Poulin ranks No. 1 among TSN's Top 25 women's players

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Poulin versus Daoust.

Decker versus Knight.

Hiirikoski versus Karvinen.

On the international stage of women’s hockey, these players fight side-by-side for their country, but now they’ll face off (metaphorically) to determine who is best in the game.

With the women’s hockey tournament beginning at the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday, TSN asked a panel of 21 experts to vote on the 25 best players in the sport right now.

While Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin was the definitive choice as No. 1, separating herself from the pack with all-around excellence and the golden goal in the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship – the first of three overtime goals vs. the U.S. since Aug. 31 – she was not the only player to get a vote as the premier player.  

Canadian sniper Mélodie Daoust, legendary Finnish blueliner Jenni Hiirikoski, and American icon Hilary Knight also earned No. 1 votes.

TSN’s panel of voters included Olympic gold medalists, former players, current and ex-coaches and prominent members of the media. There were representatives of seven different countries, including head coaches for Finland, Czechia and Sweden.

Voters were asked to rank the top 25 players in the game right now, regardless of position. Consensus results were determined by assigning points for each vote.

The final list of 25 players is comprised of nine Canadians, seven Americans, six Finns, two Swiss players and one from Czechia. By position, there were 15 forwards, seven defencemen and three goaltenders.

Statistics from the 2021 world championship are listed in order of games, goals, assists and points. Goaltender stats are win-loss-overtime loss records, goals-against average and save percentage.

1. MARIE-PHILIP POULIN

Centre, Canada

Age: 30