Troy Ryan doesn鈥檛 put much stock into the word 鈥渄efending.鈥�

It鈥檚 not something Canada鈥檚 coach emphasizes when it comes to the aggressive, push-the-puck style his team introduced to women鈥檚 hockey when outscoring the competition .

And it鈥檚 not something Ryan is going to stress despite the Canadians being the two-time defending world champions entering the International Ice Hockey Federation tournament this week.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to sit back and defend. So off-ice, it鈥檚 our same mentality,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淲hy should we try to defend anything? We want to win something, right?鈥�

Catch Canada if you can might well be the message Ryan and his experience-laden roster has for the rest of the globe 鈥� and specifically the rival United States 鈥� in preparing to open the 10-nation, 12-day world championships on home soil in suburban Toronto on Wednesday.

鈥淲e鈥檙e focused on winning this world championship. We don鈥檛 feel any extra pressure because we won a couple,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 win another one. That鈥檚 the mindset.鈥�

If that鈥檚 the case in a sport in which , much of the burden falls on a younger, retooling USA team to stand in the Canadians鈥� way.

It won鈥檛 be easy, said , whose team features five skaters making their world tournament debuts, and without captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, who is taking this year off after announcing her pregnancy.

鈥淲e have an opportunity that鈥檚 legit to grow the game here,鈥� Wroblewski said of a roster including 12 skaters who played at the college level this season.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 one that really does set up well for success in this tournament,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nd whether or not we can catch up to Canada athletically and with our lack of experience at the end of day is what will determine where we stack up.鈥�

Canada is the favorite with a roster featuring one player making her national team debut in forward Danielle Serdachny, coming off a college season at Colgate in which she led the nation with 70 points in 39 games.

Otherwise, Canada鈥檚 lineup is led by established stars such as , who has four gold-medal clinching goals against the Americans in Olympic and world competition, Sarah Nurse, who鈥檚 19 points in 2022 were an Olympic record, and Brianne Jenner, who scored both goals over the U.S. in last year鈥檚 world championship final.

American forward Hilary Knight isn鈥檛 conceding anything in preparing to compete in her 13th world tournament.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hungry and we鈥檙e ready for any obstacle and opportunity that comes our way,鈥� the 33-year-old said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e seen the best Team USA yet.鈥�

, before the Americans beat Canada 5-2 in the preliminary round and fell short in the final in Denmark.

For Wroblewski, the loss was a lesson in how tenacious Canada became with a medal on the line, and something he hopes to address this time by getting the Americans to set the tone earlier with the high-tempo style he鈥檚 introduced. He鈥檚 also counting on having his relatively new group of players gel and develop as the tournament progresses.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be the team that can peak in these international competitions that is usually the one that ends up winning,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we really will have to ascend to catch (Canada) and jump over them in this short period of time.鈥�

Aside from Knight, the Americans feature several familiar faces in forwards Alex Carpenter and Amanda Kessel and defender Lee Stecklein. The youth movement is headed by defender Caroline Harvey, who helped Wisconsin win an NCAA title in her freshman season, and Minnesota鈥檚 Taylor Heise, who had a tournament-leading 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in her worlds debut last year.

The U.S. is young in goal, too. Though Nicole Hensley returns for her fifth tournament, she鈥檒l be backed up by Aerin Frankel, who had one mop-up role appearance last year, and newcomer Abbey Levy.

Canada is led in goal by Ann-Renee Desbiens, who has a combined 18-0 record in Olympic and world championship play, and backed up by Emerance Maschmeyer (6-2).

Desbiens eagerly anticipates resuming Canada鈥檚 rivalry against the U.S.

鈥淲e want bragging rights,鈥� Desbiens said.

鈥淵ou always want to beat the best team, play against the best team. And they鈥檝e been the team that鈥檚 given us the most opposition,鈥� she added, referring to the Americans. 鈥淪o obviously, we love playing them, we love beating them, and we鈥檙e going to keep going that way.鈥�

A tournament subplot features a growing rivalry between the Czech Republic and Finland. The Czechs made the jump to the A Pool after a 2-1 overtime win over Finland in last year鈥檚 quarterfinals, and then defeated Switzerland to win their first bronze medal in tournament play.

The loss relegated Finland to the B Pool a mere three years after the Finns upset Canada at the 2019 world championships and won silver after a shootout loss to the United States.

鈥淎 little angry about that,鈥� Finland coach Juuso Toivola said of being relegated. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not the way we want to play. And that鈥檚 not the level we are. So we are full of strength to do better this time.鈥�

鈥擩ohn Wawrow, The Associated Press