In Poulin's Absence From Team Canada, Who Will Wear The "C" In Denmark?

Marie-Philip Poulin remains Canada's women's national team captain. General manager Daniele Sauvageau made that point clear in her media appearance that followed the naming of Canada's 25-player roster for the 2026 World Championships in Denmark.

"Marie, her color is all over this team," Sauvageau said, also referring to Poulin as Canada's captain in her comments. Poulin attended Canada's camp, including a team Thanksgiving dinner, but following reconstructive knee surgery this offseason, Poulin will miss the World Championships for Canada for the first time in 18 years. It's also been more than a decade since any player other than Poulin was considered Canada's captain, an honour she took over at the 2015 World Championships.

When Poulin was injured at the 2026 Olympics, Canada temporarily shifted the captain's "C" to the jersey of veteran Brianne Jenner. But Jenner was cut from Canada's roster, ending her 14-year national team career. Jenner had been an assistant captain for Canada.

In fact, Canada also cut Jocelyn Larocque, another assistant captain at the 2026 Olympics who was in her 15th season with the national team, and their final assistant captain, Blayre Turnbull, will miss the 2026 World Championships as she is pregnant, but given the overhaul, there's no guarantee Turnbull would have made the roster even if she were there.

Renata Fast wore an “A” with Canada for a portion of the Olympics, and she’s a good bet to have a letter again. 

It leaves a gaping hole in Canada's leadership group, but one that when looked at another way, resembles a clean slate for a new future.

For their 2026-27 rulebook, the IIHF made a change to their rules around captains. Rule 6.1 now reads "It is permitted for a team to have either one captain and two alternate captains or no captain and three alternate captains."

When Canada hits the ice in Denmark, it's highly likely they go with the latter portion of this message choosing three alternate captains, rather than putting the "C" on someone's jersey temporarily. 

Following the system of three alternate captains, Canada would allow themselves time to evaluate their leadership situation, and begin plans for a post-Poulin future, whenever that risk becomes reality.

Whether or not Canada chooses a captain, they'll need to select three individuals for this event.

The most experienced names remaining skaters on Canada's roster include Erin Ambrose, Laura Stacey, Renata Fast, Ella Shelton, Sarah Fillier, Emma Maltais, Emily Clark, and Kristin O'Neill. Only Clark, Fast, Stacey, and Ambrose remains from pre-COVID rosters. Canada also added 30-year-old veteran Rebecca Leslie to their roster.

From the PWHL, no member of Canada's current roster wore a captain's "C" last season without Turnbull (Toronto), Poulin (Montreal), Jenner (Ottawa), Bell (Vancouver), or Zandee-Hart (New York) on the roster from the nation.

At the U-18 World Championship level, Erin Ambrose was a Canadian captain in 2012, as did Sarah Fillier in 2018, Kendall Cooper in 2020, Chloe Primerano in 2025, and Hayley McDonald in 2026.

It positions Ambrose and Fillier as two of three leading candidates for an alternate captains position at the 2026 World Championships, selections few would argue with. The third seems destined for Stacey, Clark, or the returning Renata Fast, whomever Sauvageau and head coach Kori Cheverie trust most as a calming veteran presence in their locker room. But this is no longer Gina Kingsbury and Troy Ryan’s team, and new directions will be taken.

Marie-Philip Poulin will undoubtedly do whatever she can to return to Canada's roster in the future. In the meantime, Canadian women's hockey fans are getting a clear glimpse of the future, including what Canada's leadership structure could look like moving forward.