The New York Sirens’ starting goaltender is headed to Milano Cortina this February.
Kayle Osborne was one of three Sirens selected to Team Canada’s 23-player roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Hockey Canada announced Friday afternoon. She joins forwards Sarah Fillier and Kristin O’Neill.
But while Fillier and O’Neill had all but solidified their roster spots after appearing in every game of the 2025 Rivalry Series against the United States, Osborne’s footing was far less secure ahead of the January announcement.
Reigning PWHL Goaltender of the Year Ann-Renée Desbiens and Vancouver Goldeneyes starter Emerance Maschmeyer head Team Canada’s goalie room. The IIHF requires each Olympic team to carry three goaltenders, leaving Osborne to fight with the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Eve Gascon for the final spot.
Gascon drew the start in the first of four Rivalry Series games on Nov. 6, allowing four goals on 22 shots. Osborne followed two days later, making 27 saves on 32 shots in a 6-1 USA win. Team Canada chose Osborne over Gascon for the final two Rivalry Series games in December, but she did not appear in either contest, taking a back seat to Desbiens and Maschmeyer.
Yet Osborne’s trip to Edmonton alongside Desbiens and Maschmeyer was no guarantee of an Olympic roster spot.
Already a two-time finalist for National Goaltender of the Year in just two NCAA seasons, Gascon is well-positioned to succeed Desbiens as Team Canada’s goalie of the future in tournaments to come. No one would have blinked if general manager Gina Kingsbury opted for the 22-year-old college junior over the 23-year-old Osborne, a fifth-round draft pick from 2024.
That’s not to discredit Osborne’s brilliance in 2025-26. In fact, she’s been one of the top up-and-comers in the PWHL this season.
The Sirens are the only team in the League that hasn’t used a backup goalie. That’s largely a testament to Osborne’s steadiness in net, quickly embracing the starting reins after playing just 10 games as a rookie backup to Corinne Schroeder in 2024-25.
“Coming into the year, she wasn’t one of the returning, established starting goalies in the league,” Sirens coach Greg Fargo remarked this week. “But to me, in a short amount of time, she’s proven that she’s amongst the best.”
Osborne made her League-leading 11th start Tuesday and looked no worse for wear. The second-year goalie recorded her third shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over the Toronto Sceptres, making 31 saves en route to her sixth win of the season (6-0-0-5). Her 1.93 goals against average and .930 save percentage both rank fifth among PWHL goalies in 2025-26.
She’s been particularly instrumental in New York’s franchise-record four-game winning streak, sporting a 2.00 GAA and .956 save percentage with two shutouts across her last four games.
Evidently, she did enough to earn a nomination to Team Canada. Osborne and O’Neill will make their Olympic debuts this February–although O’Neill has represented Canada in the IIHF Women’s World Championships since 2021.
Fillier will make her second Olympic appearance after helping Canada capture gold in 2022 at the Beijing Games, where she ranked second with eight goals.
Sirens captain Micah Zandee-Hart cut from Team Canada final roster
New York defender Micah Zandee-Hart wasn’t as fortunate as her teammates. The Sirens captain was among the final cuts despite representing Canada at the 2022 Olympics. Zandee-Hart appeared in all seven games for Team Canada at Beijing, tallying four assists with a plus-six rating.
The 28-year-old has logged top-pair minutes for New York this season, providing a steady presence on the backend.
“I’m a little biased because I’ve played with Micah for a long time, but I think she’s phenomenal,” alternate captain Jaime Bourbonnais said Thursday. “She’s an incredible leader, incredible player. She works so hard. I think this season, she’s really proved how steady she is every time she’s on the ice. I just feel confident that nothing bad is gonna happen, and I think she really deserves it.”
Despite Bourbonnais’ shining endorsement, Kingsbury opted for a different look on the blue line. Ottawa Charge defenders Kati Tabin and Jocelyne Larocque rounded out a seven-player defensive corps headlined by two PWHL Defenders of the Year, Renata Fast and Erin Ambrose.
Team Canada aims to repeat as gold medalists after a successful 2022 tournament. Their five gold medals are the most of any nation since the IOC added women’s hockey to the Winter Games in 1998.
Olympic play begins Feb. 5 in Milan-Cortina.
