Sarah Nurse
Nurse in 2024
Born (1995-01-04) January 4, 1995 (age 29)
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 148 lb (67 kg; 10 st 8 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
PWHL team
Former teams		 PWHL Toronto
Toronto Furies
Wisconsin Badgers
National team  Canada
Playing career 2015–present
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing Team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Canada
Gold medal – first place 2022 Denmark
Silver medal – second place 2023 Canada
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Finland
World U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Finland

Sarah Nurse (born January 4, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player with PWHL Toronto of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and the Canadian women's national team. She made her debut with the national team at the 2015 4 Nations Cup. Nurse represented Canada at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.

After a college career with the Wisconsin Badgers, Nurse played one season for the Toronto Furies of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) before the league folded in 2019. She then helped found the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and served on its board of directors. When the PWHPA helped found the PWHL in 2023, Nurse joined the executive committee for the league's labour union, the PWHL Players Association (PWHLPLA).

Playing career

PWHL (provincial)

Nurse won a silver medal with Stoney Creek at the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) provincials. She also won a bronze medal in high school at the 2010 OFSAA championships and a silver at OFSAA 2011. In 2010, she played with Team Heaney and reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 Ontario Winter Games.

During the 2010–11 Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) season, she led the Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres in scoring. She was named to the OWHA All-Star Team for a game vs. Team Ontario Under-18. For the 2011–12 PWHL season, she was named an alternate captain with Stoney Creek. She helped the club win a bronze medal at the PWHL championships. She ranked second on the club in Stoney Creek scoring.

With the Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres of the PWHL, she broke the league record shared by Kelly Sabatine and Thea Imbrogno for most goals in a season. Breaking the mark in the 2012–13 season, Nurse scored 35 goals, highlighted by a hat-trick in the season's final game.[1]

Wisconsin Badgers

Nurse played NCAA Division hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).

In the 2015 WCHA Final Faceoff championship game, Nurse scored twice, including the game-winning goal against Bemidji State.[2]

An 8–2 win on December 4, 2016, against the Badgers’ archrivals, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, provided Nurse with a career milestone. Playing in front of a sellout crowd at LaBahn Arena, Nurse scored three goals, becoming the first player in program history to score a hat-trick against Minnesota.[3]

CWHL

After competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Nurse was drafted second overall by the Toronto Furies in the 2018 CWHL Draft.[4] On October 17, 2018, Nurse scored her first CWHL goal in a Furies match at MasterCard Centre versus the visiting Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays. Breaking a 1–1 tie on the power play at the 8:54 mark of the third, the goal stood as the game-winning tally in a 3–1 final.[5]

PWHPA

Skating for Team Sonnet (Toronto), Nurse participated in the 2021 Secret Cup, which was the Canadian leg of the 2020–21 PWHPA Dream Gap Tour. She logged a goal and an assist in a 4-2 championship game loss versus Team Bauer (Montreal).[6]

Nurse with PWHL Toronto in 2024

PWHL (professional)

Following the launch of the new Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), Nurse was one of three players, alongside fellow Canadian Olympians Blayre Turnbull and Renata Fast, signed within a pre-draft period to the Toronto team.[7]

International play

Nurse was a member of Team Ontario blue that competed at the 2011 and 2012 National Women's Under-18 Championship, winning gold in 2011 and a bronze in 2012. She was a member of the Canadian team that captured gold at the 2013 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship.

At the 2015 4 Nations Cup, Nurse was a member of Canada's U22/Development Team, winning a gold medal.[8] She contributed two assists in a 4–1 win over Finland on January 3, 2015.[9]

Nurse participated for Team Canada in the Elite Women's 3-on-3 game at the Skills Competition of the 2020 National Hockey League All-Star Game.

Nurse was selected to compete for Team Canada in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.[10][11] She scored her first Olympic goal in a 2–1 victory over the United States on February 14.[12] She helped Team Canada take home a silver medal in a shootout against the United States.[13]

On January 11, 2022, Nurse was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[14][15][16] In Beijing, she set two new Olympic records for most points (18) and most assists (13) in a single women's tournament.[17]

Personal life

Nurse began skating when she was three years old. She started playing hockey when she was five.[18] Her cousins are professional hockey player Darnell Nurse of the Edmonton Oilers and basketball player Kia Nurse of the Los Angeles Sparks.[19] Her uncles were also involved in athletics; her uncle Donovan McNabb played pro football in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and her other uncle, Richard Nurse, was a wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[10]

Nurse, the biracial daughter of a black Trinidadian father and a white mother,[20] has spoken at length about racism in ice hockey.[21] When a student wore a costume depicting Barack Obama being lynched to a Badgers football game in 2016, Nurse posted a statement condemning not just the student, but a culture of racism in student athletics at the University of Wisconsin.[22][23] In the wake of the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020, Nurse spoke with Caroline Cameron of Sportsnet, urging Canadians not to separate themselves from the racism of the United States, citing the discrimination against Viola Desmond.[24] Nurse told The Canadian Press in November that her social media commentary on racial equality left her "flooded with interview requests".[25] In September 2020, Liz Knox resigned her position on the PWHPA board to allow Nurse to take her place, citing the association's "blind spot" with regards to race issues in ice hockey.[26] After the foundation of the PWHL in 2023, Nurse was named to the executive committee for the PWHLPA, the league's labour union.[27]

In November 2020, Mattel and Tim Hortons collaborated on two limited-edition Barbie dolls based on Nurse and fellow hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin. The dolls were created as part of Barbie's You Can Be Anything program, which aims to inspire "girls to reach their limitless potential through imaginative play and engaging with meaningful role models."[28] Nurse was featured on the June 2021 cover of Elle Canada along with Hanna Bunton and Brigette Lacquette.[29] Nurse appeared as a guest judge in an episode of the third season of Canada's Drag Race, which aired in summer 2022.[30] Also in 2022, Nurse became the first woman to appear on the cover of an EA Sports NHL title with NHL 23, appearing alongside Trevor Zegras.[31]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres PWHL 4 1 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres PWHL 36 18 13 31 12 6 3 1 4 0
2011–12 Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres PWHL 30 21 16 37 21 8 3 2 5 4
2012–13 Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres PWHL 35 36 20 56 26 8 6 8 14 8
2013–14 University of Wisconsin WCHA 38 11 10 21 2 — — — — —
2014–15 University of Wisconsin WCHA 37 15 10 25 10 — — — — —
2015–16 University of Wisconsin WCHA 36 25 13 38 10 — — — — —
2016–17 University of Wisconsin WCHA 39 25 28 53 26 — — — — —
2018–19 Toronto Furies CWHL 26 14 12 26 16 3 1 0 1 0
2019–20 GTA West PWHPA — — — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Toronto PWHPA 4 1 4 5 6 — — — — —
2022–23 Team Adidas PWHPA 20 7 7 14 4 — — — — —
CWHL totals 26 14 12 26 16 3 1 0 1 0

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Canada U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 1 0 1 0
2018 Canada OG 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 1 0 1 4
2019 Canada WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 2 6 8 2
2021 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 2 3 2
2022 Canada OG 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 5 13 18 4
2022 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 2 2 4 8
2023 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 4 4 8 6
Junior totals 5 1 0 1 0
Senior totals 40 15 27 42 26

Awards and honours

NCAA

IIHF and Olympics

References

  1. ^ "Stoney Creek's Sarah Nurse sets PWHL Single Season Scoring Record | Provincial Women's Hockey League". Pointstreak Sites. February 24, 2013. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  2. ^ "Sarah Nurse". Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "Sunday statement: No. 1 Badgers blitz No. 2 Golden Gophers 8–2: Nurse nets hat trick as UW scores its most goals of the season". Wisconsin Badgers Athletics. December 4, 2016. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  4. ^ La Rose, Jason (August 28, 2018). "IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN". hockeycanada.ca. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "Game Summary: October 17- Toronto Furies vs Shenzhen KRS Rays 3–1". CWHL. October 17, 2018. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Team Bauer beats Team Sonnet to win Canadian leg of PWHPA Secret Dream Gap Tour". sportsnet.ca. May 30, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "Sarah Nurse leads free-agent signings by Toronto's PWHL franchise". CBC News. September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "Canada's National Women's Team roster named for 2015 4 Nations Cup". Hockeycanada.ca. October 13, 2015. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  9. ^ "Canada at Finland – 2015 Tournament". Stats.hockeycanada.ca. January 3, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Spencer, Donna (February 12, 2018). "Sarah Nurse adds Olympic hockey to athletic family tree with spot on Canadian team". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  11. ^ "ATHLETE PROFILE – SARAH NURSE". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  12. ^ Walker, Teresa M. (February 15, 2018). "Sarah Nurse scores as Canadian women take first Olympic showdown against U.S. 2-1". Wisconsin State Journal. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  13. ^ Futterman, Matthew (February 22, 2018). "U.S. Beats Canada for First Women's Hockey Gold Since 1998". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  14. ^ Awad, Brandi (January 11, 2022). "Team Canada's women's hockey roster revealed for Beijing 2022". Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "Canada's 2022 Olympic women's hockey team roster". Canadian Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "2022 Olympic Winter Games (Women)". www.hockeycanada.ca/. Hockey Canada. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Maron, Brandon (February 16, 2022). "Sarah Nurse breaks Wickenheiser's Olympic record with 18th point of tournament". The Score. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Sarah Nurse". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. December 22, 2017. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  19. ^ Wendy Graves (August 13, 2015). "Nurse looks to add to family's success". Hockeycanada.ca. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  20. ^ "I Belong Here". The Park Journal. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  21. ^ Clark, Ryan S. (December 22, 2020). "'We knew we had to do better': Sarah Nurse, Barbie & the future of Canadian hockey". The Athletic. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  22. ^ Berkman, Seth (November 25, 2016). "Two Black Women Embrace Their Chance to Be Hockey Role Models". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  23. ^ Sarah Nurse [@nursey16] (November 8, 2016). "This is very important @UWMadison" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Ketko, Thomas (June 6, 2020). "Sarah Nurse urges fellow Canadiasn not to 'suppress our Black history'". SportsNet. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  25. ^ Spencer, Donna (October 1, 2020). "Canadian women's hockey team forward Sarah Nurse ready for change". CBC.ca. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  26. ^ Kaplan, Emily (September 2, 2020). "Women's hockey players' association adds Sarah Nurse to board to fix 'blind spot'". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  27. ^ Kennedy, Ian (December 20, 2023). "PWHLPA Chooses Player Representatives". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  28. ^ Milton, Steve (November 20, 2020). "Tim Hortons selling Barbie Dolls of Hamilton's Sarah Nurse and national women's hockey teammate Marie-Philip Poulin". The Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  29. ^ "Meet the Three Pro Hockey Players Covering the June Issue of ELLE Canada". ellecanada.com. May 12, 2021. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  30. ^ Joey Nolfi (June 29, 2022). "Brooke Lynn Hytes reunites with Werk Room crush Miss Vanjie on Canada's Drag Race season 3". EW. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  31. ^ Bailey, Kat (August 25, 2022). "NHL 23 Gets Gameplay Details, Release Date, and a Major First for Women In Sports Games". IGN. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  32. ^ Kulesa, Anna (August 24, 2022). "Zegras, Nurse star on cover of EA Sports NHL 23". nhl.com.
  33. ^ "2017 All-American Teams". ahcahockey.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  34. ^ "WCHA 20TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM – SARAH NURSE, WISCONSIN: Former Badger great starred in the WCHA from 2013-14 to 2016-17". universitysport.prestosports.com. January 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.

External links

Awards and achievements Preceded byAuston Matthews EA Sports NHL Cover Athlete Along with Trevor Zegras2023 Succeeded byCale Makar
Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey
Categories