By Kristi Patton /
Brianne Jenner is back to the comforts of home, but it’s not where she wants to be.
It’s not that she doesn’t like Oakville, it’s just that Calgary would be much nicer right now. The 19-year-old forward, along with Jocelyne Larocque (Ste. Anne, Man.) was released from the National Women’s Team’s centralized roster as Hockey Canada continued to stride toward the Olympics.
“We thank Brianne and Jocelyne for their hard work and dedication to the National Women’s Program,” said Melody Davidson, head coach of the National Women’s Team. “It has been an absolute pleasure working with these players.”
The Women’s National Team can be a hard nut to crack. In August, a centralized team of 26 was stationed in Calgary with players well-versed in Olympics and international competition including Jayna Hefford (Kingston, Ont.), Hayley Wickenheiser (Shaunavon, Sask.) and Becky Kellar (Hagersville, Ont.). As they got closer to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, five players have to be cut, three are still yet to hear the bad news. The players lived, breathed and ate hockey while putting in four months of training between the three or four games per week schedule.
“We can only keep so many players for so long. Both of them are terrific young women who came so close but their time isn’t now. It just goes to show the type and depth of players this country has when you have to release players with that kind of talent,” said Davidson.
While the disappointment is still there, both Jenner and Laroque will still get to pull a Team Canada jersey over their heads in January, when they compete in the Under-22 tournament held in Germany. For Jenner, the National Women’s Team experience was her first at that level.
The forward scored her first goal with the team at the Hockey Canada Cup against Team Sweden and ended up with four goals and seven assists in 21 games against the Alberta Midget Hockey League men’s team and in international play. Davidson said she sees a great future for both of the players let go.
“These girls are terrific teammates and you can see them getting better and better with their skills...they both have a tremendous future within our program but unfortunately we can’t keep everyone. There is no question in my mind they are solid players who will be players in our program in the future,” said Davidson, who said a date for the final roster cuts has not been decided yet.
Jenner, whose last club team was with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League Missisauga Chiefs, made an impression with the National Women’s program when she played in the last two IIHF World Women’s U-18 championships, captaining the 2008 team and helping Canada to a pair of silver medals. |