MADISON, Wis. – The Canadian women’s national hockey team announced its 30-player National Team Orientation Camp roster for the 2026 Winter Olympic games last Friday, with five former Badgers included on the team.
The group includes four Badgers with previous Olympic experience, Sarah Nurse, Emily Clark, Blayre Turnbull and Ann-Renée Desbiens, as well as Olympic-newcomer Darryl Watts. The five players make Wisconsin the most represented school on the roster.
Nurse, Clark, Turnbull, and Desbiens all played for Hockey Canada during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where the team secured a gold medal by beating Team USA, 3-2. The four players were also teammates during Canada’s silver medal run during the 2018 Olympic games in South Korea.
Nurse donned a Badger uniform from 2013-17, serving as assistant captain in 2016-17 and earning Second-Team All-American status that same year. She first joined Hockey Canada for the 2018 Olympic Games.
Desbiens served in net for Wisconsin from 2013-17, accumulating a 99-14-9 record with a .955 career save percentage. She earned the 2017 Patty Kazmaier award as a Badger, and first joined Hockey Canada during the 2015 IIHF Women’s World Championship, before going on to play in both the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.
Clark played for the Badgers from 2014-19, scoring 146 points in her career. She made the WCHA All-Tournament team in 2016 and 2017, and won a national championship in 2019.
Turnbull’s Wisconsin career spanned from 2011-15, captaining the Badgers in her senior season, while also earning All-WCHA First Team honors. Her Team Canada debut occurred in the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
Watts is the most recent addition to the Hockey Canada team, previously playing for the Red and White during the 2024-25 Rivalry Series against Team USA. Watts spent three years with the Badgers from 2019 to 2022, leading the NCAA in scoring during the 2019-20 season with 74 points. She helped the Badgers win the 2021 National Championship after scoring the game-winning overtime goal against Northeastern.
The camp runs from August 26-28 in Calgary. Canada will trim its roster down to 23 players (20 skaters, three goaltenders) before the Olympic group stages begin on February 5, 2026. The team’s first game at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is against Finland, on February 5 at 2:10 pm CT.