Dubbed “one of the greatest clutch players this country has ever produced,” Canadian women’s hockey team captain Marie-Philip Poulin has been named 2022 Female Athlete of the Year by The Canadian Press.
“It completes the year. I think 2022, when I take some time for myself and think back, is pretty amazing, not just personally, but as a group,” Poulin told CP.
“A big thank you to the people who voted, but it goes to the people around me, my teammates.”
The 31-year-old forward from Beauceville, Que., this year became the only hockey player in the world, male or female, to score in four consecutive Olympic finals.
His two goals, including the eventual game-winning goal, led Canada to a 3-2 win over rival USA for the gold medal Feb. 17 at Wukesong Arena in Beijing.
With quick passing and shooting, outstanding hockey sense and a sense of the occasion, Poulin scored seven goals in his four Olympic finals, including a late equalizer and an overtime victory in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
She captained Canada to back-to-back world championships in 2021 and 2022 after a run of five consecutive titles in the United States.
After scoring the OT winner in the 2021 World Finals in Calgary, Poulin had five goals and five assists in seven games in September when Canada defended their crown in Herning, Denmark.
“Poulin played a huge role in one of the most successful team performances in a long time,” said Victoria Times-Colonist editor Brian Drewry. “She led on and off the ice while thriving in the spotlight.”
The Canadian Press began recognizing male and female athletes of the year in 1932.
The CP Male Athlete of the Year will be announced on Thursday and the Team of the Year on Friday.
Finishing first in this year’s poll of sportswriters and broadcasters across the country with 22 out of 48 votes, Poulin was called “the quintessential big game player.”
Swimmer Summer McIntosh ranked second among voters with 10.
Poulin is the second hockey player to be voted Female Athlete of the Year by The Canadian Press after Hayley Wickenheiser in 2007.
Poulin is also only the third woman in a team sport to earn this honor after Wickenheiser and soccer player Christine Sinclair (2012, 2020).
Poulin is uncomfortable talking about herself, but explained why she performs when the stakes in hockey are high.
“Sometimes you think ‘why do you train so hard? Nobody’s there, nobody’s watching’, but at the end of your life, that’s the job you do when nobody’s watching,” said Poulin.
“It’s that extra rep, an extra mile just to maybe one day be ready when that big moment happens. That’s how I’ve been training my whole life. That extra rep, no matter when it goes show up, or when it matters, you know when those big times are coming, you’re ready.”
Canadian women’s hockey coach Troy Ryan agrees that Poulin prepares for crucial situations every day of his hockey life.
“She treats the really simple moments as really big moments,” Ryan said. “If she’s missing something in a typical rehearsal in practice, you can tell she’s not happy with herself. There’s a perfection hidden in her.
“I will see a player going down the wing in practice, a little lazy, leaning on one foot and having a 75% shot on goal. I trained Poulin for five years and I never saw her do it. I never saw his half ass playing.
“When you play with that mentality, why wouldn’t you want the puck on your stick at the end of a game?”
What is less visible is Poulin’s off-ice captaincy style. The COVID-19 pandemic derailed the hockey lives of Canadian players for nearly two years before Beijing.
Poulin is driving a team culture where players are free to be who they are and feel their contributions are valued, which translates to on-ice performance, Ryan said.
“She’s pretty easy to follow. She does so many good things on the ice,” he said. “The stuff she does off the ice, I don’t think a lot of people would really see.
“You admire her as the player and performer that she is, and the work she puts into it on the ice, but then she has the ability to make you feel good about who you are off the ice.”
With 97 goals and 103 assists in 166 career games for Canada, Poulin ranks fifth all-time behind Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford, Caroline Ouellette and Danielle Goyette.
Wickenheiser, Hefford and Goyette are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Poulin is one of the women fighting for a sustainable professional women’s hockey league. His name gives the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) star power to pursue him.
Outside of the national team, Poulin plays in exhibition matches and tournaments as part of the PWHPA’s Dream Gap Tour.
The NHL’s Montreal Canadiens also hired Poulin as a player development consultant this year.
“I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us,” Poulin said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on December 28, 2022.
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