A victory for women’s hockey

Team Canada’s Poulin beats a stellar field of finalists for athlete of the year honours

Just another step forward in a long journey.

At one point in time or another, many things seemed unthinkable for women’s hockey. That it could be part of the Olympics. That there could be a women’s world championship. That a woman could skate just as fast as the men in the skills competition at the NHL All-Star Game.

One by one, they’ve all become realities.

Having Marie-Philip Poulin, Captain Clutch, recognized as the best Canadian athlete of 2022 on Wednesday was clearly another important step for not only the development of the women’s game, but to further cement women as equal partners in the culture of the sport in Canada.

Think about it. Hockey Canada has had an absolutely horrific year. For a player, a key figure in the Hockey Canada universe, to emerge from that nightmare and be recognized as this year’s winner of the Northern Star Award is an extraordinary feat.

“This puts our sport on another stage, where it’s never been before,” said former national team star Cassie Campbell-Pascall. “I just hope it leads to even bigger and better things. It’s another step to where we want to go.”

Poulin, 31, is the first female hockey player recognized with this award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh. She is the 10th hockey player to win since 1936, joining a list that includes Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Guy Lafleur and Sidney Crosby. The last hockey player to win was Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price in 2015.

“To me, it’s what happens when you put your head down and do the work when nobody’s watching,” Poulin told a media conference. “I didn’t know I was the first one. It’s a real honour. The ladies I watched on TV, they were my role models. They’re my idols.

“I’m not going to be the only one. There will be more to come.”

Poulin emerged as the winner from a long list of talented Canadians in voting by a panel of 34 Canadian media members. In all, 19 athletes were nominated and six became finalists: Poulin, tennis player Félix Auger-Aliassime, golfer Brooke Henderson, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar, Paralympics skier Brian McKeever and swimmer Summer McIntosh.

The debate was fierce, particularly given that Auger-Aliassime recently led Canada to the Davis Cup, Henderson won her second major, Makar won both the Norris and Conn Smythe trophies, McKeever again won gold in all three of his disciplines at the Paralympic Games and McIntosh emerged as Canada’s next swimming superstar.

Poulin, however, carried the day both for career excellence and key moments for Canada in 2022.

“For how good (Poulin) is — and I’ll say she’s the best ever to play — she’s just so humble,” CampbellPascall said. “She’s the complete package. Great player, great person and a great leader.

“I think that’s what makes her so special. This kind of stuff almost bothers her because she doesn’t want to take away from the team.”

Former Team Canada captain Hayley Wickenheiser, once considered the best women’s player in the world, said Poulin was “dominant” in a year in which Canada won both the Olympics and world championship.

The Northern Star Award “serves to highlight the heightened awareness and respect given to the female game and it’s great to see,” Wickenheiser said.

Poulin’s noteworthy moments weren’t confined to her play. She was also hired by the Montreal Canadiens in June as a player development consultant, part of a growing group of women finding jobs in the NHL.

When the Hockey Canada scandal broke, a controversy that cost the entire board and chief executive officer their jobs, Poulin was a leader in issuing a statement from the national team demanding change and greater input for women’s hockey.

“We take our role as leaders on the national team seriously and with great pride,” read the statement. “As role models for young women, we will ensure that women’s rights, whether they be players, fans or others, are protected and guaranteed.”

Poulin also spoke out last December when the IIHF women’s under-18 championship was cancelled, while the men’s world junior tournament was allowed to proceed. That she is viewed as an influential figure in the sport for both men and women is just another measure of how far the women’s game has come.

Poulin has scored goals in four different Olympics, including golden goals in 2010 and 2014, and is expected to stay on for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. At the Beijing Olympics in February, Poulin scored what turned out to be the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over the United States for the gold medal. She shared flag-bearer duties with short-track speedskater Charles Hamelin at the closing ceremony in China.

The immediate future of women’s pro hockey remains uncertain, with the seven-team Premier Hockey Federation now the only league after the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded in 2019. Poulin, a key part of the ongoing Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association Dream Gap Tour that will have its all-star game in Ottawa this weekend, clearly sees her role in the sport beyond personal accomplishments.

“We’re just trying to pave the road for the next generation,” Poulin told TSN. “I’m pretty fortunate with the career I’ve had.”

Her trophy case is filled with gold. She was one of the first women featured on EA Sports NHL video games.

Now she joins the greatest athletes in Canadian history by winning the Northern Star Award.

The higher Poulin rises, the higher the game goes with her.