Canada's Claire Thompson (42) battles along the boards against the United States during first period Rivalry Series hockey action in Kamloops, B.C., Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. Piecing together life as both an NYU medical student and a Canadian women's hockey team defender is a full-time job for the 25-year-old from Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jesse Johnston
A few hours before Canada’s game Friday at the women’s world hockey championship, Claire Thompson will write an endocrinology exam.
“School still goes on, even when there’s a world championship,” Thompson told The Canadian Press.
“I think we’re fortunate that day. Our game isn’t until 7 or 7:30 p.m., so I’ll wake up, write the exam, then get ready for the game.”
Piecing together life as both an NYU medical student and a Canadian women’s hockey team defender is a full-time job for the 25-year-old from Toronto.
Thompson was a revelation at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where Canada won gold and she was named to the tournament all-star team.
Thompson led all defenders in points with two goals and an 11 assists and all players in plus-minus at 23.
Her invitation to centralize in Calgary in the months leading into Beijing was her first real stint with the national team.
“I remember maybe two years before the Olympics her coming to a camp and us being like ‘Who is this girl?'” veteran forward Natalie Spooner recalled.
“I really hadn’t seen her around before. We weren’t too sure what she really had to offer.”
Spooner initially thought Thompson seemed clumsy on her skates.
“All of a sudden she just pulls out and can skate and deke people,” Spooner said. “Your eyes open and your jaw drops a little.
“That was pretty much what we saw at the Olympics and through centralization. She really just kind of blossomed, and maybe she was always like that, but we just didn’t know because we hadn’t seen her play that much.”
Canada head coach Troy Ryan says if the five-foot-eight, 148-pound Thompson seems reckless on her skates, it’s because “she just uses her edges to extremes that other people probably would never attempt to do.
“She’s big, she’s fast, she’s got a long stick and she works hard,” the coach continued. “If she makes a mistake offensively, she recovers all the time. There’s so much upside in her offence. She’s looking at attacking all the time.”
Thompson grew up playing other sports in the summer, but spent one night a week in power skating sessions.
She’s trained with Dawn Braid, who went on to work with the NHL’s Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes.
Thompson said it was a mutual decision with Hockey Canada to forego last summer’s world championship in Herning, Denmark, to concentrate on her first weeks at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine.
“Your first couple months of medical school are definitely an adjustment,” Thompson acknowledged.
Thompson used this winter’s seven-game Rivalry Series against the United States to see if she could combine her studies with international hockey.
“For her to be juggling what she’s juggling right now and the way she manages it, controls it, is pretty cool actually,” Ryan said.
“During the Rivalry Series, we’re running around doing video, having meetings and she’s constantly where our coaches will often meet just studying. I’m talking hours and hours and hours.”
A typical school day for Thompson is waking up a 7 a.m. to spend an hour poring over medical flash cards on her mobile phone app.
She’ll work on research projects and watch lectures online in the morning.
Afternoons are spent in seminars, small-group activities, the teaching hospital to practice interviewing patients or the simulation centre learning how to perform an ultrasound.
Thompson gets her strength and conditioning workout assigned by Hockey Canada done between 3-4 p.m.
Two nights a week, she takes an Uber or bus to skate with the NYU men’s hockey club before lights out at 11.
“My days are pretty packed,” Thompson said. “I’m pretty disciplined about staying on top of my schedule, and not letting things build up and working within the time I have to get things done.
“From the hockey standpoint, hockey is just fun and I love what I do.
“I think on hard days, it’s really easy to find motivation, knowing that all of my teammates are working their hardest and there is no reason why I can’t work my hardest for them as well.”
Thompson wants to play for Canada’s Olympic team again in 2026.
“I don’t know what that will look like year to year,” she admitted. “The upcoming years of medical school require more in-person learning.
“It will be extremely challenging to take time off to travel or play in world championships or Rivalry Series. That will get a lot trickier.”
In the meantime, Thompson will hit both the books and the ice hard during the world championship in Brampton, Ont., in her quest for a both a gold medal and a good grade.
“It’s not every day you get selected for a world championship team and get to play for your country in the sport that you love alongside your best friends,” she said.
“I’m happy to do whatever I need to do to get my schoolwork done, and still be able to compete on the ice with the team.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2023.
