Poulin not ruling out playing in 2026 Olympics

TORONTO (AP) — Marie-Philip Poulin isn’t planning on hanging up her skates any time soon.

While the captain of Canada’s Olympic champion women’s hockey team is currently taking some much-needed time away from the ice, she has no plans to retire. The 30-year-old forward is even open to the idea of strapping on her gear for the Milano Cortina Games in 2026.

“If the body holds on, if I can still keep up with those youngsters, I would love that,” Poulin said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press. “The heart and the mind is still there so we’ll go one year at a time. But I still love (playing hockey).”

Dubbed “Captain Clutch” for her uncanny ability to rise in big games, Poulin once again led Canada to gold with two goals in the final at the Beijing Games last month. She has now scored in four consecutive Olympic finals, tallying seven goals in the sport’s biggest games.

There’s been much speculation about how the three-time gold medalist will follow up her latest Olympic performance, including talk of a potential role with an NHL team.

Poulin isn’t ready to leave the ice for a seat in a front office just yet, though.

“Obviously hockey’s a big part of my life and after my career, I would love to be involved, I would love to do something within hockey,” she said. “Obviously that would be lovely, I would love that. I still want to play a little bit more and after, we’ll see.”

The general manager of the ECHL’s Trois-Rivières Lions publicly mused recently that he was interested in signing Poulin to play. Momentum Hockey, the agency that represents Poulin, quickly shot down the idea, releasing a statement that said she has no intention of joining the team.

The statement noted that the hockey star has dedicated her career to