Appointed consultant for the development of the Canadiens players at the beginning of June, Marie-Philip Poulin had the chance to take her first steps as a coach within the organization. An experience that she greatly appreciated.
“I watched, I was a sponge, I learned a lot,” she said at the end of the last development camp training session today.
This was not Poulin’s first experience as a coach. For the past few years, she has held summer camps for young girls. Obviously, we were on a whole other level.
“Here, we’re talking about mature guys,” she said.
More comfortable
Passive at the beginning of the week, the captain of the Canadian team slowly got out of control. We have seen her on a few occasions offering advice to Habs recruits.
“It took me a little while to feel more comfortable,” she admitted. But the players were receptive, they wanted to understand, they wanted to learn. »
For the 31-year-old athlete, this week in Brossard showed him that the coaching could be an option for his post-career.
“It sure gave me the taste. Hockey has been in me since I was very young. I love doing this. It really is cool to see this facet, to see the work that is done behind the doors, it’s crazy,” she said.
Additions to his game
But before thinking about retirement, Poulin still has at least four good years of hockey to offer to the Olympic program. If she gave advice to young players, she also took advantage of this baptism in the entourage of CH to add strings to her bow.
Adam Nicholas, who led the training throughout the week, allowed him, through the exercises to which he submitted his players, to discover new aspects of the game.
“I was impressed by the little ones skills that you don’t see in a game, but that make a big difference,” she said. We see the guys that matter, but we forget those little details that change a game. »
Small details that she will hasten to implement.
“Yesterday afternoon, I was skating alone and I wanted to try everything I had seen during the day,” she said. I can’t wait to get back on the ice and try to put it all into practice. »
She will probably have no problem assimilating these novelties, to the great misfortune of her opponents.
The Olympic athlete will not play for the Montreal team
The arrival of a Montreal franchise in the Professional Hockey Federation does not only make people happy. At first glance, this is good news for women’s hockey. However, for the girls who created the Professional Women’s Hockey—Players Association, the main goal is not yet achieved.
We seem to doubt the business model.
“We created this association with the objective of setting up a viable league in the long term, not just for a few years. The PHF created this league, they put something in place. But they do not necessarily have all the resources that we look at, ”analyzed Marie-Philip Poulin, met on the sidelines of the development camp of the Canadian.
So don’t count on the best hockey player in the world to wear the uniform of the Montreal team or any of the six other teams on this circuit.
“I started on the first day with the Association that we created. I believe in that a lot. We have good people behind us. We hope to move forward soon,” she said today.
Established in May 2019 after the dissolution of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, this association was born following the decision of more than 200 of the best female hockey players in the world not to play professionally the following season.
More outlets
Since then, the players of the Association, divided into five regions, compete against each other during different tours. However, nothing yet concrete for the creation of an official circuit has come from this initiative.
“I’ve said it several times: great things take time. It is sure that we become a little less patient, but we are going in the right direction with the Association, supported Poulin. I hope we will put this in place in the next few months. »
Obviously, one cannot be against virtue. Since women’s hockey has been trying to get more visibility for so long, it would be strange if the most high-profile players were spitting in the soup.
“It will allow more girls to play hockey after their university career. We push for the same thing, admitted the triple Olympic gold medalist. But people have different views. I hope we will push in the same direction. Women’s hockey is together. »