“At this stage, we don’t have that depth of talent. My commitment is to put the best Canadian players in that league, and I can’t make that commitment at this point.”

“For me, this was definitely a flashback,” said Labbe. “From the Aviators to the Alberta team, I was going back to my roots. Definitely, in 2002, when the under-19 championship was here, that was my first exposure to the national team. I was in the stadium watching them. Now, to be back here, with the national team, it feels like I have come full circle.”

And even though the late autumn/early winter conditions in Edmonton won’t be anything close to the July conditions we’ll see at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, Herdman said that getting a friendly in at the stadium where Canada will open the tournament will be vital to the team’s preparations. And, he said the cold can be a coaching tool, to see “if the players can focus on the task at hand.”

“I was talking to my mom last week, and she told me that John might not be coming back,” said national-team keeper Erin McLeod, who was in Calgary Thursday for the launch of the elite women’s team. “I almost had a heart attack. He’s been so phenomenal for this group. For me, especially, I can’t imagine playing for anyone else.”

On Wednesday, on the road in Paderborn against another elite national team, the Germans, the Canadians lost 1-0. But even though the scoreline was less severe, it was a more sobering reality check than the match against the U.S.

Canadian women's national-team coach John Herdman has revealed the 18-player roster for June 19's friendly against Germany in Paderborn.

If any of the players, especially the attackers, excel at the camp, they may have decent shots at getting looks from the senior squad, as well.

“If anyone in Canada has players up front, there’s definitely some shirts available,” Herdman said.

“I expect some changes will be made, that’s par for the course,” said Herdman.

"The last 30 minutes of the game really caused us a few problems. The U.S. finally got Morgan released and that was the game plan — to keep Morgan and Wambach quiet," said Herdman.