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By Dan Plouffe
On top of the 16 athletes whose roads to representing Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics began in the Ottawa area, the nation’s capital can claim looser connections to several more athletes competing in the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.
The Ottawa Charge Professional Women’s Hockey League team has three members of Team Canada among its ranks, led by their captain Brianne Jenner.
The 34-year-old from Oakville was the top goal scorer in the Beijing 2022 Olympics and was named tournament MVP. Ottawa’s Jamie Lee Rattray, who wasn’t selected for Canada’s 2026 Games team, was sixth overall with five goals in Beijing as the Canadians celebrated their return to the top of the podium on the heels of a silver in 2018 and four gold in a row before that.
Jenner has returned to top form this season, already matching her 15-point output from last year before the PWHL’s 2026 Olympic break, which is best out of all Canadian PWHLers. A force on the powerplay, this will be Jenner’s fourth Olympics.
Charge assistant captain Jocelyne Larocque has played each one of those Games alongside Jenner.
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The 37-year-old defender from St. Anne, MB was first inspired to chase her dreams by watching the inaugural Olympic women’s hockey championship game at Nagano 1998.
Canada’s lone player born in the 1980s, Larocque will head an experienced group of blueliners wearing the maple leaf. She was at her best for Ottawa in their playoff run last year and can be counted on as a reliable shutdown defender with occasional offensive flair.
And the Charge’s other assistant captain Emily Clark will make her third Olympic appearance for Team Canada in Milano Cortina.
Ottawa’s #2 scorer last season hasn’t yet found her offensive touch for the Charge this year, with just four points to date (although a goal and an assist did come in their most recent game). But the 30-year-old from Saskatoon’s grinding style and work ethic will serve as an asset for Canada on one of its bottom forward lines.
“This group has proven over the last number of years that we’ve found different ways to win in different tournaments,” Jenner said at a Charge press conference before travelling overseas. “If we play our best and play for each other, we have a chance.”
WATCH CBC OTTAWA | These Ottawa Charge players are ready to be Olympians
Emerance Maschmeyer, who is ahead of Ottawa-raised Kayle Osborne on the Canadian goaltending depth chart, also has Ottawa ties.
The 31-year-old played her first two PWHL seasons for Ottawa and is married to Geneviève Lacasse, who lived mostly in Eastern Ontario while growing up in a military family.
Lacasse, who won Olympic gold in 2014 and silver in 2018 as a Team Canada goalie, gave birth to their son before the start of Maschmeyer’s second year in Ottawa.
Maschmeyer was taken by the Vancouver Goldeneyes in the PWHL expansion draft before the start of this season.
Ottawa elected to protect one of its heroes en route to the Walter Cup final, Gwyneth Philips, who is one of five Charge players set to represent international teams in Milano Cortina.
After taking over for injured Maschmeyer, Philips was named playoff MVP after Ottawa took down top-ranked Montreal in the semi-finals and then pushed champion Minnesota to overtime in all four final games while posting a 1.23 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage.
Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel is anticipated to be the Americans’ starter for their biggest games, but Philips could certainly see action.
Philips will be joined by Charge defender Rory Guilday on Team USA.
Ottawa’s first-round selection in the 2025 PWHL draft has had a solid debut season in the PWHL and will now make her first Olympic appearance.
Known for her strong shot from the point and solid physicality, the 23-year-old is Ottawa’s top scoring blueliner with eight points in 16 games.
The Charge’s European players will all play key roles for their nations at the Olympics.
Ronja Savolainen will be looking for her third consecutive Olympic podium after earning bronze medals with Finland in 2022 and 2018.
Admired for her physicality and fitness, the 28-year-old defender was chosen as one of the Charge’s protected players in the PWHL expansion draft. She plays alongside Larocque as Ottawa’s top defensive pair.
Charge backup goaltender Sanni Ahola will also play for the Finns. The 25-year-old was the first Finnish goaltender drafted to the PWHL and is now be expected to be her country’s #1 goalie for the Olympic tournament.
She recorded her first PWHL victory in a shootout over Boston in January and will now make her Olympic debut.
Kateřina Mrázová is a part of a rising Czech women’s hockey program. The 33-year-old has established herself as a kay contributor among the Charge forwards.
After finishing seventh at Beijing 2022, Mrázová will be competing in her second Olympics and first with Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod, who is set to lead Czechia into Olympic competition.
Charge 2024-25 leading scorer Tereza Vanišová left for Vancouver as a free agent in the offseason, as did defender Aneta Tejralová to Seattle, but they will reunite with Mrázová and MacLeod for the Games.
6 Ottawa Senators to play in Olympic men’s hockey
The Ottawa Senators will also have a half-dozen players representing foreign countries in the men’s hockey Olympic competition.
Tim Stützle will be part of Germany’s best-ever entry in the Olympics, defender Nikolas Matinpalo will dress for Finland, goalie Mads Sogaard and forward Lars Eller will remain teammates for Denmark, and Sens fans will have the unsettling experience of seeing captain Brady Tkachuk at forward and defenceman Jake Sanderson in enemy colours for Canada’s arch-rival Team USA.
The Ottawa Citizen’s Callum Fraser provides a full rundown of the six Sens Olympians in this feature.
Many capital connections on ice
In curling, Tracy Fleury and Sarah Wilkes own local links by virtue of the Rachel Homan rink’s association with the Ottawa Curling Club.
Fleury joined Team Homan in 2022 and became vice-skip as Emma Miskew moved up to play second. The 39-year-old from Sudbury will be making her Olympic debut.
Wilkes joined Team Homan in 2020 in place of Ottawa lead Lisa Weagle. The 35-year-old from London, ON will also be making her first Olympic appearance.
Together with Homan and Fleury, Fleury and Wilkes have helped Team Homan became the most dominant rink in women’s curling in recent years, including back-to-back world championships titles.
Ottawa was figure skater Paul Poirier’s place of birth, although he’d already moved to the Toronto area by the time he took his first skating lessons at age 3.
That local connection may be particularly loose for Poirier, but remember that three-time world champion/Olympic medallist Patrick Chan, who was born in Ottawa but moved to Toronto before he could crawl, was awarded the Key to the City, Ottawa’s highest civic honour in 2019.
Alongside Piper Gilles, 34-year-old Poirier has won silver medals at the past two world championships and will be chasing his first Olympic medal in his fourth Olympic appearance.
And there is also an athlete from Ottawa who will competing for another country at the Games.
Jason Seed, who dressed for many local teams growing including the Carleton University Ravens most recently, is playing men’s hockey for host Italy.
A dual citizen of Canada and Italy – his grandparents’ homeland – Seed has been playing professionally in Italy since 2022, first for Cortina and now for Bolzano. The 34-year-old is looking forward to having family in the stands to watch him on the biggest stage in sport.
“We’re working hard to put the best game forward that we can and compete with each team,” Seed told CTV News Ottawa.
Ottawa at the Olympics Newsletter
The Ottawa Sports Pages will produce an Ottawa at the Olympics Newsletter throughout the Feb. 6-22 Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, featuring daily recaps, previews and competition schedules. Sign up to receive it in your inbox for free below.