OLYMPICS: Canada's 'Captain Clutch' Poulin heads to fifth Games seeking more ice hockey gold

Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin, famously nicknamed “Captain Clutch,” heads into her fifth Winter Olympics as a rare combination of longevity, leadership, and big-moment brilliance—qualities that have made her the face of women’s ice hockey for more than a decade.

Poulin made her Olympic debut in 2010 and has reached the final in all four of her appearances, winning three gold medals. She is the only player, male or female, to score in four consecutive Olympic gold medal games. Her nickname comes from her knack for scoring not just any goals, but the ones that matter most—she has netted three game-winning goals in Olympic finals.

Poulin first appeared for Canada’s senior team in 2007, scoring four goals and recording an assist in two games against Sweden at just 16 years old. A year later, she was the leading scorer at the inaugural Under-18 World Championship.

Canada brought her to the senior World Championship the following year, where she scored in both preliminary group games. After impressing at the Olympic tryout camp, Poulin earned a spot on the 2010 Olympic squad.

Despite Canada hosting the Games and carrying high expectations, Poulin, then 18, was not expected to play a major role on a team filled with established stars. She quickly proved otherwise. In the gold medal match against the United States, she scored twice in the first three minutes, helping Canada secure a 2-0 victory.

Four years later in Sochi, Poulin again came through when it mattered. She scored in the final minute of the third period to tie the game 2-2 against the U.S. and then netted the overtime winner. In 2018, the U.S. won gold in a shootout, but Poulin had put Canada ahead 2-1 before the Americans rallied. Most recently, in Beijing, she scored twice in a 3-2 win over the U.S., reclaiming Olympic gold.

Milano Cortina could be Poulin’s final Olympics, and if Canada reaches the final, all eyes are likely to be on her once again.

“There is pressure,” Poulin told the Canadian Press in a recent interview. “For myself, it’s just part of it. I’ve learned to embrace it. You get to be in those moments for a reason. Sometimes I’m in those big moments, but hockey’s a team sport. I’m not there by myself. Nowadays, I’m more enjoying it.”

At 34, Poulin shows no signs of slowing down. She comes into the Olympics after another stellar year—earning the IIHF Female Player of the Year Award, being named PWHL MVP, and finishing as the leading scorer and tournament MVP at the Women’s World Championship, even though Canada fell short of gold.

Canada has claimed five of the seven women’s ice hockey Olympic gold medals since the sport debuted in 1998. With Poulin at the helm, they enter Milano Cortina with a significant advantage. Once again, the Canadians will look to their captain in the crucial moments—and if history is any guide, Poulin will be exactly where she always is: at the heart of it all.

-Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters