Tight-knit Team Canada arrives at women's hockey worlds with good vibes

The women's world hockey championships have officially arrived in Brampton, Ont.

Monday was the first day of practice for the entire 10-team field at the CAA Centre ahead of opening day on Wednesday.

Canada enters this tournament as the two-time reigning champion, as well as the defending Olympic gold medallist. Canada also beat the U.S. in the latest edition of the seven-game Rivalry Series, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the process.

"This group, they always want to compete and they always want to win, but when there's a world championship on the line, they've really come to play and we'll be ready for all the teams that we face," assistant coach Kori Cheverie told CBC Sports after Canada's practice.

And you can add home-ice advantage to all of that, too. 

Canada's 23-player roster is made up of 14 Ontarians, creating a homecoming of sorts as well as its three-peat bid formally begins.

The team spent the past week together in Niagara Falls, Ont., for training camp, culminating in a 3-1 exhibition victory over Finland on Saturday. Canada's first game is Wednesday against Switzerland at 7 p.m. ET.

"The vibe is always good with this group," Cheverie said. "I think that that's something that is really a strength of ours is how connected we are. So you know our group loves to have fun, they love to work hard. So that's a good combination when you have those two things."

Claire Thompson, who set an Olympic record for points by a defenceman at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, agreed that the group is tight-knit.

"The girls always have so much fun when we get a chance to play and practice together and we're really looking forward to the round-robin series and the games coming up in the next few days," Thompson told CBC Sports.

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