Marie-Philip Poulin’s Olympic dream began when she saw Danièle Sauvageau lead Canada to its first gold medal in women’s hockey at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Today the two Quebecers are reunited to write a new page in the history of their sport.
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• Also read: Marie-Philip Poulin: “I didn’t think it would happen one day”
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Little Marie-Philip was 11 years old when Caroline Ouellette, Kim St-Pierre, Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford, Danielle Goyette and Cassie Campbell triumphed in Utah. She was surprised to see the girls crying despite the victory.
“If you knew all the work, the resilience and the energy that went into obtaining this medal,” he was told by his mother, Danye Nadeau, who told the anecdote via video conference on Thursday during the announcement that the three free agents have reached an agreement achieved with the new professional team in Montreal, namely Poulin, Ann-Renée Desbiens and Laura Stacey.
On the evening of February 21, 2002, Marie-Philip asked her mother another question before bed: “Do you think I will play for Team Canada one day?”
“I told him, ‘If you work hard and do everything you can to reach this level, anything is possible,'” Ms. Nadeau continued.
The story doesn’t end here. Three months later, Marie-Philip met Danièle Sauvageau at a tournament. The then Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer met with young people to promote drug-free sports.
“Marie-Philip had brought a poster to put on her bedroom door and continue dreaming about the Olympics,” Ms. Nadeau continued. Today it is a fairy tale to see Marie-Philip alongside Ms. Sauvageau, to see these great ladies of ice hockey united in a professional team.”
Caroline Ouellette, Kim St-Pierre, Tammy Lee Shewchuk, Sami Jo Small and Cheryl Pounder celebrate with their stroke gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Photo Portal
strong kidneys
Over the years, Poulin and Sauvageau’s paths have crossed many times. And this time, they’re at the heart of one of the biggest advances in women’s hockey.
“We were always asked what was going on [avec nos projets]and there it finally happened!” exclaimed the author of 102 goals and 205 points in 175 games with Team Canada, which earned Poulin fifth place in the history of the national team.
“I’ve never seen a women’s league with so many resources,” said the Montreal team’s general manager. The group of Mark Walter, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, [du club de soccer anglais] of Chelsea and a women’s basketball team and Billie Jean King Enterprises [qui ont fondé la Ligue professionnelle de hockey féminin] are familiar with the world of sports. They have taken the time to negotiate an eight-year contract with the players and are confident it will work.
The general director of Montreal’s new professional women’s hockey team, Danièle Sauvageau, introduced its first three players on Thursday. Photo MARTIN ALARIE, Le Journal de Montréal
A job
Like Poulin, Stacey had been dreaming about the Olympics since Canada’s victory in Nagano. She finally reached her goal 16 years later in Pyeongchang.
“But when I watched the Toronto Maple Leafs play, I didn’t see any other young people like me,” the 29-year-old Ontario native recalled. I couldn’t identify with the players. Now young girls will be able to watch professional women’s hockey and believe that they can one day join the league.
“We grew up with male role models,” added goalkeeper Desbiens. I wanted to play in the NHL and on the national team, but not everyone can represent Canada. There the players can make a living from their sport. I can’t wait to see people wearing our team caps and jerseys.”
There is still a lot to do before we get there. Sauvageau is expected to introduce its head coach in the coming days. The draft takes place on September 18th. The club’s name and stadium must then be announced before the start of the season scheduled for January.