The Canadiens hire Marie-Philip Poulin

The Montreal Canadiens hired hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin as a player development consultant on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old will fill this position part-time, while continuing her career on the ice. Poulin will be called upon to work on the ice and during video sessions with the players in order to refine their individual and collective skills, in collaboration with and the director of player development, Rob Ramage, and the director of hockey development Adam Nicholas.

Unsurprisingly, the team expressed its joy at now having a prominent athlete in Quebec who has distinguished herself many times on the international scene.

“It is a privilege to have in our ranks a person as competent as Marie-Philip Poulin. She is the best in her field and her accomplishments help build a winning culture with the Canadiens, club owner Geoff Molson said in a statement. His arrival is one more step towards the diversity that we want to establish within the organization.”

“We are delighted with the addition of Marie-Philip Poulin to our hockey development department,” said general manager Kent Hughes. Marie-Philip is one of the best players on the planet and she won at the highest level, which will prove very beneficial for our players. His knowledge, his leadership and his vision of hockey make the Canadiens a better organization.

Poulin enjoys a career described as “grand” by the Canadian as a player. She has won 15 medals in international competition, including four at the Olympic level, where she became the first female hockey player of any gender to score in four final games. With the Boston University Terriers on the American college circuit from 2011 to 2015, she scored 81 goals and 181 points. She also became the first player in Terriers history to be named a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Trophy, awarded annually to the top player of the season in NCAA Division I women’s hockey.

The Beauceville native played for the Montreal Stars in the CWHL from 2007 to 2009 before her college career. She returned to that league with the Montreal Canadiens from 2015 to 2019, winning the Clarkson Cup twice and being named the league’s most valuable player on three occasions.

Poulin will chat with reporters around 4 p.m.