Canada looks to ‘Captain Clutch’ Marie-Philip Poulin in her fifth Olympic Games

Marie-Philip Poulin of Canada, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring her sides second goal during the semifinal match between Canada and Finland at the Women's Ice Hockey Championships in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Sarah Nurse was proud of her ability to beat Marie-Philip Poulin in the faceoff circle in their first season as Professional Women’s Hockey League opponents.

“I was like, ‘I can’t beat her in much, but I beat her in faceoffs,’” Nurse said.

“Last season, she took it to me. I was, like, ‘dang, you’ve gotten better, you kind of figured me out.’

“She’s still adapting and growing and learning, even after she’s been to four Olympic Games. Is it just four? And accomplished so much within the sport.”

The only player, male or female, to score goals in four Olympic hockey finals is again Canada’s cornerstone of the 2026 Olympic women’s hockey tournament in Milan, Italy.

Canada opens its defence of its gold medal Thursday, which is the day before the opening ceremonies, against Finland at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

With 17 career goals, Poulin is poised to surpass her former Canadian teammate Hayley Wickenheiser’s record of 18 for the most in Olympic women’s hockey.

But gold, not records, is what drives the 34-year-old from Beauceville, Que.

“I don’t care about individual (records) at all,” Poulin has said. “I really don’t care.”

At age 18, Poulin scored twice in host Canada’s 2-0 win over the United States in the 2010 final in Vancouver.

She was electric four years later in Sochi, Russia, when Poulin produced not only the equalizer with 55 seconds left, but the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over the Americans in a where-were-you-when moment in Canadian hockey history.

Poulin generated Canada’s second goal in a 3-2 shootout loss to their archrivals in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018. And Poulin scored twice, including the game-winner, when Canada reclaimed gold from the U.S. in 2022 in Beijing.

The United States took seven of eight games against Canada in 2025, including the world championship final in overtime.

But American head coach John Wroblewski is wary of what Poulin brings in the game’s big moments.

“When you’ve got Poulin on your team, you can’t bet against her, unfortunately,” he said. “You’re going into most of those games knowing you’re down half a goal because she’s going to get an assist or a goal in one of those games.”

Canadian goalie and Poulin’s Montreal Victoire teammate Ann-Renée Desbiens has a front-row seat on what makes her captain a high-stakes gamer, and also what makes Poulin an elevator of people around her.

“I know everybody talks about the big moments while she’s always clutch, but people don’t realize that she does this in every practice, in every game, when nobody’s watching, when nobody is there,” Desbiens said.

“She puts so much work in when nobody else is watching. She makes sure she books extra ice time in the morning if she has a busy day.

“She has definitely dragged me up in a way. Her practice habits, you want to be the best goalie you can be for her, too, so if you play against her in practice, you want to make her better; she wants to make you better.

“She will challenge you and hold you accountable to a very high standard. It’s the same in the gym. You see her adding weights, you’re adding weights, and she adds weight, and at one point, you’re like, ‘I can’t add weights and keep up with you anymore,’ but I’ll definitely do my max as well. She’s just that kind of person that’s super competitive at everything she does, but she’s also very supportive of you.”

Poulin will join Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford for the most Olympic women’s hockey appearances by a Canadian at five.

Poulin, who married Victoire and Canadian teammate Laura Stacey in 2024, was noncommittal about whether Italy will be her Olympic swansong or if a sixth in 2030 is in the cards for her.

“There’s no timeline,” Poulin said. “I really want to enjoy the moment. I want to take it in. I’m going into my fifth. I can’t believe that, honestly.

“The love I have for the game, the love I have for my teammates, is something that for sure keeps me going.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press