FILE PHOTO: 2022 Beijing Olympics - Ice Hockey - Women's Gold Medal Game - Canada v United States - Wukesong Sports Centre, Beijing, China - February 17, 2022. Claire Thompson of Canada in action. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
MILAN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Canada's Claire Thompson missed out on the inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League season but after pausing her studies she is back on the ice with another Olympic gold medal very much on her mind at this month's Milano Cortina Games.
Thompson delivered standout performances in Beijing four years ago, helping Canada win gold while setting a record for most points by a women's defenceman at a single Games and earning a place on the tournament all-star team.
The first fully professional women's league in North America was announced in August 2023, with the opening puck dropped at the beginning of 2024, timing that forced Thompson to sit out.
"The league came together very quickly," she told Reuters in an interview.
"It was never my intention to take a full season off hockey, but by the time the league came together late that fall and then it started in early January, I was already enrolled in my classes for that year and it wasn't possible to do both."
Forced to watch from afar while studying medicine, Thompson was left weighing her next move.
"The league did really well, so being on the sidelines that first year and only being able to watch it happen was definitely disappointing," Thompson said.
"It really solidified that I did want to put my studies on pause and come back and play.
"I think my sights were always set on the 2026 Olympics, and making sure I was as prepared and the best athlete I could possibly be by this time. Everything was planned around the Games, but I definitely also wanted to be part of the PWHL."
For Thompson, the idea of a professional career in hockey once seemed unimaginable.
"Growing up, I could never imagine a league like the PWHL where we're selling out NHL arenas, where there's full staff, full-time support for the athletes," the 28-year-old said.
"I would have never thought something like this was possible.
"I think having the financial backing to hire the best people in every department and have them available to the athletes at all times is a huge step forward and really enhances the hockey that we're able to play."
A NEW CHAPTER IN VANCOUVER
Thompson won the Walter Cup with Minnesota Frost in her first season and is now playing with expansion club Vancouver Goldeneyes, who have the highest average attendance in the league in their inaugural campaign.
"I think something that's really helped draw so much attention is we have the Pacific Coliseum, the rink where we play," Thompson explained.
"We're the only team in that venue. So I think something that's really special for our fans is when they walk into the building, there's Goldeneyes stuff everywhere.
"It really feels like you're at a Goldeneyes game, which I think is a really special and unique environment for the fans that I think keeps them coming back night after night."
PWHL players were in league action with just over a week to go to Milano Cortina, a very different situation to previous Games where Thompson and her Canadian teammates would be in training camp together for months prior to departure.
Their ambitions, however, remain the same.
"I think an advantage to the professional league is that all players are able to play the highest level of hockey leading into the games," Thompson said.
"It's really great not to have best-on-best women's hockey as our lead up for the Games.
"I think we definitely are going into these Olympics chasing gold. That's the goal we always have and that remains true."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)
