One of Canada’s top women’s hockey players is retiring from the sport to become a doctor.
Defender Claire Thompson announced her retirement Thursday on Instagram and in an exclusive interview with The Athletic.
The 28-year-old Toronto native won Olympic gold with Canada at the 2022 Beijing Games and silver earlier this year in Milan after putting her medical career on hold for two years.
Thompson set an Olympic record for points by a defender with 13 in Beijing and finished with 17 points in 14 career Olympic games.
She also won the Walter Cup with the PWHL’s Minnesota Frost in 2025 before spending last season with the expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes.
“A career in medicine has always been an overarching goal of mine and I feel that now is the best time in my life to step away from hockey,” Thompson told The Athletic. “I have achieved far more than I could have ever hoped for and I feel like I’m ready to step away and continue on the long road ahead of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.”
Thompson has returned to medical school at New York University.
In 2024, she had started school and hoped to also practice with the PWHL New York franchise (now known as the Sirens) when the league officially began play. But it wasn’t a viable option, so Thompson chose hockey.
She declared for the 2024 PWHL draft and was selected third overall by the reigning champion Frost.
Thompson adjusted quickly following her time away from the game and was one of the PWHL’s top defenders, helping Minnesota to a second consecutive title.
“That was such a fun run,” she recalled to The Athletic. “I feel so lucky to have been drafted by Minnesota … I really feel like it was just a fortunate happenstance that they took a chance on me after the year off.”
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Thompson joined the Goldeneyes for the 2025-26 campaign, becoming the first player in franchise history and an alternate captain.
She scored and added an assist in Vancouver’s first game, played in front of a deafening crowd of 14,958 at Pacific Coliseum.
“Getting to play in front of Canadians and living back in Canada was something that was also really special,” said Thompson. “To be able to play my last season in Canada, in front of Canadian fans, was amazing.
She also represented Canada at the 2025 world championships and captured a silver medal.
