Alberta’s Poznikoff headlines U SPORTS Women’s Hockey All-Stars

Reigning national Player of the Year Alex Poznikoff of the Alberta Pandas highlights the U SPORTS Women’s Hockey All-Stars roster announced Wednesday, set to compete at Hockey Canada’s Summer Showcase in Calgary, Aug, 2-11.

Poznikoff, who tallied 15 goals and 37 points in 27 games last season, has suited up in each of the three editions of the Summer Showcase since U SPORTS began participating in 2016. The Edmonton native also won a silver medal at the 2017 FISU Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Besides Poznikoff, the roster features eight other returning players with Summer Showcase and Winter Universiade experience, along with former U SPORTS major award winners, All-Canadians and All-Rookies.

“The Summer Showcase is an amazing opportunity to test some of U SPORTS’ finest against internationally-recognized talent,” said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, Chief Sport Officer at U SPORTS. “It is now more important than ever to give women a platform of high-performance hockey. We remain committed to the growth and development of our student-athletes and the women’s game in Canada.”

New this year, the Summer Showcase will see U SPORTS play six games, with the event expanding to include teams from France, Japan and Russia alongside a pair of Team Canada squads as part of the BFL National Women’s Development Team Selection Camp. Last year in Calgary, U SPORTS won three of four games, including back-to-back victories over both of Canada’s teams, who are vying for roster spots for a three-game series against the United States. The Summer Showcase will be held at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park, with games scheduled as follows:

All games will be streamed at video.hockeycanada.ca

Marc-André Côté, head coach of the Moncton Aigles Bleues, will serve as the team’s bench boss, after being an assistant coach with the U SPORTS All-Stars the last two years. He will be joined by returning assistants Greg Bowles of the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Terry Rhindress of the Mount Allison Mounties.

“It is an honor to be able to take part in this elite U SPORTS women’s hockey camp,” said Côté. “We will build on the progression achieved during the last two years under Stacey Colarossi. The team has a nice mix of athletes who have experienced this camp before and a number of excellent younger first-time players. I look forward to working with this group and am very happy to work with assistant coaches Greg Bowles and Terry Rhindress, with whom I have worked before.”

Since debuting at the Summer Showcase in 2016, the U SPORTS All-Stars sport a 5-5-2 record in 12 games.