The Olympics have been burned into Micah Zandee-Hart鈥檚 dreams since she sat transfixed in front of her TV as a kid in Saanichton watching the 91原创 women鈥檚 hockey team win gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
鈥淓ver since then it鈥檚 been something special I鈥檝e held close to me,鈥� said the Islander.
Her aspirational goal is getting closer as Zandee-Hart was named Wednesday among the 28 players who will centralize in Calgary beginning in late July in preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
鈥淭he gold medal is always the vision for Canada in hockey, especially after Pyeongchang in 2018 [when Canada settled for Olympic silver behind the U.S.],鈥� said Zandee-Hart, former 颅Cornell captain in the NCAA.
Zandee-Hart was a late cut on the 2018 Olympic team. Now a mainstay on the 91原创 blue line, the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association product is expected to make her Games debut in Beijing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been my dream to represent Canada in the Olympics and I鈥檓 really excited about today鈥檚 announcement,鈥� said Zandee-Hart, currently recuperating from shoulder surgery.
The centralized camp will include three goaltenders, nine defencemen, including Zandee-Hart, and 16 forwards. Fourteen players from the 2018 Olympic team are included.
Canada鈥檚 final 23-player 颅roster for the 2022 Winter 颅Olympics, set for Feb. 4-20 in the Chinese capital, will be announced in late December.
鈥淲hen we started this Olympic quad in the fall of 2018, our road to 2022 looked very different,鈥� said Gina Kingsbury, Hockey 颅Canada director of women鈥檚 national teams, in a statement.
鈥淭hrough adversity, in particular a lack of international competition over the last 14 months, our athletes have stayed focused. We had some difficult decisions to make, but that just shows how hard our athletes have worked for the opportunity to centralize and get a chance to compete for 23 Olympic roster spots.鈥�