Another round of the Rivalry Series between the national women’s teams for Canada and the USA kicks off on Thursday, November 6, in Cleveland, Ohio! The second game in this leg takes place shortly after on Saturday, November 8, in Buffalo, New York. Both teams have released their rosters, and there are some potential PWHL-related storylines to watch.

Team Canada

To start, a few key omissions stand out: forwards Emily Clark and Brianne Jenner, defender Jocelyne Larocque, and goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens. Neither the team nor Hockey Canada has addressed these omissions. They may be related to injuries, load management, or simply the staff feeling confident that they know where each of these players fits in.

Canadian debuts

A trio of PWHL players will be making their senior national team debuts: forward Hannah Miller, defender Kati Tabin, and goaltender Kayle Osborne.

We have yet to see Hannah Miller suit up for Team Canada, as her IIHF eligibility is still pending. This series could be an opportunity to get a peek at the chemistry of Miller, Sarah Nurse, and Jenn Gardiner. The trio will all be playing for PWHL Vancouver later this month.

Gardiner worked well alongside Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey when she was playing for the Montréal Victoire. We also saw that trio play together on Team Canada. But reports from national team camp saw Daryl Watts and Poulin working on plays together, so Gardiner may find herself on a different line on Thursday.

Last week, The Hockey News predicted Miller and Gardiner on the wing with Kristin O’Neill at centre. Might we see Nurse in the middle instead?

Dynamic duo

Renata Fast and Ella Shelton played together at the 2025 Women’s World Championships (WWC) in Czechia, and they’re about to be teammates on the Toronto Sceptres. They’ll likely be a pair for this series, which will be an exciting preview for the Sceptres season.

Even if they don’t play together on the Sceptres, they’d make an excellent duo on Toronto’s first power play unit. Team Canada will look to both of them to provide offence from the point as well as in joining the rush.

With Maschmeyer as the lone veteran goaltender for Team Canada, Kayle Osborne may get a chance to start. But Canada has been hesitant to play its third goalies, and Ève Gascon, who’s a standout in the NCAA for the University of Minnesota Duluth, still hasn’t gotten a chance to start in net.

I’m not sure Osborne will play in this leg, but she’s the starter for the New York Sirens now. This senior national team experience will only help to build her confidence.

Team USA

Ever since the expansion draft, there’s been talk of how scary PWHL Seattle’s first line could look. The team could ice Hannah Bilka, Alex Carpenter, and Hilary Knight. All three are elite forwards who are game-changers in their own right.

A three-headed beast to beat

Combined, they’re a serious threat to the other PWHL teams—and to Team Canada. Bilka didn’t get enough chance to shine in the PWHL as she was sidelined with an injury for half the season. Even with only 16 games played, she finished fifth in team scoring for the Boston Fleet. She’ll make a huge impact in Seattle, and these three forwards would be a threat lined up together for Team USA.

Second-overall draft pick Haley Winn will be teammates with Megan Keller on both Team USA and the Boston Fleet. They’ve played together for USA in the past, and they’re the top-two defenders on the Fleet this season. Winn and Keller may not play as a pair in this series, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them lining up together on the blueline for Boston’s opening game on November 23.

Strong goaltending is available for USA

In the 2025 WWC finals, we saw Gwyneth Philips come in to replace Aerin Frankel after a collision with Laura Stacey, ultimately backstopping Team USA to a gold medal in České Budějovice.

Philips won the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award back in May, and she’s the definite starter for the Ottawa Charge now that Emerance Maschmeyer is on PWHL Vancouver. Given her excellent performance at the WWC and in the PWHL playoffs, we should see Philips start at least one of the four Rivalry Series games.

Let’s get the rivalry going again

Puck drop for the first game of the November leg is at 7:00 p.m. ET on November 6. We might get a little taste of what’s to come for some of the PWHL teams when the season starts on November 21.