Marie-Philip Poulin's leadership modelled after former teammate

Two-goal hero four years ago, Marie-Philip Poulin’s star seems to have been on a perpetual rise. The 26-year old forward is the standout player on a Canadian roster seeking to maintain their incredible run against the United States at the Olympics in Thursday’s gold medal game.

Ahead of the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, Poulin sat down with Yahoo Canada Sports to reflect on her path as a fresh-faced rookie looking up to others on Team Canada to being captain and leader in South Korea.

Poulin humbly states that there have been many current and former players she’s been fortunate to play with but the sharp shooter reserves a special mention for one stalwart of the Canadian program, four-time Olympic champion Caroline Ouellette.

“Being able to watch her on TV, then knowing her as a teammate, and now as one of my good friends …” said the Quebec native. “She taught me so much as a person, as a hockey player and it’s pretty special to have her in my life.”

Now retired, Ouellette lead Canada to a fourth successive gold at Sochi 2014. Now Poulin wears the precious C on her chest.

“I remember in 2009 I was one of the babies on the team and now I’m one of the oldest and one of the leaders,” said Poulin, who admits she is a little shy and prefers to lead by example. “My role has changed but I think I’ve learned to embrace it.”

With the Americans looking unnervingly good in the preliminary round, Poulin’s hesitance to accept praise seems to be, in part, due to a steadfast desire to improve her game, to be ready for what might be her biggest challenge yet.

“There’s a lot of pressure every time you wear that Maple Leaf,” Poulin said. “That’s what makes me want to get up in the morning and keep pushing myself to be better.”

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