Everything you need to know about Canada at the women's hockey world championship

Less than two months is all that separated Toronto Sceptres forward Hannah Miller from playing her first game with the Canadian senior national team.

After a standout season with the Sceptres where she scored 24 points in 26 games, the 29-year-old Miller was named to the Canadian roster that will play for a world championship in the Czech Republic.

But the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) deemed the forward from North Vancouver, B.C., ineligible earlier this week. Toronto forward Julia Gosling was named in her place.

Miller competed for China at the 2022 Olympics but hadn't given up her Canadian citizenship to do so. There's a two-year waiting period that Hockey Canada thought Miller had satisfied, based on when she played for China at the Olympics.

But according to Canadian GM Gina Kingsbury, the issue was a contract Miller signed with the Shenzhen KRS club team, which falls under the umbrella of the Chinese national team. That contract ended on May 31, 2023, which means the Chinese federation still owns Miller's rights until May 31 of this year — just over a month after the world championship ends.

"Rules are rules and it's pretty black and white," Kingsbury told CBC Sports from the Czech Republic, where her team begins play on Thursday. "Very disappointing obviously from a program perspective, but also disappointed for her."

Miller earned a spot based on her versatility. Her ability to play centre or wing, to kill penalties and chip in on the power play, was something that appealed to Hockey Canada. 

She earned gold for Canada at back-to-back under-18 world championships, but it's rare for a player to make the senior team later in their career. That is changing now that the PWHL has become the top evaluation