Confirmed with Link: Canadiens hire Marie-Philip Poulin as Player Development Consultant

[WeThreeKings]

LOL! You'd think everyone would be happy that we made a significant hire that didn't involve cronyism.

I heard the Habs really wanted MPP and hired her in the part-time role so she can contribute to the organization right away and because they didn't want anyone else to get her after her playing career.

Been around too long to know that toxic hockey culture is still very pervasive. Not surprised these ideals are still bouncing around but disappointing none-the-less.

Never surprises me that we can hire some ex NHLer into a prominent front office role the minute the ink dries on their NHL retirement and people will clap like seals for it, but if you do anything remotely the same for a woman? She can't possibly be bright or qualified.

 

[Licou]

I just want to add my personal thoughts on this hire.

First, it looks like a great hire based on resume alone. She is also praised by her teammates as someone who is dedicated and humble, which is great mix as far as leadership is concerned.

In respect to all of the "this is a PR move" posts: Yeah, maybe they will go a bit further in advertising this because she is a women and you know what? I think they should do just that and let me explain why, in my opinion, this is a good thing for professionalism in hockey.

The way professional hockey is set up, they keep recycling the same former players and/or coaches (who are mostly former players) over and over and over again. We call them the old boys club or whatever. Of course, having former NHL players in the executing is invaluable for very obvious reasons.

But what about having different perspectives? It's my opinion, based on my personal career, that having managers and leaders that have a different life paths will bring about a different perspective in the way they make decisions. While this doesn't mean it's a positive for every individual person, I have seen it play wonders for the companies I worked for.

Hiring qualified women in a men's trade, or qualified immigrants in a white people's office can bring a breath of fresh air to a team as it brings a different way to tackle problems. Of course, I do emphasize the word qualified here, in case someone wants to make a bad case argument against my point.

Thinking outside of the box is a thing, but it's even better when all of your leaders have their own different box to think outside of. A executive group, as smart as they are, that are all of the same upbringing, that had to face all of the same challenges as they moved through life, will have some limitations.

So yeah, I think it's a good thing for the Habs to advertise this a bit, because it lets the feminine Hockey world know that if they work hard (and we know they do), there are some very enticing career opportunities after their playing career. This can only bring a larger pool of qualified and dedicated employees to the NHL front offices.

I like it!

 

[Tetragrammaton]

You compare them relative to their peers, easy enough.

Absolutely. That’s why I keep the genders separate. Best woman hockey player ever. Best woman tennis player ever.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Been around too long to know that toxic hockey culture is still very pervasive. Not surprised these ideals are still bouncing around but disappointing none-the-less.

Never surprises me that we can hire some ex NHLer into a prominent front office role the minute the ink dries on their NHL retirement and people will clap like seals for it, but if you do anything remotely the same for a woman? She can't possibly be bright or qualified.

MPP has been a captain for every team she has played for, a proven winner/champion, played international/college/pro, has a university education, never had a millionaire salary, etc. She has so much to bring to the Habs organization.

 

[WeThreeKings]

MPP has been a captain for every team she has played for, a proven winner/champion, played international/college/pro, has a university education, never had a millionaire salary, etc. She has so much to bring to the Habs organization.

It's such a huge win - annoying as f*** we have to deal with a bunch of insecure dudes trying to minimize it.

 

[ReginaHabs]

Absolutely. That’s why I keep the genders separate. Best woman hockey player ever. Best woman tennis player ever.

And you separate them when it’s a man too, right? Best man hockey player ever. Best man tennis player ever.

 

[George Lebay]

Good thing the f***ing Lightnings didn't hire her before us.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

And you separate them when it’s a man too, right? Best man hockey player ever. Best man tennis player ever.

Like most people when talking sports I give the default setting to the men’s side. I don’t use “best man”.

 

[Treb]

 

[bcv]

I understand perfectly. That’s why women and men should never be compared against each other in sports.

No you don’t understand. If we can compare 100lbs and 300lbs fighter with pound for pound rankings we sure as shit can compare women and men

 

[Tetragrammaton]

No you don’t understand. If we can compare 100lbs and 300lbs fighter with pound for pound rankings we sure as shit can compare women and men

There’s no weight classes in hockey. Combat sports are different as they have weight classes. Women and men cannot be compared when it comes to sports, that’s why they are separate.

And also women have those fighting weight classes too, we still can’t compare any men and women in combat sports. What point are you trying to make?

 

[sampollock]

another winner with a winning attitute ... how can that be a bad thing

 

[Naslundforever]

Absolutely. That’s why I keep the genders separate. Best woman hockey player ever. Best woman tennis player ever.

Maybe the nhl should be split in 5-10 leagues with weight and age categories too. Obviously 20 year old 170 pounders got no business being compared to 220 pound 30 year olds.

 

[MakeTheGoalsLarger]

another winner with a winning attitute ... how can that be a bad thing

Good point

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Wait until they find out a woman ran day to day operations of an NHL team as far back as 1952 and won a Cup as team president in 1954.

But how she got the job in the first place? It was PR Woke propaganda right?...

 

[sampollock]

Good point

she is not coaching or management.. big diff

 

[Treb]

she is not coaching or management.. big diff

I also don't remember Gretzky being knoen as a great leader, which is definitely important in coaching/teaching.

 

[hey]

I couldn't care less if it was a man or a women. She is a perfect role model for young players. She knows what it takes to prepare for a season on and of the ice. She is a also a great team player and person...again perfect to mentoring young prospects.
My son does high level judo and he has two excellent role models. One is female and one is male. Both were on the national team, both are great individuals, both have a natural fathering / mothering instincts which helps with developing young athletes. Both are the perfect fit for the job...gender are irrelevant if the have the right skill sets.

 

[HomaridII]

"pressure is a privilege" - Marie Phillip Poulin.

I cannot think of a better person to work with our no. 1 pick, whoever that is. Hard work, dedication and how you face the pressure of being a no. 1 pick on the biggest hockey market in the world is right up her alley.

 

[Kimota]

Raonic is not a better tennis player. He would win 100 times out of 100 because of his physical attributes, but having watched both a lot, there's no way you can say his positioning, ball placement, understanding in how to move the opponent / place his serve and when to do what he should are anywhere near Serena.

You cannot take physicality out of the equation. Cause then people would say that Carbonneau was better than McDavid cause the guy could take a game apart. These guys are athletes, not mathematicians. Raonic does things that Serena cannot do.

 

[Kimota]

Mike Tyson would destroy Pernell Whitaker. Therefore Tyson is a better boxer than Whitaker.

That's the logic you are using right now.

Fighting is different from any non-fighting sports. That's why there are weight limits. If we have a competition one on one on the ice between Marie-Philip and say....Lekhonen. And he keeps outplaying her and she can't touch the puck, would you still say "she's still better" and "that's unfair cause of the physical disadvantage"? No it would clearly shows that he is better. Sidney Crosby is better from most player for many things but his speed that his legs provides makes him superior. Are we gonna say well that's unfair the guy has incredible legs. "He's not really the best, that's just his legs".

 

[Kimota]

Call me when he has 73 titles.

Just because they don't play in the same category doesn't mean he's a better tennis player. They both played at the top level they could and one has career that will go down in history and one doesn't.

He has had far greater competition, though. You guys says that physicality is a thing. Did you see Serena'a body? She plays all the time against women that are two times smaller, basically.

 

[Garo]

You cannot take physicality out of the equation. Cause then people would say that Carbonneau was better than McDavid cause the guy could take a game apart. These guys are athletes, not mathematicians. Raonic does things that Serena cannot do.

You absolutely can, and your example is silly because McDavid has insane skills and brains to use them. But also, it largely ignores why Raonic hasn't actually been as successful as he physically should have.

Raonic on a court does things nearly no one can do, and its not just women either. He's all time as a server in power, his forehand is ridiculously strong... You essentially start with the two best weapons in tennis. But Raonic never won anything major, because he has nothing else. His record against the top is terrible, and its not because he has lesser tools physically. He just can't adjust, can't position well enough, has no gameplan beyond the point he's playing. His improvements have always been "oh, he's mentally better now" but that doesn't matter because even when he feels the pressure less its not like he'll outsmart any top player when it really counts.

To tie it to well, something more in the role Poulin got, what would someone learn from Raonic? Essentially nothing. You either have what he has or you do not. You would have a better time understanding what not to do watching Raonic than what you should do. You would learn a lot more like Serena, who was, yes, an excellent athlete at her peak, but then managed her severe drop in footspeed to still win slams and compete for more. She placed her shots better, she positioned extremely well, she tweaked her serve - both of them - to place opponents in worse spots since she can't really count on pure athleticism. She managed her decline better than Raonic managed his peak because she understood the game and her strengths on a level he would never hope to match. Neither is a mathematician, but smarts largely explain the difference in both, and why Serena is just a better player of the game.

 

[Guess]

You're both wrong and partially right IMO. I'm not a fan of PC culture, wokeness, cancelling etc. But this isn't that.

It's not a PR move in that MPP has her own resume, merits, accomplishments etc. And that it's not because of her sexe that she is being brought on board.

Although I will concede that the organization is using this consultant hire to make a PR 'splash', or else Adam Nicholas, the director, would've gotten a press conference as well.

MPP rose to the top, the absolute peak, and to quote the great, and for some, 'controversial' mind of Jordan Peterson on achieving greatness : "There are a certain number of people, although not that many, who are perfectly willing to sacrifice virtually all of their lives to the pursuit of a high end career. These are people who are very conscientious, very intelligent, very driven, very healthy, very high energy, and they're willing to work 70 or 80 hours a week non-stop specialize at one thing to get to the top. [To get to the top] of any organization is an incredibly competitive enterprise [...] it's absolute all out warfare [...] if you're going to be successful you need to be smart, conscientious and tough."

Sounds like anyone with these qualities can be on my team! Go MPP Go and Go Habs Go! Forward thinking is always needed in any organization

Adam Nicholas didn't want to have a press conference, he is a private person.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

You absolutely can, and your example is silly because McDavid has insane skills and brains to use them. But also, it largely ignores why Raonic hasn't actually been as successful as he physically should have.

Raonic on a court does things nearly no one can do, and its not just women either. He's all time as a server in power, his forehand is ridiculously strong... You essentially start with the two best weapons in tennis. But Raonic never won anything major, because he has nothing else. His record against the top is terrible, and its not because he has lesser tools physically. He just can't adjust, can't position well enough, has no gameplan beyond the point he's playing. His improvements have always been "oh, he's mentally better now" but that doesn't matter because even when he feels the pressure less its not like he'll outsmart any top player when it really counts.

To tie it to well, something more in the role Poulin got, what would someone learn from Raonic? Essentially nothing. You either have what he has or you do not. You would have a better time understanding what not to do watching Raonic than what you should do. You would learn a lot more like Serena, who was, yes, an excellent athlete at her peak, but then managed her severe drop in footspeed to still win slams and compete for more. She placed her shots better, she positioned extremely well, she tweaked her serve - both of them - to place opponents in worse spots since she can't really count on pure athleticism. She managed her decline better than Raonic managed his peak because she understood the game and her strengths on a level he would never hope to match. Neither is a mathematician, but smarts largely explain the difference in both, and why Serena is just a better player of the game.

You can’t compare women and men. She’s not a better player of the game she’s a better woman’s tennis player. Put them up against each other and she will struggle to even score a point against him.

We have to stop comparing women and men in sports because it’s completely senseless.

Men vs Men

Women vs Women