Cheryl Pounder is a TSN hockey analyst and a two-time Olympic champion with Canada, who won gold as a defender in 2002 and 2006. Cheryl Pounder was the analyst on TSN’s coverage of the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup Finals and worked both Olympic hockey tournaments for CBC at Milano Cortina 2026. From NHL 24 to NHL 26, she was also the color commentator in EA Sports’ NHL video games, the first woman in the role.
| Fast facts: Cheryl Pounder | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Two Olympic golds; first woman color commentator in EA Sports NHL |
| Current role | TSN hockey analyst: PWHL and Ottawa Senators coverage (2025-26; 2026-27 not yet announced) |
| Employer | TSN |
| Hometown | Mississauga, Ontario (born in Montreal) |
| Education | Wilfrid Laurier University, BA in kinesiology and physical education, 2000 |
| Previous roles | EA Sports NHL color commentator, NHL 24 to NHL 26; CBC Olympic analyst |
| Hockey connection | Canada’s national team, 1994 to 2007 |
What does Cheryl Pounder do at TSN?
Cheryl Pounder analyses women’s and men’s hockey for TSN. She has been TSN’s PWHL playoff analyst, paired with play-by-play voice Kenzie Lalonde, and the PWHL’s Walter Cup Final announcement in May 2026 named her as analyst for the league’s first all-Canadian final, Montréal against Ottawa. The same pairing worked the 2025 Women’s World Championship and the 2024 and 2025 PWHL playoffs.
She has been part of TSN’s Ottawa Senators coverage since the 2021-22 season, first as color commentator on regional broadcasts and, from 2025-26, on its rotating panel of analysts. In April 2026, she interviewed Senators owner Michael Andlauer on air when the club announced a 12-year extension of its broadcast deal with TSN. As of September 2026, TSN had not announced its crews for 2026-27. She also sits on the board of the Hockey Canada Foundation, elected in March 2025. The channels and streams for every Senators game are in our guide to how to watch the Ottawa Senators.
Is Cheryl Pounder in NHL 26?
Yes. Cheryl Pounder is the color commentator in EA Sports’ NHL 26, alongside play-by-play voice James Cybulski. EA announced in August 2023 that she would replace Ray Ferraro, the series’ color voice since NHL 15, for NHL 24, making her the first woman to do color commentary in the series, and she returned for NHL 25 and NHL 26. For NHL 27, EA brought in John Buccigross and Darren Pang, with Pang replacing Pounder, The Hockey News reported in July 2026.
Carrlyn Bathe had been the first woman broadcaster voice in the series, as a rinkside analyst in NHL 21, so the first in Pounder’s case is the color commentator’s seat.
Who did Cheryl Pounder play for?
Cheryl Pounder played defense for Canada from 1994 to 2007 and for Wilfrid Laurier University from 1995, where she captained the Golden Hawks, won the team’s rookie of the year award in 1995-96, and its MVP award in 1997-98. She won six world championships in 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2007, with 16 points in 35 games across seven tournaments. She started out in ringette in Mississauga.
She debuted at the Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, and scored all four of her Olympic points in Turin in 2006: two goals and two assists in five games. Both tournaments ended in gold. She also won seven Nations Cup golds. In 2020, TSN named her to its all-time women’s Team Canada.
| Year | Role | Outlet or team |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 to 2007 | Defender, six world titles | Canada |
| 2002 and 2006 | Olympic gold | Canada |
| From 2009 | Broadcaster, starting at the 2009 Women’s World Championship | TSN and RDS by 2010 |
| 2014, 2018, 2022 | Olympic women’s hockey analyst | CBC (with TSN in 2014 and 2018) |
| January 2019 | Co-host, HER MARK podcast, with Kate Beirness | TSN |
| From 2021-22 | Senators coverage | TSN |
| NHL 24 to NHL 26 | Colour commentator | EA Sports |
| 1 January 2024 | Analyst, first PWHL game | CBC, Sportsnet and TSN |
| February 2026 | Women’s analyst and men’s panel, Milano Cortina | CBC |
Cheryl Pounder has broadcast twice as many Olympic Games as she played, four against two.
Is Cheryl Pounder at the Olympics?
Cheryl Pounder worked the Milano Cortina Olympics in February 2026 for CBC. She was the women’s hockey game analyst alongside Kenzie Lalonde and also sat on CBC’s men’s hockey panel with James Duthie, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Kevin Bieksa and Elliotte Friedman. Her earlier Olympic assignments were the women’s tournaments in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Did Cheryl Pounder call the first PWHL game?
Yes. Cheryl Pounder was the analyst on the first game in PWHL history, New York against Toronto at Mattamy Athletic Centre on 1 January 2024, working alongside play-by-play voice Daniella Ponticelli. In Canada, the game aired on CBC, Sportsnet and TSN.
When she began doing color on women’s games, there were only a handful of broadcasts a year. “Now I’m doing in one month what I used to do in a whole year,” Pounder told the Globe and Mail in May 2024.
Is Cheryl Pounder in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
No. Cheryl Pounder has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. She is in Canada’s Olympic Hall of Fame, inducted in 2012 as a member of the 2006 Olympic team, and in the Wilfrid Laurier University athletics hall of fame since 2005. She was nominated for Best Sports Analyst at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2023 and 2024.
How old is Cheryl Pounder, and is she Canadian?
Cheryl Pounder was born on 21 June 1976 in Montreal and grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. She is Canadian. Her family connection to the game goes back two generations: she has said her grandfather was general manager of the Montreal Junior Canadiens.
Is Cheryl Pounder married? Does she have kids?
Cheryl Pounder has two daughters, which she has discussed in interviews. No publicly confirmed information is available about her relationship status, and Cheryl Pounder keeps her personal life private.
