Laura Stacey is proud of Team Canada's Olympic performance, including her teams ability to stay true to themselves and shut out the noise. She also reflected on the impact of Marie-Philip Poulin's injury, and how they lean on one another.
The day Marie-Philip Poulin retires, Laura Stacey needs to be Canada’s and Montreal Victoire’s captain.
If she’s still playing herself, of course.
Less than 48 hours after landing in Montreal from a heartbreaking defeat, less than eight hours from taking a flight to New York, and a little over 24 hours from playing her first league’s game in a month, there are not many athletes, male or female, who could have faced a bunch of reporters the way Stacey did today.
She answered every question, soft or tough, with poise, common sense and emotion.
Like a true leader.
“Obviously, it's a tough trip,” Stacey initially admitted after her first practice back with Montreal on Wednesday. “It's a tough way to come home. It's going to take a lot to get over what happened there. And I think that's okay. I think we have to expect that. We have to know that we've worked our entire life for that moment. So, it's okay that it stings, it's okay that it hurts, but it is definitely nice to be back with the girls and be surrounded by some great people.”
A silver medal in hockey is always a tough one. You can win a silver in skiing or speed skating. But in hockey, every single time, you’re losing the gold. That said, aside from the expectations, aside from wanting to win the gold, being second in the world is not a bad place to be.
“I think there's so much to be proud of. It's really difficult to see that in the moment. And that's what I mean. I think that's what's going to take the most time to digest in the short term. You're sad, you're disappointed. Like I said, I know it's a silver medal," said Stacey.
"I know there's so much to be proud of, but we wanted gold. And so, when you come up inches short, especially in the way that game was and how great of a team we had, I do think that's the hardest part, that we're going to have to digest. And I think, like I said, it's okay that it takes time. I think now we're going to be present. We're going to be on the ice, do whatever it takes here. But that doesn't change the fact that it hurts. It doesn't change the fact that we are heartbroken from that loss. So, yeah, of course, there is a ton of pride, but I think that pride comes with a little bit of time and a little bit of perspective as well.”
A Lot of Noise
I did criticize, like many of my peers, Team Canada over the past few weeks. That said, I can also recognize and understand the emotions behind winning a silver medal in such a manner, especially when very few people thought it would be a tight game. And whether they agreed with them or not, those criticisms, that noise, weren’t unnoticed by the team.
“That was very loud,” acknowledged Stacey. “Obviously, there's a lot of noise at every single Olympics, but this one in particular, I can't believe the noise that we were dealing with, to be completely honest with you. I can't believe it. But I think our team did an incredible job at exactly that. As we all talked about it. Put our phones away. We don't need to read what other people are saying about us. We know exactly who we are. We're proud of who we are. And I think that's exactly what that final game showed. It showed how proud we are of ourselves, but also one another. This person sitting next to us. I trusted every single one of my teammates that they were going to show up and do whatever it took to try and bring home gold. And I can honestly, honestly say that I think they all did. And we talked about it. We got it off our chests. We, as a staff and as a group, we said, who cares what other people think of us? We know what we bring. We know what we have in ourselves. Let's just go out and show it. We knew what you could bring.”
Stacey and Poulin: Leaning on Each Other
One can’t talk to Laura Stacey without mentioning Marie-Philip Poulin. Both are teammates with Team Canada, linemates with Montreal, and partners in real life. Stacey was a close witness of what Poulin had to suffer after being injured and the kind of determination she showed to come back.
“It hurts. It really hurts. And it's tough to see her hurting, it's hard. Like I said before, it's going to take a little bit of time, I think. I don't know. It's hard to put it into words. It was our dream to come home with gold. It was her dream to come home with gold. And we were literally just under two minutes away from doing exactly that when every single person was not believing in us. But she did. And our team did. Our staff did. All of us did. And I think that's why it does hurt, too, is because we were so close to proving everyone wrong, but more importantly, proving ourselves right. And I think she did an amazing job of holding her head high and leading us to that final moment in that final game and obviously coming up short. I think it's gonna hit all of us and it's gonna hit her really hard.
And for a rare occasion, Stacey also talked about what their relationship looks like outside of the rink.
“We gotta be there for one another. I think obviously we're teammates, but we also are together and we live together. And so, leaning on each other right now is going to be important. We know it's not going to be easy. We know it. It's life. And I think the more we can support each other and put a smile on our face and enjoy the present moment, there's still lots to be thankful for," she said.
"There's still a lot of moments that we're really excited about. And like I said, sometimes you do have to feel that heartbreak in order to get better and to move on. And I think it's okay to feel it now, but it's also great to be present in the moment and realize how special of a time we have, too, with the PWHL and with our team here.”