There were not nearly the amount of eyes on women’s hockey on February 24, 2019, but it was where my mind went to as soon as I saw Marie-Philip Poulin labouring on the bench at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
On that date, the final regular-season game of the CWHL season, Poulin went down at centre ice. It wasn’t immediately clear what happened, whether she simply got her foot stuck in a rut on the ice or if it was an awkward collision that ended badly. There weren’t cameras, and there weren’t any replays. All that we know is that she had hurt her knee and left the game. The women’s hockey world was different back then.
At the time, we were told she would be expected back for the playoffs. It was not the case.
In the Clarkson Cup Final that year, she would dress in uniform, but would not play a single shift. Les Canadiennes lost that game, Poulin watching on as helpless as she was in the box in Milan against the Americans. Her most notable moment, like Tuesday against the Americans, an incredulous reaction to an official’s review that went against her team.
For the World Championship that April, Poulin worked her way back to stay on the roster. In the opening game against Switzerland, she was in the lineup, but did not play a shift. Against the Americans, she was on the lineup sheet, but did not play that game either. Finally, against Russia, she was set to play. She played seven shifts, and 4:44, but re-injured herself and left the game. For the team’s next round-robin game against Finland, they wouldn’t even put her on the lineup card. Her tournament was done.
That year, Canada eventually lost 4-2 to Finland in the semi-final and would end up winning bronze for the first time ever at the World Championship.
The loss to the Americans on Tuesday was bad. Worse than the 3-2 game they lost to the Americans in 2019 without their captain. Much worse. As they get set to face Finland in the preliminary round, the stakes are not nearly as high as a semi-final without their captain, however this isn’t a World Championship. It’s the Olympics. Perhaps – and it feels surreal to even type this out – her last.
In the back of my head, I feel it can’t end this way. That even if – if – Poulin, who is listed as day-to-day, doesn’t skate another shift in these Games, she will be back in 2030. But we don’t know that for sure.
I had that feeling in 2019, too. After seeing Poulin watch a Championship game from the bench, I figured there would be another chance. This one not four years down the road, but seven months. As it turned out, that optimism was misguided. The CWHL announced if would fold before the World Championships even dropped the puck. That seven months I thought I’d have to wait to see that team try for another championship never came. Poulin wouldn’t play another professional league game for almost five years.
The fact that Poulin is listed as day-to-day honestly doesn’t mean much. The Gold Medal game is a week from Thursday, there simply aren’t that many days left. I suppose it is notable that she wasn’t immediately ruled out for the tournament at the very least.
For better or worse, Poulin’s career has been defined by the Olympics. It was her coming out party. Her emergence into a star. Her cementing her status as one of the greatest hockey players of all-time. Her career path from clutch 18-year-old in Vancouver to Captain Clutch is seen in four-year cycles, despite everything else that happened in between.
The possibility – no matter how small it is, it’s not zero – of that being over is devastating.
The last few days have brought back a lot of memories, most of them not that great. Maybe that’s clouding my view of the current moment. Every injury is different with tons of different variables. The fact is, we simply don’t know, and honestly that almost just makes it worse.
