Olympic Gold, a Walter Cup, and Now Medical School: Claire Thompson Retires at 28

Claire Thompson always had a second career lined up. On Thursday, at 28, she decided it was time to start it.

The Canadian defender announced her retirement from hockey and is back at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine, where she wants to become an orthopedic surgeon. She had paused her studies in 2024 after two years to go all in on the PWHL.

I definitely knew my goal was to become a doctor, and just thinking about the timeline to get there and eventually to become an orthopedic surgeon, I knew kind of going into this last year and into this summer that my plan was to return to school.

What she leaves behind

Thompson's breakout came at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. She had two goals and 11 assists, the most points ever by a defender at an Olympic tournament, led every player at plus-23 and made the all-star team as Canada won gold. She also won a world championship and finished with seven goals and 32 assists in 63 games for her country.

In the PWHL she won the Walter Cup with the Minnesota Frost in 2025, adding six assists in eight playoff games, and then became the first player the Vancouver Goldeneyes ever signed. She had eight goals and 27 assists in 58 regular-season games over two seasons.

She was more interested in talking about the league than her own numbers. "Where professional women's hockey was when I was starting hockey and where it is at today, and to be able to play any small role in the development of professional women's hockey in North America, is something that I'll always be very proud of," she said.

Vancouver now heads into a season with new conferences and a longer schedule without the player it built its first roster around.