Claire Thompson retires from hockey to pursue medical career: report
Vancouver Goldeneyes defender Claire Thompson has retired from the game of hockey to pursue a medical career, according to a report.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian, Thompson said she is enrolled at NYU Grossman medical school and plans to become an orthopedic surgery.
“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 said. “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, 28, is coming off a 2025-26 campaign that saw her score four goals and add 13 assists for 17 points in 28 games with the Goldeneyes. Through two seasons, she compiled eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points in 58 games with Vancouver and the Minnesota Frost.
She also recorded six assists in eight playoff games in 2025, where she helped the Frost win their second Walter Cup championship in franchise history. She and fellow defender Sophie Jaques would sign with the PWHL’s Canadian expansion franchise in the Goldeneyes ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Internationally, Thompson was a dominant force at the 2022 Winter Olympics, as she set a record for points by a defender in a single Olympic tournament with 13. Her efforts led to Canada winning its fifth gold medal in women’s hockey.
“A lot of those points came (in 2022) when our team set almost every scoring and points record there was, so I really just feel like I was in the right place at the right time,” she told The Athletic.
Thompson also helped Canada earn a silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. She has the all-time points record for defenders in Olympic history.
The Toronto native played four seasons of college hockey at Princeton University. In 129 career NCAA games, she had 31 goals and 56 assists for 87 points. She captained the Tigers to an ECAC championship in 2022.
After graduating, she enrolled at New York University’s (NYU) School of Medicine, taking a brief pause from hockey. But once she declared for the 2024 PWHL Draft, she was selected by the Frost with the No. 3 overall pick.
