Canadian women's hockey targets 2nd gold medal of season when puck drops in Beijing

The Canadian women's hockey team set itself a goal of winning two gold medals this season, and it already secured one after capturing its first world championship in almost a decade last August.

With the Olympic roster having been announced on Tuesday, here's a look at the 23 athletes who will aim to complete the mission in Beijing.

Kristen Campbell, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Emerance Maschmeyer

Goaltending is the one position that was effectively locked in, with three roster spots available and three centralized players.

Based on recent starts, Desbiens appears to have the coaches' favour for the starting job, with Maschmeyer in close contention. The pair of 27-year-olds have claimed the crease in past world championships, though Desbiens is the only netminder of the trio with Olympic experience, having played one preliminary-round game in Pyeongchang.

WATCH | 23-player women's team unveiled for Beijing 2022:

She notes Campbell's extensive resume at the collegiate and U22 levels, which lends familiarity with many Olympic opponents, along with competition in preparatory games against junior boys.

Erin Ambrose, Ashton Bell, Renata Fast, Jocelyne Larocque, Ella Shelton, Claire Thompson, Micah Zandee-Hart (Final cut: Meaghan Mikkelson)

The defence includes a balanced split of four left-handed shots and three righties.

Sauvageau describes the group as effective puck-movers who can support the offence, with the speed and intelligence to recover defensively.

"This is the future of hockey," Sauvageau told CBC Sports. "The game of hockey is to get the puck on your stick, and to protect this possession as long as you can."

Throughout the fall, Canada consistently relied on a top pairing of Larocque and Fast. Going into her third Olympics, Larocque is a veteran leader and fierce competitor. Fast, the only other returning Olympian on the blue line, is a smooth skater who can play with an edge.

An early cut from the roster in 2017-18, Ambrose has focused on improving her skating, which combined with her already-excellent passing has helped her develop into a strong playmaker.

Thompson and Shelton, who each had a grand total of two senior international games to their names before 2021, have integrated confidently into the senior squad.