Caroline Ouellette (born May 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and current associate head coach of the

Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey The Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program represents Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec in the sport of ice hockey in the RSEQ conference of U Sports. The Stingers have won three national championships, in 1998, 1999, and 2022, a ...

program. She was a member of the

Canadian national women's ice hockey team The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Canada in women's hockey. The team is overseen by Hockey Canada, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and participates in international competition ...

and a member of Canadiennes de Montreal in the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...

. Among her many accomplishments are four Olympic gold medals, 12 IIHF Women's World Championship medals (six gold, six silver), 12 Four Nations Cup medals (eight gold, four silver) and four

Clarkson Cup The Clarkson Cup (french: La Coupe Clarkson) is a women's ice hockey trophy, which from 2009 to 2019 was awarded to the winner of the Canadian Women's Hockey Championship (CWHL champion). With the folding of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CW ...

championships. Ouellette is in the Top 10 in all-time NCAA scoring with 229 career points. She is a member of the

Triple Gold Club The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Ice hockey at the Olympic Games, Olympic Games gold medal, a Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship t ...

(not officially recognized by the IIHF for women) as one of only three women to win the Clarkson Cup, an Olympic gold medal and an IIHF Women's World Championship gold medal. Along with teammates

Jayna Hefford Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current chairperson of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. During her career, she won multiple medals at the Winter Olympics and IIHF World Women's C ...

and

Hayley Wickenheiser Hayley Wickenheiser (born August 12, 1978) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, resident physician and assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. She was the first woman to play full-time professional men’s hockey in a positio ...

, Ouellette is one of only five athletes to win gold in four consecutive Olympic games. Nicknamed Caro by her teammates, she started playing hockey at the age of nine. She is the co-founder of athletichub.com, which helps student-athletes navigate the recruitment process, and an ambassador for Right to Play and Carrément Rose. Ouellette retired as a player from Canada's national women's team on September 25, 2018. In 2023, she will be inducted into the

IIHF Hall of Fame The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame operated by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was founded in 1997, and has resided at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto since 1998. Prior to 1997, the IIHF housed exhibits at the Interna ...

Playing career

Ouellette played for Team Quebec at the 1995

Canada Winter Games Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by total ...

, and won gold for Canada's Under 18 team in 1997. When the Canadian Under 19 women's hockey team was founded on May 15, 1996, Ouellette was one of the played name to the team. One of her teammates was future Olympic speed skater Cindy Klassen. The head coach was Daniele Sauvageau Ouellette represented Team Quebec at the 1998

Esso women's hockey nationals The Esso Women's Nationals was the Canadian women's senior ice hockey championship from 1982 to 2008. The winners of the event received the Abby Hoffman Cup. The second place team was awarded the Fran Rider Cup, while the third place was given th ...

. She scored a goal and two assists in the bronze medal game, as Team Quebec was awarded the Maureen McTeer Trophy. During the 2011 IIHF Eight Nations Tournament, Ouellette assisted on all three goals as Canada defeated Finland by a 3–2 tally in round robin play. In the gold medal game of the

2011 Four Nations Cup The 2011 4 Nations Cup was a women's ice hockey tournament that was held in Nyköping, Sweden. All matches were held at the Stora Hallen arena. The November 10 match between Canada and the US marked the 100th time since 1990 that the two countrie ...

, Ouellette notched a goal in a 4–3 loss. Ouellette has taken part in 3 Olympic Games, 9 World Championships and 9 Four Nations Cups. In 157 international games with Team Canada, Ouellette has racked up 169 points. In a game versus Russia at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship, Ouellette logged three assists in a 14–1 victory. Ouellette would score the game-winning goal in overtime versus the United States in the final game at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship, as Canada claimed the gold medal.

NCAA

Ouellette attended the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

and played for the

Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth at the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. The team is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National Col ...

program. Ouellette set an NCAA record for most shorthanded goals in one game with 2. This was accomplished on November 14, 2003 versus North Dakota. In the 2004–05 season, Ouellette was a factor on more than 60 percent of goals scored by the Bulldogs. Among the top nine scorers on the Bulldogs, she had nine penalties, which were the fewest. Throughout her NCAA career, she never had double digits in penalties. By season's end, she was one of three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award. Ouellette is ranked third in all-time leading scoring in Bulldogs history and was named to the WCHA All-Decade team in 2009. She joined the national team in 1999 and has won four world championships (1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004) and four Olympic gold medals with the team (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014).

CWHL

During the

2000–01 NWHL season In the 2000–01 season, the former Canadian National Women's Hockey League championship was won by the Beatrice Aeros team from Toronto. Jayna Hefford of Brampton Thunder had the best goalscoring record. Final standings Note: GP = Games played, W ...

, Ouellette played with the Montreal Wingstar and finished third in league scoring with 53 points. She would also spend one season competing with the

Minnesota Whitecaps The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...

in the former

Western Women's Hockey League The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) was a women's hockey league in Canada. The league was established in 2004, and consisted of teams in Canada (some former National Women's Hockey League teams) and one from the United States. The league offi ...

. In 2008–09, Ouellette joined the

Montreal Stars Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

. She won CWHL Top Scorer of the Month honours in November (tying the league record with 19 points in just six games) and December. At year's end, she was named CWHL Most Valuable Player. By winning a third gold medal in women's Olympic hockey, she became the Bulldog hockey player with the most gold medals. By winning the 2009

, Ouellette became an unofficial member of the Triple Gold Club (the accomplishment by women is not yet officially recognized by the IIHF), as she became one of only three women (at the time) to win the Clarkson Cup, a gold medal in ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and a gold medal at the

IIHF World Women's Championships The IIHF World Women's Championship (WW or WWC), officially the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, is the premier international tournament in women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The offi ...

. In 2010–11, Ouellette won the

Angela James Bowl The Angela James Bowl was a women's ice hockey trophy introduced in 2007-08 to recognize the top points scorer in the newly formed Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). The trophy was donated in order to help preserve the statistical history of th ...

as the CWHL's scoring leader with 68 points. She also became the first two-winner of the league's Most Valuable Player award. In the championship game of the 2011 Clarkson Cup, Ouellette led all scorers with three points (one goal, two assists). On December 11, 2016, Ouellette logged a pair of assists, eclipsing the 300-point mark. Of note, Ouellette became the first player in the history of the CWHL to reach this plateau.

Coaching career

For the 2007–2008 season, Ouellette was an assistant coach with the

women's hockey team alongside American Olympic ice hockey player

Julie Chu Julie Wu Chu (born March 13, 1982) is an Americans, American-Canadians, Canadian retired Olympic ice hockey player who played the position of Forward (ice hockey), forward on the United States women's national ice hockey team, United States wome ...

. With

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

, she was an assistant coach for the Women's National Under-18 Team for a three-game series vs. the US in August 2008. She joined the coaching staff of the

program in the autumn of 2012.

Personal life

Ouellette graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2005 with a degree in criminology and women's studies, and she graduated from the National Police Academy in Quebec in 2000. She played for Quebec in

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

at the 1997 Summer

Canada Games The Canada Games (french: Jeux du Canada) is a multi-sport event held every two years, alternating between the Canada Winter Games and the Canada Summer Games. They represent the highest level of national competition for Canadian athletes. Two ...

. On September 11, 2010, the

Centre Etienne Desmarteau Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentric ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, named one of the two rinks in the arena in Ouellette's honour. Caroline Ouellette is involved in raising funds for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, a disease has affected the Ouellette family. On January 21, 2011, Ouellette, along with University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog alumni

Jenny Potter Jennifer Lynn Schmidgall-Potter (born January 12, 1979) is an American ice hockey player. She is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, silver medals at the 2002 Winter ...

and

Maria Rooth Maria Elisabeth Rooth (born 2 November 1979 in Ängelholm, Sweden) is a retired Swedish ice hockey player. She is the only University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey player to have her jersey retired. Rooth was alternate captain and one of ...

, took part in a ceremonial faceoff to mark the first ever game at Amsoil Arena at her alma mater in Duluth. She participated in various festivities commemorating the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa, Ontario. Said festivities included an interview (along with a fan question and answer period) at the Sirius XM Stage at the Scotiabank NHL Fan Fair, the Energizer Night Skate at the Ottawa Rink of Dreams (relocated from the Rideau Canal), and attended the Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, January 28, 2012. On April 17, 2012, Ouellette (along with

Meghan Agosta Meghan Christina Agosta (born February 12, 1987) is a Canadian women's ice hockey forward, who last played for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Agosta plays for the Canada women's national ice hockey team and is a gol ...

Gillian Apps Gillian Mary Apps (born November 2, 1983) is a women's ice hockey player. Apps was a member of the Canadian National Hockey Team that won back to back Gold Medals in three consecutive Olympic Games. As a psychology major at Dartmouth College in ...

Courtney Birchard Courtney Birchard (born July 14, 1989) competes for the Canadian national women's ice hockey team. She made her debut for Team Canada in the 2010 Four Nations Cup. She was drafted 6th overall by the Brampton Thunder in the 2011 CWHL Draft. Bircha ...

, and head coach Dan Church) took part in the opening faceoff of the playoff game between the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

and the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

at ScotiaBank Place. Ouellette is married to American hockey player and Olympic silver-medalist

. Ouellette and Chu announced the birth of their daughter Liv in November 2017. They welcomed their second child, Tessa, in May 2021.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

Hockey Canada

*2019 Hockey Canada Female Breakthrough Award * Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Award, 2013

CWHL

* Clarkson Cup Top Forward, 2009 * Clarkson Cup Top Scorer, 2009 * CWHL Most Valuable Player, 2008–09 and 2010–11 * CWHL First All-Star Team, 2008–09 *

, 2010–11

NCAA

*Caroline Ouellette, 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament Most Valuable Player * Caroline Ouellette, NCAA leader, 2003–04 season, Points per game, 2.38 * Caroline Ouellette, NCAA leader, 2003–04 season, Assists per game, 1.47 * February 7, 2005: Caroline Ouellette became the third Minnesota Duluth player to be named a Patty Kazmaier Top-10 Finalist for two straight seasons. * March 3, 2005: Caroline Ouellette is named UMD's first ever WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year, while also earning a spot on the All-WCHA First Team. In addition, she is named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. * March 6, 2005: Caroline Ouellette is named to the WCHA All-Tournament Team. * March 14, 2005: Caroline Ouellette becomes the second Bulldog to be named a Patty Kazmaier Top-3 Finalist. * March 23, 2005: Caroline Ouellette is honored with the USCHO.com Sportsmanship Award and a Second Team selection. * March 28, 2005: Caroline Ouellette is named a CCM All-America First Team selection for the second straight season.

National honours

* In 2019, she was appointed as an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. This will give her the

Post Nominal Letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

"OC" for Life. * In 2023, she will be inducted into the

References

External links

Caroline Ouellette website
*
Live The Dream, Caroline Ouellette, Life After the World Championships for Ouellette
*
Interview de Caroline Ouellette à la revue Elle Québec
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouellette, Caroline 1979 births Living people Angela James Bowl winners Canadian women's ice hockey forwards Clarkson Cup champions French Quebecers Ice hockey people from Montreal Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics LGBT ice hockey players Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey players Les Canadiennes de Montreal players Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players of Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian LGBT sportspeople 21st-century LGBT people