Marie-Philip Poulin takes to the ice at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship in Ceske Budejovice.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Canada’s captain Marie-Philip Poulin is her country’s all-time leading Women’s World Championship scorer after putting up 2 (1+1) points in Saturday’s semi-final victory over Finland.
Poulin, playing her 13th Worlds, moves to 88 (39+49) points, two clear of Hayley Wickenheiser who retired with 86 points in 2016.
The record-breaking play came in the 15th minute as Canada recovered from the shock of allowing a first-minute goal. Poulin’s instinctive one-timer from between the hash marks made it 2-1.
Equally instinctive was her reaction, immediately pointing to line-mates Jennifer Gardiner and Laura Stacey for their assists on the play.
And speaking after the game, the 34-year-old was typically low key about a personal milestone.
“It hasn’t really sunk in,” she said. “I would not be here without any of my team-mates along the way. I was part of this team at 18 with all of my idols – Wickenheiser, Ouellette, there’s a lot of my heroes.
“That’s why I’m here, they made me love the game even more. And my team-mates again today. I love the game, it’s so much fun and I feel lucky to play and wear this jersey.”
Poulin’s team-mates also paid tribute to an inspirational figure in women’s hockey.
“There are no words to describe who she is to our program, to our team, to our country,” said fellow forward Sarah Fillier. “She’s a tremendous leader. And just being able to celebrate her in anything that she does, we’re all getting behind that.”
Defender Claire Thompson has no doubts about Poulin’s status – and likely legacy. “It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s a testament to her calibre as a player. I mean, there’s probably nobody in the world who wouldn’t say she’s the greatest of all time.
“It’s such an honour to get to play alongside here. Everyone on the team looks up to her.”
Poulin’s World Championship career began back in 2009 in the final year as a U18 player. After winning silver with the U18s, she joined the senior roster in Hameenlinna, Finland. Her first point came after six minutes of her debut when she scored a power play goal in a 13-1 rout of China. Wickenheiser was also on the team at that tournament and had 5 (2+3) points in that game; Poulin would finish the competition with 5 (2+3) after Canada lost out 1-4 in the gold-medal game against the USA.
In Ceske Budejovice, Poulin added an assist as Canada exploded in the second period to record an 8-1 victory. She currently leads the tournament in scoring with 11 (4+7) points, two clear of team-mate Gardiner on nine. The centre is in line for a 13th World Championship medal and can secure a fifth gold in Sunday’s showdown against the USA. She also has three Olympic golds and one silver.
Poulin, playing her 13th Worlds, moves to 88 (39+49) points, two clear of Hayley Wickenheiser who retired with 86 points in 2016.
The record-breaking play came in the 15th minute as Canada recovered from the shock of allowing a first-minute goal. Poulin’s instinctive one-timer from between the hash marks made it 2-1.
Equally instinctive was her reaction, immediately pointing to line-mates Jennifer Gardiner and Laura Stacey for their assists on the play.
And speaking after the game, the 34-year-old was typically low key about a personal milestone.
“It hasn’t really sunk in,” she said. “I would not be here without any of my team-mates along the way. I was part of this team at 18 with all of my idols – Wickenheiser, Ouellette, there’s a lot of my heroes.
“That’s why I’m here, they made me love the game even more. And my team-mates again today. I love the game, it’s so much fun and I feel lucky to play and wear this jersey.”
Poulin’s team-mates also paid tribute to an inspirational figure in women’s hockey.
“There are no words to describe who she is to our program, to our team, to our country,” said fellow forward Sarah Fillier. “She’s a tremendous leader. And just being able to celebrate her in anything that she does, we’re all getting behind that.”
Defender Claire Thompson has no doubts about Poulin’s status – and likely legacy. “It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s a testament to her calibre as a player. I mean, there’s probably nobody in the world who wouldn’t say she’s the greatest of all time.
“It’s such an honour to get to play alongside here. Everyone on the team looks up to her.”
Poulin’s World Championship career began back in 2009 in the final year as a U18 player. After winning silver with the U18s, she joined the senior roster in Hameenlinna, Finland. Her first point came after six minutes of her debut when she scored a power play goal in a 13-1 rout of China. Wickenheiser was also on the team at that tournament and had 5 (2+3) points in that game; Poulin would finish the competition with 5 (2+3) after Canada lost out 1-4 in the gold-medal game against the USA.
In Ceske Budejovice, Poulin added an assist as Canada exploded in the second period to record an 8-1 victory. She currently leads the tournament in scoring with 11 (4+7) points, two clear of team-mate Gardiner on nine. The centre is in line for a 13th World Championship medal and can secure a fifth gold in Sunday’s showdown against the USA. She also has three Olympic golds and one silver.