MONTREAL — The Montreal Victoire are confident Ann-Renée Desbiens will return to action in the near future.
Whether that’s soon enough to suit up between the pipes for Canada at the women’s world hockey championship still needs to be determined.
“It’s the type of injury that needs day-to-day and week-to-week monitoring,” Victoire general manager Danièle Sauvageau said Monday at Verdun Auditorium. "A lot of things can improve.”
Desbiens — Canada’s No. 1 goalie — was named to the national team’s world championship roster despite sustaining what appeared to be a serious lower-body injury March 18 in Professional Women’s Hockey League action against the Boston Fleet.
The Victoire retroactively placed Desbiens on long-term injured reserve, keeping her out for a minimum of 21 days from March 18.
The 30-year-old from Clermont, Que., however, skated in full gear for about half an hour before the Victoire practised Monday. It was her third time on the ice since the injury.
"To see her leave the ice with help from two teammates, you never want to see that,” said Marie-Philip Poulin, captain of the Victoire and Canada. "She looked like she was in a lot of pain. Really happy to see the recovery is going quicker than we thought it would."
Sauvageau said there’s still time to determine Desbiens' availability before Canada opens defence of its world title April 10 against Finland in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia.
All signs point to Desbiens joining Montreal teammates Poulin, Laura Stacey, Jennifer Gardiner, Kristin O’Neill and Erin Ambrose on a flight to Czechia on Wednesday or Thursday for Canada’s pre-camp.
“It’s progressing well, so there’s nothing that says she won’t be able to keep progressing while participating in Canada’s camp," Sauvageau said. “We’ll see once we’re at that date (April 10) whether she’s ready to be a full participant in the world championships."
Sauvageau also said medical teams from the Victoire, PWHL and Hockey Canada would work together with Desbiens to reach a decision.
"Everybody wants the player to be healthy," she said. "No one wants to take risks in any of those federations. If she does go, obviously I trust that she's going to be well-treated."
Countries submit their tournament rosters to the IIHF the day before the tournament starts.
National team general manager Gina Kingsbury hopes Canada doesn't have to make any changes.
"Anything can happen between now and then," she said. "For someone like Ann, we've taken a lot of time to make sure we gather all the information and that she has time for us to see the progress that she's made.
"She's doing very, very well so that's very encouraging that she will be healthy and ready to go, come puck drop."
Canada is already down regular goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, who was placed on long-term injury reserve by the Ottawa Charge after she sustained a lower-body injury in a March 11 game.
Toronto Sceptres goalie Kristen Campbell and 21-year-old Eve Gascon, who plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth, were the other netminders named to Canada’s roster.
Per IIHF rules, Kingsbury said countries cannot roster a fourth goalie. She also doesn't want a non-roster player to fly overseas before the tournament as insurance for Desbiens, knowing there's a good chance the team will register three goalies.
"If we have to make the change, we wouldn't hesitate to fly a goalie over and have her join our team," she said, adding that different rules apply to goalies. "We can make that change during the tournament as well."
Desbiens backstopped Canada to gold at the 2022 Olympics and three world championships, including last year’s triumph over the Americans in Utica, N.Y.
This season, she leads the PWHL in wins (13), save percentage (. 932) and goals-against average (1.85).
"She's been in great spirits, honestly, since (the injury)," Ambrose said. "It's nice to have that as a little bit of a relief. She's the best goalie in the world, so obviously here in Montreal, world championships, we want her there."
The Victoire signed goaltender Tricia Deguire to a standard player agreement while Desbiens remains out.
League-leading Montreal (11-6-3-6) clinched a playoff spot with last week’s 4-1 win over the Minnesota Frost and has four games remaining in the regular season.
Elaine Chuli is expected to take the net when the Victoire play their final game before the three-week international break Tuesday against the New York Sirens at Place Bell in Laval, Que.
The Sirens (6-4-4-12) are last in the six-team PWHL and are fighting to stay in the playoffs race.
Despite New York’s subpar record, Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie doesn’t expect Tuesday night’s game to be a walk in the park. The Sirens are led by star forward Sarah Fillier, who ranks second in league scoring with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists).
"They're a dangerous team, they've got a lot of firepower on the other side," Cheverie said. "A team that you know is trying to still make playoffs, but also probably is playing with a little less pressure on their shoulders, it's a dangerous team to play against."
— With files from Donna Spencer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
