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Claire Thompson (ice hockey)

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Claire Thompson
Thompson with the Vancouver Goldeneyes in 2026
Born (1998-01-28) January 28, 1998 (age 28)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 147 lb (67 kg; 10 st 7 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
PWHL team
Former teams		 Vancouver Goldeneyes
Minnesota Frost
PWHPA Toronto
National team  Canada
Playing career 2016–2026
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2022 BeijingTeam
Silver medal – second place2026 Milano CortinaTeam
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 Canada
Silver medal – second place2023 Canada
Silver medal – second place2025 Czechia

Claire Margaret Thompson[1] (born January 28, 1998) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. She played for the Minnesota Frost and the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She played college ice hockey at Princeton Tigers, where she finished her career fifth in all-time points by a defenceman in program history with 87 points.

She made her debut for the Canadian national team in 2019 in a two-game series against the United States held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2] She won gold with Team Canada at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship.[3]

Thompson made her Olympic debut at the 2022 Winter Olympics held in Beijing, China. She helped Canada win gold and was named a tournament all-star.[4][5] At the 2022 Olympics, Thompson set the Olympic ice-hockey record for points by a defenceman. She tallied 13 points on two goals and 11 assists, shattering the previous record of nine.[6]

Playing career

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College

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During her freshman year with the Princeton Tigers, Thompson skated in all 33 games finishing with 20 points on 6 goals and 14 assists; she was second in defence in scoring and the leading freshmen defender. She was also named to the ECAC All-Academic Team.[7]

In her sophomore season, Thompson led the Tigers' defence in scoring, earning 21 points on 9 goals and 7 assists in 33 games. She was selected for Second-Team All-Ivy, ECAC All-Academic Team, and was named an AHCA All-America Scholar.[7]

After her junior year, Thompson finished third on the Princeton Tigers team in scoring, leading the defencemen with 28 points on 9 goals and 19 assists. She was sixth in the nation in points per game for a defenceman (0.85). The Tigers won the Ivy League championship this season. Thompson was selected for First-Team All-ECAC and First-Team All-Ivy League and was a finalist for ECAC Best Defenseman. Additionally, she was an Academic All-Ivy League selection, named to the ECAC All-Academic Team, and was an AHCA All-American Scholar.[7]

In her senior season with the Tigers, Thompson captained the team to their first-ever ECAC Championship.[8] The team was scheduled to play Northeastern University in the first round of the NCAA tournament; however, the tournament was cancelled by the NCAA due to COVID-19. Thompson led the team's defence in scoring, finishing the season with 23 points on 7 goals and 16 assists in 31 games. She was selected for Second-team All-Ivy, Third-team All-ECAC, ECAC All-Tournament team, a finalist for the ECAC Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year, Academic All-Ivy honoree, ECAC All-Academic, and AHCA All-America Scholar.[7] Additionally, Thompson was selected as Princeton's nominee for NCAA woman of the year and was also a finalist for Princeton Athletics' C. Otto Von Kienbusch Award for Top Senior Female Student Athlete.[9][10]

Thompson with the Minnesota Frost in 2025

Professional

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Thompson was a full-time student at NYU School of Medicine during the 2022–23 PWHPA season, but participated in PWHPA and Team Canada events when she was able. Due to increasing demands of her second year of medical school during the inaugural PWHL season, she received a compassionate waiver exemption to play for New York, but was unable to sign a full-time contract since she was only available when she did not have academic obligations. She intended to sign a reserve contract with the club, but was unable to do so because she was on a student visa. Although she initially planned to remain in school the following year, she decided instead to declare for the 2024 PWHL Draft.[11]

At the draft, Thompson was selected third overall by PWHL Minnesota.[12] Soon after, she signed a two-year contract with the club, now rebranded as the Minnesota Frost.[13] During the 2024–25 season, in her rookie season, she recorded four goals and 14 assists in 30 games, and finished third in scoring by a defender. She also became the second player in league history to record four points in one game, in a 5–2 win over the Ottawa Charge on December 20, 2024. Following the season she was named a finalist for the PWHL Defender of the Year.[14][15]

During the league's expansion to eight teams ahead of the 2025–26 season, Thompson was left unprotected by the Frost and signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Goldeneyes, becoming the first player to join the new club.[16] On November 21, 2025, the Goldeneyes named Thompson as one of their alternate captains.[17]

On October 1, 2026, Thompson announced her retirement from professional ice hockey to return full time to medical school at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.[18]

International

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Thompson debuted for the Canada women's national ice hockey team in 2019 in a two-game series against the United S.tates held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2] She was then selected to attend the 2020 Women's Hockey World Championships that were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] She was one of 28 players invited to Hockey Canada's Centralization Camp, which represents the selection process for the Canadian women's team that shall compete in Ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[19]

On January 11, 2022, Thompson was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[20][21][22] Thompson finished with the highest plus-minus rating of the Olympic tournament with +23.[23]

On January 9, 2026, Thompson was named to Canada's roster to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.[24] During the team's quarterfinal game against Germany, she scored Canada's second goal in the 16th minute helping lead Canada to a 5–1 win and advance to the semifinals.[25][26]

On October 1, 2026, Thompson announced her retirement from professional ice hockey in order to resume her medical studies.[27]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; 
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2013–14Toronto Jr. AerosProv. WHL
 10000 31120
2014–15Toronto Jr. AerosProv. WHL
 385192424 140554
2015–16Toronto Jr. AerosProv. WHL
 345131814 1114512
2016–17Princeton UniversityECAC
 336142012 —————
2017–18Princeton UniversityECAC
 32971630 —————
2018–19Princeton UniversityECAC
 339192828 —————
2019–20Princeton UniversityECAC
 317162327 —————
2020–21TorontoPWHPA
 40110 —————
2022–23Team SonnetPWHPA
 202462 —————
2024–25Minnesota FrostPWHL
 30414188 80664
2025–26Vancouver GoldeneyesPWHL
 284131718 —————
PWHPA totals 242572 —————
PWHL totals 588273526 80664

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2021 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 70440
2022 Canada OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7211132
2023 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 702210
2025 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 62574
2026 Canada OG 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 71344
Senior totals 345253020

Awards and honours

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  • 2017 ECAC All-Academic Team
  • 2018 Second Team All-Ivy
  • 2018 ECAC All-Academic Team
  • 2018 AHCA All-America Scholar
  • 2019 First Team All-Ivy
  • 2019 First Team All-ECAC
  • 2019 ECAC All-Academic Team
  • 2019 AHCA All-America Scholar
  • 2019 Academic All-Ivy League
  • 2020 Second Team All-Ivy
  • 2020 Third Team All-ECAC
  • 2020 ECAC All-Academic Team
  • 2020 AHCA All-America Scholar
  • 2020 Academic All-Ivy League[7]
  • 2025 Walter Cup Champion[28]

References

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  1. ↑ "Claire Thompson - Women's Ice Hockey". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "National Women's Team Roster Unveiled for Series Against United States". hockeycanada.ca. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Poulin scores golden goal". iihf.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Poulin leads Canada to gold again". iihf.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Jenner MVP, all-stars announced". iihf.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. ↑ Fundaro, Gabriella (May 25, 2022). "2022 Top 25 Under 25 - 3: Claire Thompson". The Ice Garden. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Claire Thompson". goprincetontigers.com. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Champions! OT Goal Defeats No. 1 Cornell as No. 6 Princeton Wins First ECAC Title". goprincetontigers.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Thompson Selected as Princeton's Nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year". goprincetontigers.com. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Princeton Athletics Announces C. Otto von Kienbusch Award Finalists". goprincetontigers.com. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  11. ↑ Salvian, Hailey (June 5, 2024). "Why PWHL prospect Claire Thompson is putting medical school on hold to return to hockey". The Athletic. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  12. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (June 10, 2024). "Claire Thompson is back, selected by Minnesota Third Overall". The Hockey News. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  13. ↑ "PWHL Minnesota signs Claire Thompson to two-year contract". Daily Faceoff. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Fast, Jaques, Thompson Voted PWHL Defender of the Year Finalists". thepwhl.com. May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Renata Fast, Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson named finalists for PWHL's top defender award". The Globe and Mail. May 14, 2025. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  16. ↑ "PWHL Vancouver signing Frost's Jacques, Thompson as first players". Sportsnet. June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  17. ↑ "VANCOUVER GOLDENEYES ANNOUNCE ASHTON BELL, CLAIRE THOMPSON, AND SARAH NURSE AS TEAM'S FIRST-EVER LEADERSHIP CORE". www.thepwhl.com. November 21, 2025. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Olympic, Walter Cup champion Claire Thompson retires from hockey in pursuit of medical career". www.nytimes.com/athletic. Retrieved October 1,2026. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

    International play

    In August 2019, Thompson was named to Canada's Under-22/Development Team for a three-game series against the United States in Lake Placid, New York.<ref>"Canada 2019 NWDT Series Vs. United States Roster". hockeycanada.ca. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  19. ↑ "CANADA'S NATIONAL WOMEN'S TEAM UNVEILS OLYMPIC CENTRALIZATION ROSTER: 28 players to centralize in Calgary ahead of 2022 Olympic Winter Games". hockeycanada.ca. May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  20. ↑ Awad, Brandi (January 11, 2022). "Team Canada's women's hockey roster revealed for Beijing 2022". Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Canada's 2022 Olympic women's hockey team roster". Canadian Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  22. ↑ "2022 Olympic Winter Games (Women)". www.hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  23. ↑ "IIHF - Statistics 2022 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Team Canada unveils women's roster for 2026 Olympics in Milan". TSN.ca. January 9, 2026. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Milano Cortina 2026 Women's Hockey - Quarterfinal". ESPN. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Marie-Philip Poulin returns; Canada into Olympic semifinals". ESPN. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  27. ↑ Salvian, Hailey (October 1, 2026). "Olympic, Walter Cup champion Claire Thompson retires from hockey in pursuit of medical career". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Minnesota Frost capture second Walter Cup title". Sportsnet.ca. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
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