Marie-Philip Poulin is Canada's athlete of the year

Marie-Philip Poulin has made history by being the first female hockey player to win the Northern Star Award and be recognized as Canada's athlete of the year.

Marie-Philip Poulin, a 31-year-old hockey player from Beauceville, Quebec, is captain the Canadian women's hockey team. Poulin  led the Canadian hockey team to a world championship title as captain of the team. 

Poulin also played a crucial role in bringing home the gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Moreover, Poulin is the only hockey player ever to have scored goals in four Olympic hockey finals in a row.  

CBC reported that Poulin was surprised that she was the first female hockey player to win the award. Poulin told the media, "Honestly, I didn't think I was the first one."

Poulin said she felt honoured to have won the Northern Star awards and join the ranks of many of her idols. "It's a real honour because the ladies have been there before us, before me, I've watched them on TV. They're my idols and my role models."

From the ice rink to the basketball court and everywhere in between, Canadian athletes have impressed both Canada and the world with their talent in 2022. Click on to read about the other Canadian athletes who were top contenders for winning the Northern Star award.

This Calgary-born hockey player has taken the NHL by storm. The 24-year-old, who is a defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche, helped the team achieve victory last season and win the Stanley Cup.

Makar already has a few awards under his belt: the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player in the playoffs and the Norris Trophy for being the NHL's best defenceman throughout the regular season. To win both awards in the same season is practically unheard of. Perhaps, he will soon be adding another award to his collection.

The Ottawa native is a fierce speedskater who returned from the Beijing Winter Olympics with three medals: bronze, silver and gold!

Weidemann also had the honour of carrying the Canadian flag at the closing ceremony in Beijing. In addition, she won medals at the World Cup in the new speedskating season that started in December. 

Félix Auger-Alisassime calls Montreal home, and this talented tennis player has had a fantastic year. 

Félix won four ATP Tour events and is now No.6 in the world in tennis singles. Most recently, Félix helped Canada win its very first Davis Cup title.

Hailing from Smiths Falls, Ontario, 25-year-old Brooke Henderson made great strides in her golf career in 2022. Henderson won two LPGA tournaments, one of which was a major, and she now has a total of 12 LPGA titles. 

In addition, Henderson also was in the top 10 in eight tournaments in 2022, confirming her status as one of Canada's most outstanding professional golfers. 

Brian McKeever is from Canmore, Alberta might be 43 years old, but he is Canada's cross-country skiing sensation. McKeever won an impressive three gold medals at the Beijing Paralympics and is the most decorated winter Paralympian in Canada. 

In fact, McKeever's achievements in Beijing brought his Paralympic total to 20 medals in total, bringing him to a tie with a German alpine skier for the honour of the most medals won by a male in the winter Paralympics. 

Summer McIntosh is only 16 years old and is already a world champion. McIntosh, a Toronto native, won four medals at the world championships this year.  

McIntosh brought home gold medals for the 200-metre butterfly and 400-metre individual medley, a silver in the 400-metre freestyle and a bronze with her teammates in the 4x200-metre freestyle relay. If that wasn't enough, McIntosh also won six medals at the Commonwealth Games.

Andrew Wiggins is a basketball star from Vaughan. Wiggins plays for the Golden State Warriors and brought the team victory over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals in June 2022. 

This 27-year-old forward was also named the second-best Warrior after Steph Curry during the playoffs.