Canadian Olympic gold medalist Claire Thompson of Toronto, Ontario has retired from the Professional Women’s Hockey League to attend medical school at New York University according to the Canadian Press on Thursday. Thompson hopes to be a doctor. She is 28 years old.
Thompson won a gold medal for Canada in women’s hockey at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. She then won a silver medal medal for Canada in women’s hockey at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
A defenseman, Thompson played two seasons in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. She was with the Minnesota Frost in 2024-25, and with the Vancouver Goldeneyes in 2025-26. While with the Frost, Thompson won a Walter Cup. In 58 games, Thompson had eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points. She had 26 penalty minutes, with a zero plus/minus rating, three faceoff wins, two power-play goals, one game-winning goal, one shootout goal, 65 blocked shots and 97 hits.
The shootout goal, which turned out to be the shootout winner, came in a 4-3 Frost win over the Toronto Sceptres on January 28, 2025. The game-winning goal came on April 21, 2026 in a 4-3 Goldeneyes win over the Montreal Victoire. Thompson scored from defender Sophie Jaques of Toronto and Abby Boreen at 5:06 of the third period. The Goldeneyes were up 4-0 at the time.
Thompson is trying to follow in the footsteps of Canadian Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. Wickenheiser went from being the best women’s hockey player ever to being a medical doctor. Wickenheiser won a gold medal in women’s hockey at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
