Deep Canadian team looking to win back-to-back hockey gold at U18 women’s worlds

Hayley McDonald celebrated her 18th birthday with a hat trick.

The East St. Paul, Man., forward helped Canada defeat Finland 11-0 in Under-18 Women’s World Championship pre-tournament action in Halifax earlier this week.

But McDonald brings more than just offensive skill. She’s this team’s quiet leader looking to propel Canada to back-to-back gold medals for the first time since 2022-23.

“You can’t teach heart and she’s all heart,” head coach Vicky Sunohara said in an interview with CBC Sports. “She will do whatever it takes for the better of the team. She leads by that on and off the ice."

Canada will begin its title defence against Switzerland on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Membertou, N.S., which is co-hosting the tournament with Sydney in Cape Breton. The gold-medal game is set for Jan. 18.

McDonald is one of nine returning players from the team that shut out the United States in last year’s final.

It’s a solid mix of veterans and newcomers that make up what Sunohara describes as a deep team. They’ll be relying on all four lines rather than one or two stars to carry the load.

There hasn’t been much time to gel, but Sunohara can already see a team working in the same direction and communicating well.

“Our leadership group has done a great job of sharing their experiences and expressing to us that they had a lot of support last year by the returning players and our leaders,” said Sunohara, who earned two Olympic gold medals in her own playing career.

“They want to carry that on and be the same and be a great support and lead by example and make the new players feel welcomed and valued. They’re doing such a great job.”

The list of returnees also includes Caileigh Tiller, who recorded 10 points over five games for Canada