2010-11 National Women's Team

Tessa Bonhomme, a 2010 Olympic Winter Games gold medallist and member of Canada’s National Women’s Team for the 2010 4 Nations Cup, gives HockeyCanada.ca her point-of-view from St. John’s and Clarenville, N.L.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The tournament is coming up quickly and I still have lots to do! Packing and double checking my gear are No. 1 priorities today!

I decided to do a little research on one of the cities we will be playing in, called Clarenville. It’s a small city of less than 5,300 people who apparently LOVE women’s hockey – our game against Sweden Is absolutely sold out!

Since the time I started with Team Canada, there hasn't been a Canadian city to let us down yet! Kitchener packed the house with some wild fans at the 2006 4 Nations Cup, Winnipeg had unbelievable turnouts at every single 2007 IIHF World Women’s Championship game and last season Ottawa broke the attendance record for a women’s hockey game on January 1, 2010 when we played the United States before the Olympics! And of course, who could forget every single die-hard fan that followed us every step of the way in Vancouver!  

We are truly appreciative of all your support, Canada, and hope we can put on a great show for the East Coast from November 9 to 13! All the players and staff are excited to be reunited and are more than anxious to take the ice for a great start to another four-year Olympic cycle.

Four great female hockey players (Becky Kellar, Gina Kingsbury, Carla MacLeod and Colleen Sostorics), who have all done a lot for our national program and the female game, decided to retire this year. They will most definitely be missed on and off the ice, as we face off in our first international games without them. We all hope things are going well and wish them all nothing but the best. But with retirement, comes new blood and fresh faces! It will be very interesting to see the new team dynamic that forms and how everything will fall into place.  

Be careful not to mistake 19-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin for a rookie, as she enters this season as a seasoned vet, having scored Canada's only two goals in the gold medal game in Vancouver! I can honestly say I have never played hockey with anyone as talented and skilled as she is – and she isn't even 20 yet! Well done Beauceville, Que., well done!

Well, I'm off to pack a parka and winter boots for Newfoundland! Just checked the weather and it’s supposed to snow there tomorrow!

Chat soon everyone!

Tess

Twitter: @tessab25
Facebook: Tessa Bonhomme