Women's Hockey | 9/5/2018 6:13:00 PM

MONTREAL -- Jade Downie-Landry and Melodie Daoust -- both products of the McGill University women's hockey program -- are among 59 players selected by Hockey Canada to attend the national women's team Fall Festival training camp, in Dawson Creek, B.C., Sept. 8-16.

The duo are among eight players from U SPORTS programs that were picked for the annual camp, which is aimed at helping develop and evaluate the nation's top female hockey players. Other Canadian university invitees include goaltender Katherine Purchase (Concordia) and defenceman Katelyn Gosling (Western), along with forwards Sarah Bujold (StFX), Claudia Dubois (Concordia), Catherine Dubois (Montreal) and Kaitlin Willoughby (Saskatchewan).

Downie-Landry, a 22-year-old native of St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., led the Martlets last season with 23 goals and 44 points in 35 games overall. A psychology major who earned U SPORTS all-rookie status in her freshman year, the 5-foot-9 centre has posted a 36-36-72 overall record in 71 games played during her first two seasons with McGill.

Daoust, who hails from Valleyfield, Que., won gold at the Sochi Olympics and now coaches with the Montreal Carabins. She graduated from McGill in 2017 with a degree in physical education. The four-time All-Canadian -- a three-time recipient of the Gladys Bean trophy as McGill female athlete of the year -- posted a career record of 116-156-272 in 143 games overall with the Martlets.

The Fall Festival will feature national team prospects split into two squads – Team Red and Team White – to train and compete against each other as well as against local teams over their six-day stay in the Peace Region.

Among the invitees are 17 who captured silver at the PyeongChang Olympics, including Marie-Philip Poulin of Beauceville, Que., who now plays for Montreal in the CWHL and serves as an assistant coach at McGill.

Player selections were led by Gina Kingsbury, Hockey Canada's director of national teams, along with head scout, Melody Davidson.

"We're beginning a new Olympic quad and a new season, and it's exciting to see such a strong talent pool," said Kingsbury, who was a player with the national program from 1999 until her retirement in 2010, winning two Olympic gold medals and three IIHF world championships. "(This allows us to) provide continued development opportunities... while replicating a short-term competition schedule that allows us to evaluate the players in a way that more closely resembles the experience they would have at a Four Nations Cup or IIHF world championship, which is what they're aspiring to achieve."

Olympic coaches to lead at Fall Festival

Two other prominent 2018 Olympic team members headed to Dawson Creek in coaching roles are Perry Pearn and Troy Ryan. Both were assistant coaches with the 2018 Canadian women's Olympic team.The 2018-19 season will see the national team face-off against Finland, Sweden and the United States on home ice, Nov. 6-10, when Saskatoon hosts the Four Nations Cup, and culminate with the 2019 IIHF world championship, April 4-14, in Espoo, Finland.

NATIONAL WOMEN'S TRAINING CAMP ROSTER FOR 2018 FALL FESTIVAL