Why Marie-Philip Poulin, the best women’s hockey player in the world, picks up all the pucks after warmup
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Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin looks on during warmups prior to Saturday’s game against Switzerland at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Poulin makes a habit of clearing the pucks out of her team’s net before they begin a game.Sarah Stier/Getty Images
In the moments before Canada’s opening game in women’s hockey at the Olympics, Marie-Philip Poulin did something that would be considered highly unusual in the hockey world.
After nearly every other Canadian player had headed off the ice, Poulin bent down on one knee and started fishing pucks out of the net, before stacking them carefully in the crease.
In most leagues, that’s rookie duty. In the NHL they have people who do that.
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You usually don’t see captains picking up the pucks – not to mention someone widely considered to be one of the greatest women’s hockey players of all time. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and winner of 19 medals internationally.
But watch Canada’s warm-up closely and you’ll usually see Poulin doing the grunt work at the end.
Sitting a few metres away, a few rows up from the ice, Team Canada general manager Gina Kingsbury felt nostalgic.
Clearing out the net after warmup is a hallmark of the Canadian program. No puck is left behind the goal line. Kingsbury did it when she played, winning gold for Canada at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics.
“It’s something we’ve always done,” Kingsbury said. “That’s been in our program for as long as I can remember.”
It’s a symbolic gesture. Work hard; keep pucks out of your own net.
Poulin has put a lot of them in over her career. With 17 goals at the Olympics, she needs one more in Milan to tie Hayley Wickenheiser for the most in history.
But she’s also not averse to doing some rookie duty before some of the biggest games of her life.
“It’s usually Poulin,” Kingsbury said.
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