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Marie-Philip Poulin signs for second time in Montreal

To sell tickets, what do you need when you’re a field hockey club?

You either need a strong ensemble that generates wins, or stars that make people jump out of their seats. In the best of all possible worlds, you have both.

I don’t yet know what Montreal’s full PWHL roster will look like, but I do know that it ticks the second ticket-selling box: star power!

With the announcement of the signing of Marie-Philip Poulin, it’s hard to imagine how Danièle Sauvageau, the team’s general manager, could have pulled off a bigger coup. Poulin is THE star of women’s field hockey. Her fireplace mantle (if she has one, of course. Haha) is full of trophies that amply prove it!

This signing and those of Anne-Renee Desbiens and Laura Stacey speak volumes about the team’s aims in its first season in the league. We’re aiming for top honours, and nothing less.

However, there’s something I find funny about this story. I may be talking through my hat, but Poulin is possibly the first athlete to coach and play for two professional teams in the same city.

In any case, I can’t think of any examples. If you do, please share them with me.

This feat of arms also has the peculiarity that, in the event of under-performance on her part, it would be strange to see her giving advice to Habs players. But that’s part of the deal, I suppose, and I don’t think the main players will make a big deal of it. After all, nobody’s ever had a career without ups and downs. It’s only human in the end.

In closing, I can’t wait to see Poulin’s impact on the team’s assists. If Montreal really is a field hockey town, the attendances should live up to that reputation.

In any case, I wish them every success!

In gusto

– It seems there are things they don’t want to get out of their cameras.

– Chara, Bergeron and maybe Marchand now. It’s not just in size that Boston loses out on the captaincy.

– Professional trials for Stefan Matteau and Jean-François Bérubé.

– William Dufour wants to make his way to the NHL.

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