10 U.S. and Canada Women's Hockey Players to Expect at 2018 Olympic Games

While the women’s hockey powers are preparing to play for gold at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the growth of the game has many fans already looking even further ahead.

As the women’s game now consists of competition at the under-18 and under-22 levels, the future is unfolding at every event. National teams are using these events to evaluate and determine which talent will be worthy of consideration for the 2018 Winter Olympics, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The IIHF World Women's U18 Championships helped introduce fans to the likes of players such as Bailey Bram, Marie-Philip Poulin and Natalie Spooner.

The following are American and Canadian names such as these to which fans can look forward to hearing in 2018.

Erin Ambrose, Canada

Having grown up idolizing Cassie Campbell, Erin Ambrose could not have asked for a better role model.

She had the opportunity to meet her idol in June 2012 at a Hockey Canada gala where Ambrose was part of a ring ceremony and Campbell was deservedly celebrated as the first female recipient of the Order of Hockey in Canada.

A captain with the under-18 national team, Ambrose earned gold medals at the IIHF U18 worlds both in 2010 and 2012.

Having graduated to the under-22 team, Ambrose will be perfecting her game at the NCAA level with the Clarkson Golden Knights.

Despite playing on defense, Ambrose is a quick skater with very precise passing. In the same mold as Geraldine Heaney (the first great Canadian defender), Ambrose will be the cornerstone of the Canadian blue line for many years to come.

Melodie Daoust, Canada

Following in the footsteps of great French Canadian players such as France St. Louis, Nancy Drolet and Caroline Ouellette, Daoust is poised to be the next great superstar to hail from La Belle Province. She first made headlines when her junior team won 62 out of 64 games during the 2008-09 season.

Daoust has played for the Canadian national team at the under-18 and under-22 levels and was named to the roster of the 2011 Four Nations Cup.

A scoring prodigy for the legendary McGill Martlets, she will be counted upon to keep the strong tradition of winning intact for the proud program.

At the 2006 Torino Games and the 2010 Vancouver Games, the gold-medal-winning goals were both scored by French Canadian skaters (Caroline Ouellette and Marie-Philip Poulin, respectively).

Should Canada find itself in the gold-medal game of the 2018 Winter Games, Daoust will be the skater to count on to notch the game-winning tally.

Emerance Maschmeyer, Canada

Only the second female to play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Maschmeyer is eager to follow in the footsteps of her hero, Shannon Szabados.

Already the proud owner of a Winter Games gold medal, Szabados was the first woman to play in the AJHL. Szabados has been a mentor to the young Maschmeyer, having met her at The Brick Invitational in Edmonton.

In her young career, Maschmeyer played the game of her life in the gold-medal game of the IIHF World Women's U18 Championships. She stood between the pipes and logged a shutout as Canada prevailed by a 2-0 margin over tally.

Heading to Harvard University to play for the legendary Katey Stone, Maschmeyer is following in the footsteps of Ali Boe and Christine Kessler as great Harvard backstops, while aiming for Winter Games glory like her idol, Shannon Szabados.

Jillian Saulnier, Canada

Hailing from Atlantic Canada, Saulnier is following in the footsteps of another great hockey prodigy from the Atlantic region, Sidney Crosby.

A veteran of the Canadian under-18 and under-22 national teams, Saulnier claimed gold at the 2010 IIHF World Women's U18 Championships. With the Cornell Big Red of the NCAA, Saulnier made a strong impression in her freshman campaign.

The 2012 ECAC rookie of the year, Saulnier ranked third in conference scoring, with 52 points. She was a three-time ECAC rookie of the week, and won two rookie of the month awards, too.

In her first-ever NCAA game, she scored four goals versus the Colgate Raiders. Her first three NCAA games saw Saulnier accumulate an astounding 10 points.

Laura Stacey, Canada

The great granddaughter of the legendary King Clancy, Laura Stacey is proudly continuing in his legacy. Her great uncle Terry Clancy participated for Canada at the 1964 Winter Games, and Stacey should find herself in that familiar role in 2018.

A gold medalist with the Canadian under-18 squad, she is hoping to lead the under-22 squad to gold at the 2013 Meco Cup.

Headed to Dartmouth College, where great Canadian legends like Gillian Apps and Cherie Piper honed their trade, she will be the centerpiece in the Big Green’s offense.

With great skating skills and tremendous speed, Stacey is poised to be the next Jayna Hefford.

Hannah Brandt, United States

After registering an 80-point season with the prestigious Hill-Murray High School in Minnesota, Brandt was recognized as the 2012 winner of the Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award. Past winners of the award include Gigi Marvin and Krissy Wendell, who both went on to represent the United States in ice hockey at the Winter Games.

After a high-school career that saw her accumulate 334 total points, Brandt will be helping the University of Minnesota try to win a second consecutive NCAA Frozen Four title this year.

A gold medalist with the U.S. team at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championships, Brandt was invited to USA Hockey's evaluation camp for the 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships.

Alexandra Carpenter, United States

She is the daughter of Stanley Cup champion Bobby Carpenter (the first American-born player to score 50 goals in one season in the NHL), so hockey is in her blood.

A three-time member of the U.S. under-18 national team, Alexandra Carpenter was the youngest member (15 years old) of the silver-medal winning team at the 2010 Under 18 IIHF World Women's U18 Championships.

Named the best forward at the 2011 and 2012 IIHF World Women's U18 Championships, Carpenter has also displayed her great hockey skills at the NCAA level. As a member of the Boston College Eagles, her coach is Katie King, a member of the gold-medal-winning ice-hockey squad at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games.

The Hockey East rookie of the month in October and December 2011, Carpenter is poised to proudly follow in her father's footsteps.

Alex Rigsby, United States

In the eternal rivalry between Canada and the United States, the one key position at which Canada has dominated is that of goaltender. Elite backstops such as Kim St. Pierre, Charline Labonte and Shannon Szabados have led Canada to three consecutive Winter Games gold medals.

If one goaltender can stand between the pipes for the United States and help the USA usurp Canada’s role as the world’s best, it may be Alex Rigsby.

Having competed for the United States at the under-18 and under-22 levels, Rigsby has enjoyed unprecedented success against her Canadian counterparts. In August 2012, she won both games she started in as the US swept Canada in a three-game exhibition series against the Canadian under-22 team.

While Rigsby merits consideration for Sochi 2014, she would be there in a third-string capacity and may prefer waiting a few more years.

A goaltender with the Wisconsin Badgers, Rigsby has led the squad to consecutive appearances in the national championship game.

Poised to break all of Jessie Vetter’s goaltending records with the Badgers, Rigsby is making a name for herself as one of the best in the world.

Paige Savage, United States

A native of Carrollton, Texas, Savage is poised to be the biggest women's ice hockey star ever to hail from the Lone Star State.

Having participated in boys hockey in Texas with the Alliance Bulldogs and Dallas Jr. Stars, Savage moved on to the North American Hockey Academy in Vermont.

In the gold-medal-winning effort for the United States at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championships, Savage earned an assist.

A 2012 second-team All-Star in the Junior Women's Hockey League, Savage has committed to join the New Hampshire Wildcats in the NCAA.

Haley Skarupa, United States

Having committed to the Boston College Eagles, Skarupa will be reunited with USA Hockey teammate Alexandra Carpenter. The two should be able to duplicate the magic that they created in helping the United States to a convincing gold-medal win at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championships.

A member of the U.S. senior national team that won the silver at the 2010 Four Nations Cup in Newfoundland, Skarupa is already familiar with the prestige of playing with living legends like Jenny Potter and Julie Chu.

Skarupa was the leading scorer among all players at the 2012 IIHF World Women's U18 Championships; it would come as no surprise if she led all skaters in scoring at Pyeongchang 2018.