She has earned the right to captain the deep bench of the Brampton Canadette-Thunder. As a veteran who played on Team Canada for 10 years and earned Olympic gold, Lori Dupuis is a serious competitor.

At 5'9" Dupuis holds her own in the corners and doesn't like to come out without rubber on her stick. Her efforts often impact the scoreboard since Lori's regular linemate is Jayna Hefford, one of the CWHL's leading scorers and another Olympic gold medalist. Although Hefford is currently centralized in Calgary with Team Canada, Dupuis doesn't plan to back off on setting up her teammates to score.

"I often play with players who are scorers, because my role is to play big, work hard in the corners and get them the puck," says Dupuis. "I hate to lose and I will do what I can to help the team accomplish the win."

Dupuis' ability to control the play combined with her intensity and competitive spirit has served her well. She captained her varsity team for three years of a 1991 to 1997 stretch with the University of Toronto. Meanwhile, Dupuis joined Team Canada in 1995.

She played in the 1998 Olympics, the first-ever for women's hockey, when Canada came away with a silver medal. Dupuis also won three world championships with Team Canada in 1997, 1999 and 2000. But the experience that's permanently etched in her memory is being part of the 2002 Olympic team that captured gold in Salt Lake City.

"It was an experience I will never forget. When I see clips of the final game of 2002 or see something Olympic, I get goose bumps," she says. "Playing for Canada was an honour, something I didn't ever want to end. It was one of the proudest moments of my life, standing listening to our National Anthem after winning gold."

She played for the national team until 2005. When she wasn't centralized, she played with Brampton, starting in 1998 (when the team was part of the former National Women's Hockey League).

Dupuis’ talented and experienced influence on her team is one of the reasons Brampton usually leads the standings and is a two-time league champion.

"Lori is a natural born leader. Players look to her for a calming, rational approach to every situation," says Brampton's coach, Donna-Lynn Rosa. "She sees the play before it unfolds. And Lori is a motivational player by her work ethic alone… when she addresses the players she commands respect and attention."

Unlike other players who grew up dreaming, planning and preparing to play a successful career with elite teams, the Cornwall, Ontario native has always allowed her love of the game to lead her.

"I continued to play because I loved it. The better I got, the better I wanted to be."