Chloe Primerano is joining the club of Canada’s youngest world championship hockey players.
The 18-year-old North Vancouverite will lace up for Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, running April 9 to 20 in Czechia.
As she and two dozen talented female athletes go for gold, Primerano will be youngest Canadian national defender to play at worlds since Cheryl Pounder in 1994, who was also 18.
At the 10-country tournament in Czechia, Team Canada is shooting for its fourth gold medal in five years.
Primerano, a North Shore Winter Club product, has already made friends on the national team, as she played in the three-game rivalry series against the U.S. last fall. In the second game, Primerano buried a shootout goal to clinch a 5-4 victory for Canada.
That experience has given her a taste of success on a team where many players are at least 10 years her senior.
“I feel like I’m ready,” Primerano told the Canadian Press. “I’m surrounded by pretty amazing players and a great team, so I know they’re going to set me up pretty well, and it’s going to be awesome.
“It’s pretty special, just being able to play on this team with my idols. I’m really excited, and I can’t wait to play with everyone again,” she said.
In January, Primerano capped her historic U18 career at the World Juniors in Finland.
As she captained the team to a 3-0 shutout win the in the final over the U.S., Primerano secured her spot as the all-time leading scorer for the Canadian women’s team. She finished her junior career with 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in 21 games with the squad.
The University of Minnesota student was named the tournament’s Best Defender for the second year in a row.
At the World Championship, Canada will kick off play against Finland in the preliminary round at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Thursday. Next, the Canadians will play the U.S. at 10 a.m. PDT on Sunday, and Czechia at 10 a.m. PDT on Monday.
Quarterfinals start April 17, with the bronze and gold matches April 20.
