Marie-Philip Poulin named captain of Les Canadiennes

At this point in her career, there isn’t much that Marie-Philip Poulin hasn’t done. The star forward of Les Canadiennes de Montreal already has two Olympic Gold Medals (both of which she scored the game-winning goals for), a Clarkson Cup, CWHL MVP and the Angela James Bowl as the league’s top scorer. Well, now Poulin can add team captain to her (very long) list of achievements.

Poulin has officially been named the third captain in Les Canadiennes history. She takes over for Cathy Chartrand, who remains on the team. Chartrand will join Caroline Ouellette and Ann-Sophie Bettez as alternate captains for Les Canadiennes this season. Poulin joins the ranks of Natalie Spooner (Toronto), Jocelyne Larocque (Brampton), Brianne Jenner (Calgary) and Tara Watchorn (Boston) as team captains in the CWHL, all of whom are also on Team Canada at the moment.

“Words can not explain how much I am honored by the trust placed in me my teammates,” said Poulin. “I truly believe that everyone in this locker room is a leader. I am so grateful for this opportunity to continue to evolve and learn from my peers.”

This isn’t the first time Poulin has been given this kind of responsibility on a big stage. She served as Team Canada’s captain during the previous two IIHF Women’s World Championships, along with the 4 Nations Cup. It’s largely expected that she’ll serve as Canada’s captain during the Olympics at some point (two gold-medal winning goals will make a strong case for her).

Poulin has yet to claim a gold medal during her captaincy tenure with Hockey Canada. This opportunity with Les Canadiennes will give her a chance to sharpen her leadership skills in preparation for future international competitions. In the meantime, Poulin and her superstar crew of alternates will look to lead Montreal to another Clarkson Cup.