Catherine Ward (born February 27, 1987) is a member of the
Canada women's national 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 competitions ...
. She was also a member of the
2008–09 McGill Martlets women's hockey season, which won a
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the C ...
title. She was drafted 7th overall by 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 ...
in the
2011 CWHL Draft
The 2011 CWHL Draft was held on July 21, 2011 in Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipalit ...
.
Ward established herself as one of Canada's stars on the blue line playing for the Canadian U22 team and for the 2009 Women's World Championship team and the 2010 Olympic gold medal winning team. While with Martlets at McGill University, Ward set a QSSF record for points by a defenseman, and in 2007 became the first Martlet to earn the CIS rookie-of-the-year honour since the inception of the award in 2001. She set new McGill single-season marks for most goals, assists and points in her varsity debut, finishing second among CIS defensemen with 22 points despite playing in only 16 conference games. She was a three-time CIS All-Canadian Defender and in 2009 won the CIS Women's Hockey Championship's MVP award. Ward also played one season in the NCAA as a Boston University Terrier, and was a 2011
Patty Kazmaier Award
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is given to the top female college ice hockey player in the United States. The award is presented during the women's annual ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four. The award was first presented in 1998.
The ...
Nominee, Second Team All-American,
NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament team member, and a New England Women's Division I All-Star selection.
Playing career
Ward played with
Sarah Vaillancourt on Team Quebec at the 2003
Canada Winter Games. Ward would win silver at those Games. She played also for
Montreal Axion in the
National Women's Hockey League
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and h ...
.
McGill Martlets
Ward played for the
McGill Martlets women's ice hockey
The McGill Martlets ice hockey team represents McGill University, based in Montreal, Quebec in U Sports women's ice hockey. They are members of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) and have won four U Sports women's ice hockey champion ...
team from 2006 through 2010. During the 2008–09 season, Ward set a QSSF record for points (25) by a defenseman, beating her own record (22) that she had set in 2006–07. In 2007, she was the first Martlet to earn CIS rookie-of-the-year honours since the inception of the award in 2001. She was one of three Martlets in three years to be named as the top rookie in CIS women's hockey. This marked the first time in CIS history that players from the same school in a team sport were honoured as the nation's best freshman for three consecutive years. Ann-Sophie Bettez and Marie-Andree Leclerc-Auger received the award in 2007–08 and 2008–09.
/ref> She set new McGill single-season marks for most goals, assists and points in her varsity debut, finishing second among CIS defencemen with 22 points despite playing in only 16 conference games. During her time at McGill, where she earned a bachelor's degree, the Martlets won two Canadian Interuniversity Sport
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the C ...
national championships.
Hockey Canada
In 2007, she played for the Canadian Under-22 team on two occasions. She was a member of the European Air Canada Cup in Ravensburg, Germany, in January. She followed the victory by winning a three-game exhibition series against the US in Ottawa, in August. In 2009, Ward, and McGill teammate Charline Labonté
Charline Labonté (born October 15, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Labonté played professionally for the Montreal Stars/Les Canadiennes de Montreal of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. She was a member of the C ...
represented Team Canada at the 2009 IIHF women's world hockey championship.
By claiming the gold medal at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship
The 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships was the 14th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation and took place in Vermont, United States, at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, and the Cairns Arena in South Burlington. ...
, Ward (along with Marie-Philip Poulin
Marie-Philip Poulin-Nadeau (born March 28, 1991) is a Canadian ice hockey forward, currently with the PWHPA and who serves as captain of the Canadian national team. A three-time Olympic and three-time World champion with the Canadian national ...
) became the sixth and seventh members of the (not yet recognized by the IIHF
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...
) Triple Gold Club
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice ...
for Women (having won gold in the Olympic Games, the IIHF World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...
, and the 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 ...
).
She was named to 2014 Olympic roster for Canada, serving as assistant captain and earning a second Olympic gold medal. Ward retired from the national team in September 2015 after sitting out the 2014-15 season to take a job as an assistant product manager for sticks with the equipment company CCM.
Boston University Terriers
Ward played for the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey
The Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey represent Boston University. The Terriers play in the Hockey East conference. From 2010 to 2015, the Terriers won five Hockey East Championships and made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances ...
team from 2010 through 2011. She has been described as an explosive skater and a stylish playmaker. She helped the team secure a first-place finish in Hockey East with a 15–3–3 conference record and a remarkable 25–5–4 overall record. Ward has also recently been recognized as the Best Defenseman in Hockey East At season's end, Catherine Ward was the first ever Terrier to be named an All-American, as she was selected for the second team. While at Boston University, Ward finished her master's degree in business administration.[
]
Montreal Stars
Ward played for 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 ...
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 leag ...
from 2011 through 2013.
Career stats
Hockey Canada
Awards and honours
CIS
*McGill Athlete of the Week: Sep 29, 08 – Oct 5, 08
*McGill Most outstanding defenceman award 2009
*Won silver with Canada Under 22 team at the 2009 MLP Nations Cup in Germany
*CIS Rookie of the Year (Tissot Award), 2007
*CIS First Team All-Canadian 2007, Defence
*CIS First Team All-Canadian 2008, Defence
*CIS First Team All-Canadian 2009, Defence
*CIS Women's Hockey Championship, Most Valuable Player, 2009
*QSSF Rookie of the Year, 2007
NCAA
*2011 Patty Kazmaier Award Nominee
*2011 Second Team All-American
*2011 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament team
*2011 New England Women's Division I All-Star selection
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Catherine
1987 births
Living people
Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian women's ice hockey defencemen
Clarkson Cup champions
Dawson College alumni
Ice hockey people from Quebec
Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Les Canadiennes de Montreal players
McGill Martlets ice hockey players
Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Canada
Olympic ice hockey players of Canada
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
People from Mount Royal, Quebec