The last few months, weeks and days have been “difficult” for the players of the Canadian women’s team. If the wholesale resignation of all members of the Board of Directors and the CEO of Hockey Canada represents a “step forward”, there is still “a lot of work to do”, believe Marie- Philip Poulin, Ann-Renée Desbiens and Laura Stacey.
Posted at 4:52 p.m.
A few members of the Canadian team met the media on Wednesday morning in preparation for the PWHPA Women’s Hockey Showcase, which will bring together the best players in the world at the Verdun Auditorium this weekend. In interview with The Press, they expressed themselves on the wave of resignations that swept the national federation.
“That’s what had to happen, dropped Marie-Philip Poulin from the start. It was finally a breather for all of us. It’s been a tough few months. Hockey Canada, we’ve been training for them for years. We give our life, we sacrifice ourselves. It’s a lot of sweat, tears. Every morning you wake up, you see the headlines on Hockey Canada. »
” It hurts [de voir toutes les nouvelles], recognizes the captain. You train all your life with this world, you have the logo anchored on you. You go to the arena knowing that’s what you push yourself for, to represent your country. To have all that happened in the last few months, it was very difficult. »
According to Ann-Renée Desbiens, although Tuesday’s news is “a step in the right direction”, it is “far from being a cause for celebration”. The task is great.
“We do not know who will be in position, the changes that will be put in place, she continues. These are things that take a lot of time. […] It will take years to change the culture in hockey, but also in society in general. »
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Ann-Renee Desbiens
The players also recall that “things are going very well” in women’s and Paralympic hockey. The scandals that have shaken the federation for several months affect the male side, but they have inevitably had repercussions on all the members of the federation.
“We’re all under the same umbrella, but we can’t hide that we had the best year in women’s hockey last year with the under-18s, the Olympics, the World Cup,” Poulin lists. Unfortunately, it was under a cloud. »
The hockey players look to their achievements and their program for reasons to celebrate.
“Our team has given the Canadiens a lot of reasons to be proud, to be happy,” recalls Desbiens. We are athletes, role models on and off the ice. We are ambassadors. I’ve lost count of the number of events I go to, where I volunteer and all that. I think we are role models. »
What’s next?
Hockey Canada will have to find a new CEO, a new board of directors. It is therefore from here that the changes begin. But what will be next?
To date, national team players have not been involved in discussions at Hockey Canada. But they hope to be in the coming months.
“As a group, we communicate a lot to know what we should do, says Marie-Philip Poulin. We take that very seriously. Over the years, the culture we have created with our team is really about having a voice in all of this. Women’s hockey, we have a place. We want to continue to create that and we really hope, in all of this, that diversity will be there and that the culture will change. »
It remains that changing a culture is a long-term job. And to get there, it will take “the effort of minor hockey teams, provincial federations,” says Ann-Renée Desbiens.
“Want, don’t want, the crime was committed by young adults,” continues the Charlevoix guardian. We have to change that culture too, not just the one at the top. There are still a lot of efforts to be made in society, in the workplace. Hockey needs to change. »
According to Laura Stacey, all Hockey Canada teams must also “have a say, a voice to push for equality.” “Every voice is important. The more inclusive and diverse voices we can engage, the more we can change things and learn new ideas. »