Vancouver Goldeneyes defender Claire Thompson is proving that elite athletic performance and academic excellence can coexist, even if it requires some careful balancing. The 27-year-old has taken a leave from medical school at New York University to focus on her professional hockey career while still maintaining her medical research commitments.
Medical Prodigy on Ice
Thompson's academic achievements are as impressive as her on-ice performance. During a January appearance on the Jocks in Jills podcast, she modestly corrected host Tessa Bonhomme's suggestion that she scored in the 97th percentile on her Medical College Admission Test, revealing she had actually achieved the 99th percentile. This exceptional performance earned her the nickname 'The Human ChatGPT' from her Minnesota Frost teammates last season.
Thompson has completed two years at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine and aims to become an orthopedic surgeon. Despite her hockey commitments, she continues conducting research with NYU's orthopedics department and completed one of her board exams last summer. 'I read my medical journals as I need to to keep up and to help with research,' Thompson explained after a recent practice.
Olympic Aspirations Drive Decision
The Toronto native's decision to pause her medical studies stems from dual ambitions: establishing herself with the expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes in the Professional Women's Hockey League and competing with Team Canada at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Thompson was part of Canada's gold-medal winning team at Beijing 2022, where she was the tournament's top-scoring defender with 13 points in seven games and earned all-star team honors.
She has also played on three world championship teams, winning gold in 2021 and silver in both 2023 and 2025. Most recently, she was among six Goldeneyes who represented Canada against the United States in the Rivalry Series before the PWHL season began.
Immediate Impact with Vancouver
Thompson has quickly become a key player for the expansion Goldeneyes, scoring the tying goal and adding an assist in Vancouver's 4-3 overtime victory against fellow newcomers Seattle Torrent in their inaugural regular season game. She followed that performance with Vancouver's lone goal in their 5-1 loss to Ottawa Charge.
Her connection to Vancouver runs deeper than just this season. General Manager Cara Gardner Morey previously coached Thompson at Princeton University, creating built-in familiarity that influenced her decision to join the expansion club. 'I think the PWHL has amazing staff members every market you go to, but it was definitely exciting to have some familiarity here,' Thompson noted.
The Goldeneyes continue their season with a road game against New York Sirens before returning home to host the same team on December 6 at Pacific Coliseum.
While Thompson doesn't have a specific timeline for completing her medical studies, she remains committed to both her athletic and academic pursuits. 'I'm just taking it day by day. Professional hockey is a hard career to stay in,' she said, acknowledging the challenges of maintaining peak performance in both arenas.
