On October 18, 1996, Hockey Canada named its final 27-woman roster for the tournament. Laura Leslie and Marianne Grnak, two members of the gold medal winning Canadian team at the 1994 IIHF Women's World Championship, were among the final cuts. Forwards Danielle Goyette and Stacy Wilson remained on the roster despite being injured with separated shoulders throughout the tournament. Canada was led by two coaches at the tournament—head coach Shannon Miller and assistant coach Danièle Sauvageau. A third coach, Melody Davidson, was with the team during the evaluation camp but was not named to the final tournament coaching staff.