Marie-Philip Poulin ‘eternally grateful’ to captain Canada at Olympics

After losing Olympic gold in heartbreaking fashion at her fifth Winter Games, Marie-Philip Poulin has shared what the experience of representing Canada on the biggest stage has meant to her.

“It is the greatest honour for me to wear the maple leaf,” the 34-year-old wrote on Instagram. “I am proud of this group of fighters and what we have accomplished together. The challenge was great, and we left everything on the ice. It’s true that gold would have been the ultimate reward, but I am proud of this silver medal. … You don’t win all the time, the margins between victory and defeat are thin, but in the end, what you remember is the journey you had together and the effort you put in.”

Team Canada was bested 2-1 by its American counterparts in Thursday’s championship game, after Megan Keller scored the overtime winner to give Team USA its third gold medal in women’s hockey.

Though she was sidelined for Canada’s final two preliminary-round games, Poulin still became the all-time leading Olympic goal-scorer in women’s hockey when she tallied her 20th Olympic goal against Switzerland earlier in the tournament.

“All the girls in this dressing room had the maple leaf and the values of their country engraved on their hearts,” Poulin continued. “And for that, I will be eternally grateful to have been named their captain.

“Thank you to everyone who supported us, believed in us, and stood behind us every step of the way. Proud to be Canadian.”

Having appeared in every Winter Olympics since 2010, Poulin said after the gold-medal loss that she’s unsure if she will return to the team come the 2030 Games in the French Alps.

“I’ll be in the present and go from there,” Poulin told CBC Olympics’ Claire Hanna after the championship game.

If Milano Cortina stands as her final Olympic Games, Poulin will go down as one of Canada’s most decorated hockey players, with three golds and two silvers in her 17-year international career.

Poulin will return to the ice on Thursday in the PWHL when her Montreal Victoire take on the New York Sirens.