Never have players on the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey team looked forward to the rigours of pre-Olympic preparation more.

Ice time wasnB次元官网网址檛 always available during the COVID-19 pandemic, let alone skating in large groups or playing a game.

Olympic team alumni have said the months they lived, trained and played games in Calgary before a Winter Games were the closest they came to feeling like professional hockey players.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the only time they get dedicated ice time, a regular slate of games, full-time coaching, hockey expenses covered and access to similar medical and health supports the male pros get.

The majority of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 players are without a league since the collapse of the Canadian WomenB次元官网网址檚 Hockey League over two years ago, and the pandemic hampering the formation of a replacement has the players welcoming the gruelling months ahead.

B次元官网网址淚t means a lot,B次元官网网址� Canadian forward Blayre Turnbull said. B次元官网网址淓specially after the past couple years, some of us havenB次元官网网址檛 really had true hockey seasons.

B次元官网网址淭he fact that weB次元官网网址檒l all be able to spend the season together and play and practise as a team, it means a great deal to all of us.B次元官网网址�

The 29 players invited to centralize in Calgary arrived in July.

A 25-player roster was chosen for the world championship concluding Tuesday in their home arena at CalgaryB次元官网网址檚 Canada Olympic Park.

Canada faces Switzerland and defending champion the United States takes on Finland in MondayB次元官网网址檚 semifinals.

After a weekB次元官网网址檚 break following the world championship, the Canadian women resume their quest to be chosen for the 23-player Olympic roster and win the gold medal in Beijing in February.

After winning four straight gold, Canada lost in a 3-2 shootout to the U.S. in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.

Olympic womenB次元官网网址檚 rosters will remain at 23 B次元官网网址� three goaltenders and 20 skaters B次元官网网址� in Beijing.

The International Ice Hockey Federation is expected to approve in September expanding womenB次元官网网址檚 rosters to 25 to equal the menB次元官网网址檚 for future world championships, and then lobby the International Olympic Committee to do the same for 2026.

Hockey CanadaB次元官网网址檚 director of national teams Gina Kingsbury intends to name the Olympic roster before DecemberB次元官网网址檚 holiday break.

Before that, however, the women will be put through a sustained high volume of dryland training, practice skates and games.

Twenty skaters B次元官网网址� Canada went with 12 forwards and eight defenders in 2018 B次元官网网址� will be selected from nine defenders and 17 forwards.

Goaltenders Ann-Renee Desbiens of La Malbaie, Que., Emerance Maschmeyer of Bruderheim, Alta., and Kristen Campbell of Brandon, Man., are Beijing-bound, but are competing for coveted starts there.

A reshuffling of the coaching staff may be afoot.

Head coach Troy Ryan of Spryfield, N.S. must decide how he wants to replace assistant Jim Midgley, who was named to the coaching staff of the NHLB次元官网网址檚 New York Rangers during the womenB次元官网网址檚 championship.

Kori Cheverie of New Glasgow, N.S., and Doug Derraugh of Arnprior, Ont., remain as RyanB次元官网网址檚 assistants.

Canada will play more games against the U.S. and Finland women this winter, and less against local male triple-A clubs than in previous centralizations.

Eight games against the U.S. women and as many against FinlandB次元官网网址檚 women are planned, including travelling to Finland in November for a series there.

The American women start their B次元官网网址渞esidencyB次元官网网址� in Blaine, Minn., in October.

Canada opens its pre-Olympic series against them Oct. 22 and Oct. 25 in Allentown, Pa., and Hartford, Conn. respectively.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e really increased our international competition,B次元官网网址� Kingsbury said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 be looking at the same amount of games, if you include the world championship games, as we would in our normal centralization.B次元官网网址�

The world not yet free of COVID-19, Kingsbury expects plans may change.

B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檝e learned anything in the last 16 months, itB次元官网网址檚 you have to adapt and be able to adjust,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t helps that our entire group is double-vaccinated.B次元官网网址�

Since the 2006 Olympics, the women made games in AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 male triple-A league a cornerstone of their centralization schedule.

Kingsbury wants to arrange exhibition games against them, and possibly Junior A clubs, but didnB次元官网网址檛 want to be locked into a leagueB次元官网网址檚 schedule this time.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not going to join the league as we have in the past. ItB次元官网网址檚 not COVID,B次元官网网址� Kingsbury said. B次元官网网址淲e felt strongly about increasing our international games and playing more womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey at its highest level.

B次元官网网址淲e felt really strongly about making sure the schedule was optimal for our needs. That wasnB次元官网网址檛 always the case tied to a league.B次元官网网址�

Combined financial assistance from Hockey Canada and Sport CanadaB次元官网网址檚 AthletesB次元官网网址� Assistance Fund (AAF) during centralization gives the players them a few thousand dollars a month to live on.

Kingsbury declined to state exact figures for this season.

Between Hockey Canada and Sport Canada, it worked out to roughly $5,000 per month in 2017-2018.

The money allows players to concentrate more on hockey and less on side gigs for cash.

B次元官网网址淣ot having to have side gigs, not having to work, it already takes enough energy out of you training for the Olympics,B次元官网网址� forward Natalie Spooner said.

B次元官网网址淛ust having that as our main focus, it feels really good and lets us really bond as a team. WeB次元官网网址檙e really a team and weB次元官网网址檙e going to be together here for the next six months.B次元官网网址�

Own The Podium, which provides technical expertise and directs targeted Sport Canada funding to sports based on medal potential, significantly raised the money for womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey in the four-year quadrennial since Pyeongchang compared to the previous quad.

Hockey Canada received a combined $5.9 million for womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey compared to $4.6 million over the four years before 2018.

B次元官网网址淲e feel weB次元官网网址檝e got a good plan in place. ItB次元官网网址檚 obviously quite costly,B次元官网网址� Kingsbury said. B次元官网网址淲e wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be able to do it without the support of Hockey Canada and certainly the support of Own The Podium.B次元官网网址�

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

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