North Vancouver is currently suiting up for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Primerano was the tournament scoring leader and MVP at the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in Zug, Switzerland last winter as Canada took the bronze meda

“She went a year early to college, so it's been great to watch her play in her first five or six games in Minnesota,” Ryan said. “She's just a dynamic, high-end, offensively gifted, and defensively responsible player. At this point in our Olympic quad, you have to give players like that an opportunity. You don't want to get to 2026 and realize she's there and then throw her in for her first real international experience at this level. She's a dynamic player that we're excited about and going to be a great player for many years to come.”

Sniper Daryl Watts is coming off an impressive PWHL campaign with Ottawa where she amassed 10 goals and 17 assists in 24 games. The forward has recently signed with her hometown team in Toronto.

“Watts has been in the program at the U18 and development levels,” Ryan said. “Darryl Watts and Sophie Shirley are two players that have benefited a little bit from the PWHL where the international game was the only chance to give these players an opportunity to play at the highest level."

The U.S. will bring 24 players that were silver medalists at the last Women’s Worlds. Two new additions are familiar, as they have both previously played for the national team.

Gabbie Hughes was part of the U.S. national team in 2023 and will play for the PWHL's Ottawa Charge this season. Her international experience includes a gold medal with the United States at the 2017 IIHF Under-18 Women’s Worlds.

Defender Ally Simpson also has previous international experience including winning a gold medal at the 2018 Under-18 Women’s Worlds. Simpson, drafted 16th overall by the PWHL’s New York Sirens, was on the U.S. roster in last year’s Rivalry Series.

U.S head coach John Wroblewski said the Rivalry Series will help players in their quest to make Olympic and Women’s Worlds squads.

“Each player we've selected has proven that they can show value at the Women's World Championship level,” he said.  “Whether it’s going to be in this current quad, or it’s for the next quad [Olympics] is to be determined. We look at the Rivalry Series as not only a competition but an evaluation and an opportunity for development. We’re looking forward to seeing how players can use this as a jump start to their season. Some of our college players are able to report back and they’ve had some time to get their feet underneath them, but for the majority of the pro players, it’s their first real competition.”

At 35, captain Hilary Knight is the oldest player and Joy Dunne is the youngest at 19 on the U.S. roster. It's a potent blend of experience and youth.

“We’ve got both sides of the spectrum there and with this group, they’ve had a lot of learning opportunities in just going back to the Rivalry Series or the World Women’s Championships games,” Wroblewski said.  “A big part of what we’re doing is trying to speed up the process of those young players getting acclimated to the challenges and nuances to [IIHF] hockey.”

 

 

 

 

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What to expect from the teams

These two teams are no strangers to each other. However, there’s a tremendous amount of mutual respect.

“They have a great team and I've seen that over the years,” Poulin said.  “I've had the chance to play against them, and it's a big rivalry. That's why we push women's hockey to be better. Everybody's getting better. Everybody is pushing the bar to be better, and that's why those games are so good. We have a lot of respect for the Americans. We train hard, we want to win, and we all go for the same goals. That's why it's very intense.”

Echoing Poulin’s sentiments is Heise, who says Canada's tight-knit character will serve them well in this series.

“A lot of [the Canadians] train with each other in the summer, which gives them a leg up,” said Heise, who led the PWHL playoff scoring race with eight points as Minnesota won the inaugural 2024 championship. “Some of them play with each other in the PWHL. There’s a line on Canada’s team that hasn’t changed in two years. They play with speed and grit. They’ve got a lot of strength too.”

Heise, the first overall draft pick in the 2023 PWHL Draft, expects Canada to come out of the gate hard and set the tone.

“They will try to show their dominance immediately, try to get us to quit or get up on us early,” she said.

Ryan expects a high-tempo and offensively driven battle against the Americans.

“The U.S. has done a good job providing some stability there for the athletes, where the coaches have been around for several years,” Ryan said. “We expect a dangerous team. They're dynamic. We're wise, older, and experienced, and our chemistry is strong. They're a youthful and dynamic group. It's two teams that have been constructed differently, but are at very similar levels. They're very skilled, talented and well-coached. You expect a battle every time you play against them.”

While Ryan was pleased with the team’s penalty kill in Utica, one area for improvement is the power play. To that end, he has handed responsibility to assistant coaches Caroline Ouellette and Brittany Smith.

“They'll just kind of breathe a little bit of oxygen into it and probably help take it to another level,” Ryan said.  “We have enough talent there. We've got to make sure we're executing. The good thing about the power play last year is it necessarily wasn't great percentage-wise, but we scored some big goals when we needed to.”

On the other side, the Americans know the challenges that lie ahead for them from the reigning Women's Worlds champions.

“What a club Canada is right now,” Wroblewski said. “They've got a lot of continuity going back to the last quad, where they’re the Olympic champions. They hit their stride again here this last April in Utica. They’re the reigning World Champions there too. There's a lot of predictabilities with Canada. However, it's not that easy to catch and take advantage of said predictabilities. They’ve got a tremendous team headlined by Poulin. A lot of it starts with Marie-Philip. It's a heck of a challenge, and one we look forward to.”

To counter Canada’s attack on the ice, the United States will mix things up a little during the Rivalry Series to give the younger players more opportunities to play alongside the veterans on the team.

“They’ll be some different looks going on for us this year,” Wroblewski said  “It will be a lot of fun. We’ve got some different blends. We'll give younger players some opportunities to play with different established players and we're looking forward to what we might be able to get for chemistry.”

 

 

 

 

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Team chemistry

In Utica, Heise had great chemistry with eventual tournament MVP Laila Edwards. Heise agrees that chemistry plays a part, but it is not the sole thing that will make or break a team.

“When you get into a game, it comes down to the grit and will to compete. Chemistry is huge, but our U.S. lines change fairly regularly. We don’t get stuck on who you are playing with. You want to continue playing the game you are best at. Having a good effort and attitude, knowing what you are good at, and continuing that is more important.”

While Poulin captains Canada, she stresses that she is not the only leader on the team. Everyone has a part to play in building the culture.

“All of us are leaders, and this group has key players,” the three-time Olympic gold medalist said.  'The young ones that are coming in, we want them to be themselves, to use their voice. That's something that we value on this team. You are important no matter how long you've been on this team. This culture has been growing for many years. We know where to push each other and we hold each other accountable.”

And exceeding expectations sometimes requires going into unfamiliar territory.

“We want to get out of that comfort zone,” Poulin said. “We want to keep working on those fine details and get better. We want to keep raising the bar. When our team won the last World Championship, it would be easy to say, 'Hey, we're going and not changing anything,' but this group is hungry to challenge each other, to ask questions on how we can make this thing even better in terms of culture and on-ice performance.”

According to Ryan, there's a  trust code that applies to team chemistry. It means creativity and acceptance of the situation at hand.

“There's a respect factor here," Ryan said. "I can’t be occupying all their time, as they have commitments to their professional or college teams where they're trying to grasp new concepts, systems and build chemistry."

 

 

 

 

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A measuring stick for Milano Cortina 2026

This Rivalry Series serves as another big opportunity for national team staff to assess players for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy.

“You don't get that many opportunities to be together as a team, so when you are, it's important to introduce concepts that you'll possibly tap into in 2026,” Ryan said. “This used to be the only way we could evaluate our players. Now, part of our responsibility is also to set our players up for success in college or the pro league.”

As for the United States, Wroblewski said that while it will help with evaluating players, the Rivalry Series is very early in the season, and a lot can happen in the coming months.

“Every game is a basis point,” Wroblewski said. “No one’s played a game yet, so I don’t want to put too much stock into things with goaltending in particular. The goalies haven’t seen a game shot in seven months, for instance. We’re looking for hopefully consistencies. what our eyes and brains have told us about these players in the past. Then, we can proceed and move forward with the set individuals. We’re going to have to work with them on their development curve and make them aware  where they have to improve.”

 

 

 

 

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The PWHL factor

With the PWHL heading into its second season, there is a different light on the Rivalry Series. 

“The PWHL is what everyone wanted for such a long time, to have one league,” Heise said.  “We're all on the same page, and it’s super-exciting. I don't want to call it a warmup for the season, because they’re both equally important, but I think getting these extra games is important. All of us who are competitors want to win and want to be the best on our teams. It’s a way for us to get ready, compete against the best again, and see what it will take to be Walter Cup champions."

“Last year was better than we ever expected,” Poulin added.  “We had seven [Rivalry Series] games during the [PWHL] season. You can see that every game gets better, and it's an adjustment.”

 

 

 

 

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GOALS

For the Canadians, winning the Rivalry Seriess is their goal.

“That's something every team works for, so for us, coming together is focusing on ourselves,” Poulin said.  “Go one game, even one practice at a time. We could have the chance to work a little bit before the first game, so focus on yourself.”

“We need to be better on our special teams,” Ryan noted. “Creating the transition opportunities offensively will be key. To do that, you have to be pretty solid defensively. Another focus area I'd like to see us have is some improvements in the faceoff circle.”

As for the U.S., its focus is on evolving and learning.

“Wins and losses matter, but it’s more so what you take out of each game,” Heise said.  “We’ll take some stuff out of the game and come back stronger. It’s important to be nit-picky because we haven’t played a game in six months. We want to have a good attitude, and you want to be a good teammate.”

 

 

 

 

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Always a special rivalry 

Regardless of the outcome of this year’s event, the Rivalry Series holds a special place for players, staff, and fans. Poulin got a taste of watching the Canada-U.S. rivalry as a kid and was hooked.

“I remember feeling that excitement and how competitive it was even from just watching it,” she said. “When I came onto that team, you could feel it. We both trained for the same goals, for the same purpose. We are all competitive. You never want to lose, and everybody's here to do what it takes to win."

Representing your country is only one part of the equation in the Rivalry Series. According to Heise, it’s bigger than that.

“ It is for our country and people that sacrificed their lives for us," Heise said. "It means everything. I’m grateful to be here and be part of an organization that takes such good care of our players and does so much for the youth and girls' hockey world. It’s exciting. Every time I put on the jersey, it’s a different experience with a different team.”

It’s hard for Wroblewski to express why this rivalry between the two countries is so special.

“There’s a culmination of unbelievable competitors and people through the federations over the decades that have now passed on,” he said.  “Hilary [Knight] and Kendall [Coyne Schofield] have learned from their predecessors. We can go back to Cammi Granato, and then you can take everybody in between. There's character, toughness, and strength. There’s this build-up of events and pride that spans decades longer than what I’ve been involved with, but it’s an amazing event. Each game has this star power feel, energy, and competitiveness.”

The Rivalry Series has traditionally given meaningful games to the best players in the world and has provided a showcase for the women’s game. This year's edition will be no different.