The Canadian team bent on reclaiming the women's world championship from the United States was unveiled Wednesday in Toronto.
Canada may have beaten the Americans 2-0 in the Olympic final last year in Vancouver to claim the gold medal but the U.S. is the two-time defending world champion.
They defeated Canada in the 2009 and 2008 finals in Hameenlinna, Finland, and Harbin, China, respectively. A world championship isn't held in Olympic years.
"We look at it like we are the ones who have something to prove," captain Hayley Wickenheiser said. "I think even though we won the Olympic gold medal, it kind of means nothing a year later when you go into a new event. That's all old news.
"We go in as silver medallists wanting to win the gold and that's motivating."
Canada has won nine of the 12 world women's championships played since 1990, with the Americans winning the other three.
Canada's 21-player roster this year includes 16 from the Olympic squad. Two forwards and three defenceman retired after the Games, which created room for newer faces.
"We have three new additions on defence. That will be a good test for us," Wickenheiser said. "Otherwise, we have a lot of speed and offensive ability and we should be similar in style to what we were in the 2010 year."
Former NHL player and coach Ryan Walter will oversee the women's team again. He was behind the bench at the Four Nations Cup in November, when Canada edged the U.S. 3-2 in overtime to win the international tournament in St. John's, N.L.
Hockey Canada held a four-day selection camp in Toronto for the women and 15 players were released Wednesday.
This year's world championship starting April 16 in Winterthur and Zurich, Switzerland, is a week later than usual, which afforded the women's team time to hold a selection camp for the first time since the mid 1990's.
"The process was wonderful other than this morning. It's very difficult to cut 15 players from that mix," Walter said. "It was a great process for our coaching staff because finally we got to see best on best in camp. We've got a real solid handle on what we've got."
Forwards Jennifer Wakefield of Pickering., Ont., and Natalie Spooner of Toronto, plus defenders Bobbi Jo Slusar of Swift Current, Sask., Tara Watchorn of Newcastle, Ont., and Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Anne, Man., will make their world championship debut.
"I think Jennifer Wakefield really came into her own," Walter said. "She could potentially break into the top six forwards. Then you have Tara Watchorn. I was really pleased with her progress in camp. She's taken the next step."
Wakefield, Watchorn, defender Catherine Ward and forward Marie-Philippe Poulin all played for Boston University this season. Poulin, who scored both goals for Canada in the Olympic final, is the youngest player on the team at 20.
Wickenheiser, from Shaunavon, Sask., and forward Jayna Hefford of Kingston, Ont., will appear in their 10th world championship for Canada. Meghan Agosta of Ruthven, Ont., the most valuable player and leading scorer in the Olympic tournament, is expected to be a top producer again.
The defence is currently a work in progress as half the blue-line has turned over. In the build-up to the Olympic Games, Hockey Canada identified a need for two-way defenders who can both protect their own end as well as move the puck and contribute offensively.
"We need to have that mobility and I think the three new players we have can do both," Wickenheiser said. "Strong in their own zones, but give us maybe a little more shooting power from the point than what we've had in the past. But they also don't have the experience, so they'll need a little bit of time to settle in there."
The national team was en route Wednesday to Ann Arbour, Mich., for a four-day training camp that includes exhibition games Thursday and Friday against the U.S.
"It'll be interesting to see if the U.S. team adds pieces as we did," Walter said. "It'll be interesting to see how their team compares to the one we saw in the Four Nations."
Canada departs Saturday for Europe and opens the 2011 world championship April 16 against the host Swiss in Winterthur.
