Barnes Out For Remainder Of Rivalry Series, Could Miss PWHL Camp

Aside from a huge win from Team USA last night in San Jose against Team Canada, the news coming out of the game was Cayla Barnes’ injury.

At the very end of the second period, Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin and Barnes collided near the boards. The latter fell oddly on the ice, before hitting the boards hard with her right skate. She stayed on the ice for several minutes and wasn’t able to put weight on her right leg while being escorted off the ice, nor was she able to walk on it after. Consequently, she didn’t come back in the third period.

USA Hockey provided an update on Barnes' status to The Hockey News.

"Cayla is with the team and traveling to Salt Lake City with everyone this morning. She has a lower body injury and it’s expected that she will not be available for the remaining two November Rivalry Series games."

The two remaining games are scheduled for November 8 and November 10. The way she fell and the way she held her foot right after, it would be surprising if the injury is anything but a foot or an ankle injury.

It is a blow for Team USA, as Barnes is a regular member of the team at the international level since the 2018 Olympics. In 2019, she was named to the All-Star Team at the World Championship, and in 2023, she was USA’s second-best scoring rearguard behind only Caroline Harvey. Her level of play helped the Americans to win a gold and a silver at the Olympics, as well as two gold medals and two silver medals at the worlds.

An injury that could impact the PWHL's Montreal Victoire

Barnes' injury is also a huge misfortune for the Montreal Victoire. GM Daniele Sauvageau drafted Barnes in the first round, just ahead of Canadian forward Julia Gosling, with the fifth overall pick of the 2024 PWHL Draft. Barnes then signed a three-year contract over the summer with Montreal and fans were looking forward to seeing her at the start of the season. She has all the qualities to be that number two defender the team was looking for last season.

Depending on the severity of the injury, and with PWHL training camps starting in less than five days, one can wonder if Barnes will be ready for the start of the camp, and perhaps even the beginning of the season.

Asked for a comment on the situation, a Montreal Victoire spokesperson told The Hockey News that “Cayla was taken care of by USA Hockey doctors. She is in good hands. As for us, we will give an update when the players report back for training camp.”

Details on PWHL training camps

Montreal’s training camp is starting next Tuesday with the medicals. The first on-ice practice is scheduled for Thursday, November 14 at Verdun Auditorium, so it would give Barnes a full week to recover if the injury is not too serious.

A mini camp will also be held from November 19 to November 22 in Verdun. Montreal, Boston and Ottawa will play another during that week. According to the schedule the league shared last month, Montreal will play Boston on November 20 and Ottawa on November 22, both games scheduled for 2 p.m. Those scrimmages will be closed to the public and won’t be available online. Rosters for the 2024-25 season have to be finalized by November 27.