Hannah Miller’s dreams of representing her birth country have been squashed.
The IIHF ruled on Monday that Miller is ineligible to play for Canada at the 2025 women’s world championships because she did not meet the two-year timeline since last playing overseas.
“We are extremely disappointed to learn that Hannah is not able to compete for Canada at the upcoming world championship,” said Toronto Sceptres general manager Gina Kingsbury in a statement. “We remained optimistic and believed she had met all the conditions outlined by the IIHF to represent her country, including the two-year timeline around the transfer portal.
“Hannah has worked hard this season, earned a spot on our roster and we will look forward to future opportunities for her to wear the Maple Leaf.”
Miller, who was born in Vancouver, B.C., represented Canada in her junior years as part of the U18 team. Ahead of the 2022 Olympics, however, she was named to the Chinese national team. The details of her eligibility were not made public, although she retained her Canadian citizenship while competing for China. In 2024, China removed all players with dual passports from their roster, leaving Miller without a national team.
Canada originally named Miller to their women’s world championship roster on March 21, but she has now been replaced by Julia Gosling.
Gosling, who also plays for the Sceptres, made her world championship debut last year with Canada, helping them win their 13th gold medal.