Canada suffered a big blow when captain Marie-Philip Poulin was injured against Czechia, but Troy Ryan has to find a way to make his players see it as an opportunity to step up, especially for the heir apparent, Sarah Fillier.
Hockey Canada dropped the most anticipated news of the day on Tuesday morning when it confirmed that captain Marie-Philip Poulin had been ruled out of Canada’s upcoming clash with Team USA. As suspected, the update confirmed that the center was dealing with a lower-body injury.
Unsurprisingly, the update doesn’t provide any details as to the length of her absence or the seriousness of the injury, but it goes on to say that Canada will wrap up its preliminary round on Thursday against Finland, when they play the game that was initially scheduled for February 5th, but was rescheduled as the Finns were dealing with the norovirus.
The knockout stage begins on February 13th, with the quarterfinals played over two days, followed by the semifinals on February 16th. The medal games will be held on February 19. Past results tell us that Canada will be able to go through the preliminary round without their ace, so resting her makes sense, even if it’s just a minor injury; there’s no point in risking aggravating it. It would be surprising if she were to play against Finland as well.
Poulin should be given as much time as possible to deal with the injury. If Canada is confident that it can reach the final without her, it would make sense to rest her until then. The Beauceville native currently has 17 Olympic goals to her name, second only to Hayley Wickenheiser, and it wasn’t a stretch to think she could overtake her in this tournament, but her health must come first.
While her absence could be seen as a crushing blow for Canada, it’s important that the players do not take it that way. They must move forward and see it as an opportunity to step up. Team USA has already started its youth movement, and it’s ready for captain Hilary Knight’s retirement, but Canada is still relying on its veteran core. The Americans have 13 players born in 2000 or later, while the Canadians have only five. Sophie Jaques, Sarah Fillier, Julia Gosling, Jenn Gardiner, and Kayle Osborne are the only ones who were born in 2000 or later.
Fillier has long been seen as “the next Marie-Philip Poulin,” and the captain’s injury, as devastating as it is, is her opportunity to show that she’s worth that nickname. In Monday’s game against Czechia, she stepped up, scoring the first goal after the captain had left the match, but she needs to do more than that; she needs to take charge. Gosling also had a big impact on proceedings on Monday with two goals, and should be relied upon to keep going.
Poulin is an incredible leader and could be described as irreplaceable, but Canada will still have to make do without her. Fillier has the talent to help her country weather this big storm, no matter how long it lasts.
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