'Pretty Special': Marie-Philip Poulin Named Canada’s Top Athlete

Marie-Philip Poulin is the first women's hockey player to win the Northern Star Award as Canada's athlete of the year.

Marie-Philip Poulin has been named Canada’s top athlete of the year.

Poulin won the 2022 Northern Star Award, formerly the Lou Marsh Award, given to Canada’s athlete of the year since 1936. She is the first women’s hockey player to win the award, capping a year of golden ‘Captain Clutch’ performances.

But she said it took a lot of people and a positive team culture to allow her to get to this point.

"It means a lot, this is pretty special," Poulin said on Wednesday afternoon. "It’s quite amazing to be along these amazing athletes. But first and foremost is really thanking my teammates, my coaches, my family – my people have been there since Day 1. I obviously would not get that without any of them."

Poulin also said it's a reminder that hard work and keeping your head down do pay off as she recalled the "amazing year as a group" for Team Canada.

Poulin captained Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she made the Olympic all-star team with six goals and 17 points in seven games. She scored twice as Canada won the gold medal game 3-2 against the United States – making her the only hockey player to score in four Olympic gold medal games.

She also led Canada to a second straight World Championship gold medal with five goals and 10 points in seven games.

At the moment, Poulin leads the PWHPA Dream Gap Tour in goals (eight) and points (12) in seven games – she’s also one of the captains for the upcoming PWHPA All-Star Game happening on Dec. 11 in Ottawa.

Poulin said it's exciting to see these showcases continue as they continue to put women's hockey on the map.

"You see the momentum, you see more little girls, little boys coming to watch us," she said. "It takes your parents as well to make sure that you take your kids to come and watch us because we truly believe in, 'You can see it, you can be it, you can dream it.' "

It’s almost a bonus at this point that the Montreal Canadiens hired Poulin in June as a part-time player development consultant.

Poulin is the 10th hockey player to win the Northern Star Award, joining stars such as Carey Price, Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. It’s also the 14th time a hockey player has been named Canada’s top athlete since Gretzky won it four times and Crosby twice.

Cale Makar was also a finalist for this year’s award, which is debated and selected by a voting panel of sports journalists and broadcasters from across Canada. Makar's year includes winning a Stanley Cup, Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman and Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the 2021-22 playoffs.