Two-time Olympic gold medallist Haley Irwin retires from national hockey team

CALGARY — Two-time Olympic gold medallist Haley Irwin has announced her retirement from the Canadian women’s hockey team.

The 31-year-old forward from Thunder Bay, Ont., won Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014 and silver in 2018 with the Canadian team

Irwin also represented Canada in five world championships winning one gold and four silver. She compiled 38 goals and 42 assists in 108 career games for the national team.

A concussion followed by hip surgery sidelined Irwin for two years between 2014 and 2016.

“Haley was always driven to win and fiercely competitive, which is why she was so successful,” said former teammate Gina Kingsbury, who now oversees national women’s teams at Hockey Canada.

“Her ability to read the game was a large part of that success and will no doubt be with her as pursues a coaching career.”

Irwin’s last game was the 2018 Olympic final in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where Canada lost in overtime to the United States in the gold-medal game.

She’s now an assistant coach of the Ryerson University Rams women’s hockey team.

“Hockey has been my passion since I was a young girl and I feel very fortunate to have been able to wear the Maple Leaf and represent this amazing country we live in,” Irwin said in a statement Wednesday. “Hockey has taught me so many valuable lessons, given me so many amazing experiences and helped shape the person I am today.

“Playing for Team Canada was an honour and a dream come true and I will carry it with me for the rest of my life.”

Irwin won an NCAA championship with the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2008. She was named the conference’s rookie of the year that season.

She went on to play for both the Montreal Stars and the Calgary Inferno in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2020.

The Canadian Press