Marie-Philip Poulin, Brianne Jenner named captains of PWHL Montreal, Ottawa

Marie-Philip Poulin will captain a professional women's hockey team in her home province again.

PWHL Montreal announced its leadership group Friday afternoon during a Cirque du Soleil show in Montreal, when the artist appeared on the ice wearing a number 29 Poulin jersey with a C on it. Defender Erin Ambrose and forward Laura Stacey will be assistant captains.

Meanwhile, PWHL Ottawa also announced that longtime Team Canada assistant captain Brianne Jenner will wear the "C" in that city this season, with forward Emily Clark and defender Jincy Roese as assistant captains. 

Coverage of the first PWHL regular-season game on Jan. 1 at 12:30 p.m. ET (New York at Toronto) will be available on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and CBC TV, beginning with a pre-game show at 12 p.m. 

Jenner told reporters that the captaincy, which was announced at the Canadian Tire Centre before an Ottawa Senators game, is an honour.

"It's a dressing room that's full of great hockey players and great leaders," Jenner said. "So just really excited be a part of that group and to be here in Ottawa."

In Montreal, Poulin served as captain with Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League before the league folded in 2019.

Poulin has also been captain of the Canadian women's national team since 2015, leading her team to an Olympic gold medal in 2022 and two world championships in 2021 and 2022.

Known to many as Captain Clutch for her ability to score big goals when her team needs them most, no hockey player, male or female, has scored more goals in Olympic gold-medal games than Poulin. That includes the game-winning goals in Vancouver in 2010, Sochi in 2014 and Beijing in 2022. 

"Marie-Philip is a