What’s It Like to Play Against Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada Hockey’s Captain Clutch?

The five-time Olympian has a penchant for big moments, including three game-winning goals in gold medal finals.

Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice against the U.S. in the 2022 gold medal game, living up to her longtime nickname of Captain Clutch. | Rob Schumacher/Imagn Images

For those looking for the secret formula that makes Marie-Philip Poulin perform so well in pressure-packed situations for Canada’s women’s national hockey team, she has some disappointing news. 

“I don’t think there’s a recipe for ‘clutch,’ ” Poulin says. 

In fact, she doesn’t even like the Captain Clutch nickname that all of Canada has adoringly referred to her as for years now. Sure, it comes from a loving place. But to Poulin, it undermines everything that goes into making those big plays happen. “I’ve been very fortunate to be in those moments,” she says. “I don’t think it’s just me. There’s a lot of people involved in making me the player I am.”

And that’s true. Poulin, who is playing in her fifth Olympics, has played alongside some incredible athletes over the years. For instance, during the 2022 gold medal game against the United States, the play that led to Poulin’s game-winning goal was started by the slick puck-handling skills of Sarah Nurse, who set a new record for most points (18) in a single Olympic tournament that year. 

Poulin and Sarah Nurse (top left) combined for the gold medal-winning goal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. | Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images

But with all due respect to Poulin (and the teammates she credits), most other hockey players are not as consistently reliable as she is. She is the only player—man or woman—to have scored a goal in four Olympic gold medal games. And three of them were game-winners. 

Poulin is a difference maker, which is why her teammates often look to her for those crucial plays. When she’s on the ice, everyone knows it. Just ask U.S. forward Kelly Pannek, who often gets matched up against Poulin during games. 

“For the entire game, you’re kind of like, ‘I know where she is, everything’s fine.’ And then she’ll suddenly come up out of nowhere,” Pannek says. “She has a tendency to always be in the right place at the right time, her timing is really impeccable. In the defensive zone and the offensive zone, scoring situations or defensive situations—it doesn’t really matter. She’s one of those players who is as dangerous with the puck as she is without it. You’re always just aware of where she is, and it’s one of those things where you can’t let your foot off the gas.” 

While Pannek’s U.S. team was the gold medal favorite going into these Olympics in Milan, Canada could be Team USA’s bugaboo. And if there’s anyone to take on the lead role of bogeywoman in that case, it’s Poulin. Her first big-stage display of the clutch gene came at the 2010 Olympics, when she was the youngest player on Canada’s roster at 18 years old. Throughout the Vancouver Games, where she played on the team’s fourth line, she scored five goals, including both in Canada’s 2–0 win over the U.S. in the gold medal game. 

Poulin’s moniker arrived after the 2014 Olympics, before she was even technically the team’s captain (that came at the 2015 IIHF World Championships). Once again playing the Americans with gold on the line, Canada was down 2–1 in the final minute of the game when Poulin picked up a loose puck near the net and knotted up the score. She then scored on a 4-on-3 power play in overtime, with Canada playing a bit of tic-tac-toe to set up the perfect shot for Poulin. 

There may not be a recipe to always being able to make the big plays, there is an undeniable work ethic involved. Poulin, 34, has represented Canada for nearly two decades (she made her senior team debut at 16 years old in 2007), yet she is always finding ways to improve. To her, it’s not about instinct, it’s breaking down the game into the smallest bits—winning face-offs, finding new shot angles, managing hip rotation while battling for the puck—and consistently working at them.

It will be the fifth Olympics for both Captain Clutch, Poulin (left), and Captain America, Hilary Knight (right). | Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

“I take a lot of pride in the two-way game,” Poulin says. “I like playing on the defensive side, blocking shots and having a hard shot to play against. I think those are all very important. You want a complete, elevated game.”

Her opponents tend to agree. American forward Casey O’Brien tries to model her game off Poulin, the blueprint for being a great 200-foot center (or in Milan, 196.85 feet). O’Brien isn’t on the U.S. roster for these Olympics, but remembers the first time she played against Canada in the 2023 Rivalry Series. Losing a face-off against her role model felt inevitable, but it was a privilege all the same. 

“I think I only got four shifts in the game, but one of them, I got sent out to take a face-off against [Poulin],” O’Brien recalls. “And I remember looking back like, ‘Oh my God, this is insane.’ She beat me clean on the face-off. I wasn't even close, and I literally was like, ‘That was so cool!’ ”

But for those tasked with taking on Poulin and her fellow defending Olympic gold medalists in Milan, they’re hoping preparation and familiarity will be enough to curb the clutch, which the U.S. is often on the losing side of. 

Off the ice, most around the game understand just how special of a player Captain Clutch is. But when the puck drops—well, let’s just say some of the Americans follow Poulin’s lead. 

“I don’t adhere to that nickname,” Pannek says. “I’m not Canadian, so I don’t have to. But I will respect it.”

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