“It’s funny, sometimes I talk to people who are like, ‘Hey, the Great Wall of Charlevoix!’ “, says Ann-Renée Desbiens, laughing on the phone.
Posted at 8:00 p.m.
This nickname was first given to him by colleague Alexandre Pratt in one of his columns at the Beijing Olympics. A month later, it seems that he still sticks to his skin. Let’s say there is worse.
“I heard it in a few conversations. It’s still funny, it seems that I do not realize that was what people called me, “suggests the door.
It must be said that this nickname does not come out of nowhere. Ann-Renée Desbiens was absolutely masterful in front of the Canadian net in China. After the Canadians got their hands on the gold, her name was on everyone’s lips. The main interested party is still struggling to realize what she has been through.
Before flying to Beijing at the end of January, she refused to describe herself as the number one goalkeeper of the formation. But that’s what she has been, scoring in five of seven games and maintaining a .940 save percentage. Some of her teammates have even called her “the best goalkeeper in the world”.
Relax
But Desbiens simply says she is “really happy” to have occupied this role.
As a goalkeeper, you always want to be the one who helps your team win. She’s the one in goal making the saves, so I think I really enjoyed the experience.
Ann-Renee Desbiens
This gold medal, “it’s really a dream come true”. A reality that she shares with family and friends since her return.
The past few weeks have indeed been busy. First, she treated herself to a short four-day trip with a few teammates, to celebrate and, above all, to decompress. Then, she visited her brother on the North Shore, in addition to spending a lot of time in her part of the country, in Charlevoix.
“We have an ice rink here, in Saint-Aimé-des-Lacs. We played hockey with friends. »
And the famous dearly won medal, what does she intend to do with it?
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Marie-Philip Poulin and Ann-Renée Desbiens
“I don’t have a plan yet! replies the 27-year-old athlete. For now, it’s more about hanging her out with me, sharing her with people, letting them take pictures with her. It is certain that eventually, she will return to her little trunk and be a little quieter, but for the moment, she will be doing a lot of traveling. »
This Friday, the hockey player will also celebrate her exploits with her family in Charlevoix, during a public activity planned at the Clermont arena.
no break
After the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, Ann-Renée Desbiens believed she had drawn a line under her years as an elite hockey player. The 2014-2018 cycle and her prolific career in the NCAA, at the University of Wisconsin, had left her “mentally tired”, she explained to The Press in January 2020. She had therefore completed her master’s degree in accounting and started working as a specialist trainer.
Then she came back. And take it for granted: this time, she won’t hang her leggings.
I’m ready for the next few years. I’ve had a lot of fun with Hockey Canada since returning to hockey. The change that there has been on the program means that in the team, we have a lot of fun together, we have fun.
Ann-Renee Desbiens
There is pressure, she does not deny it, but she knows “better to navigate it now”, she underlines.
“I intend to continue to play, to continue to make Quebec women’s hockey felt in the world and to have an influence on the youngest. »
Good visibility
This Canadian conquest at the Olympic Games, in addition to that at the World Cup at the end of the summer, gave women’s hockey great visibility in the country.
After the Games, captain Marie-Philip Poulin received an offer from the Lions of Trois-Rivières, the Quebec club of the ECHL. The story got people talking. But the star hockey player quickly silenced the rumors, saying she had “no intention” of joining the team, preferring to continue her “work of persuasion so that there is a professional women’s hockey league”.
“Marie-Philip is a great ambassador for women’s hockey,” said Desbiens. You have to understand that if you want to have a women’s league, you have to have the best players to attract people, to have supporters. Everyone, we understand this role that we have, which is bigger than just one person. »
I think Marie-Philip [Poulin] is an example of a leader who always wants to do what is best for the sport in general.
Ann-Renee Desbiens
Radio-Canada also reported this week the imminence of the announcement of the creation of a new women’s professional league.
“We’ve been working on it for years, we’ve been having discussions,” she told the Sun. It takes a long time to get it right, so I’m glad it’s starting to fall into place.
“When we talk about the professional league, yes salaries are important, but there are also insurance, maternity leave, the choice of good markets where there will be spectators to encourage us, etc. There are several things to consider. We don’t want a league for just one year, but a league that will last over time. »