Blayre Turnbull (born July 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and captain for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She made her debut with the Canada women's national ice hockey team at the 2014 4 Nations Cup.[1]

Blayre Turnbull
Turnbull with PWHL Toronto in 2024
Born (1993-07-15) July 15, 1993 (age 31)
Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 159 lb (72 kg; 11 st 5 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Right
PWHL team
Former teams
Toronto Sceptres
Calgary Inferno
Wisconsin Badgers
National team  Canada
Playing career 2011–present
Website blayreturnbull.com
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
Gold medal – first place 2024 United States
Silver medal – second place 2016 Canada
Silver medal – second place 2017 United States
Silver medal – second place 2023 Canada
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Finland

On September 6, 2023, Turnbull signed a three-year deal with the PWHL Toronto of the newly formed new Professional Women's Hockey League.[2]

Career

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Turnbull attended Shattuck-St. Mary's, where she was a classmate of Nathan MacKinnon and played on the girls' hockey team. As a junior, she appeared in 52 contests while gaining 60 points (on 30 goals and 30 assists).[3] With the team, won two national championships in two years.

 
Turnbull with Wisconsin in 2013

NCAA

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The 2011–12 Wisconsin Badgers season marked her first with the club. In a match versus the Lindenwood Lady Lions on September 25, 2011, she scored her first career NCAA goal. She holds various UW records and the NCAA record for shorthanded goals in a season. She was the captain of the Wisconsin Badgers in her junior and senior year and is an NCAA champion.[4] She played for the Badgers for a total of four seasons, identifying herself in her Twitter account as having graduated in 2015.[5][6]

CWHL

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Turnbull helped the Calgary Inferno capture their first-ever Clarkson Cup championship in 2016. Contested at Ottawa's Canadian Tire Centre, she scored twice in an 8–3 victory over Les Canadiennes de Montreal.[7]

She would miss most of the 2017-18 CWHL season training with Team Canada for the Olympics but returned in time for the playoffs.[8] In 2019, Turnbull would win her second Clarkson Cup with Calgary.

In May 2019, Turnbull joined the PWHPA after the collapse of the CWHL.[9] She participated in the 2020 NHL All-Star Game with the Canadian All-Stars.[10]

International

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Turnbull participated with Team Atlantic (alongside teammates such as Jillian Saulnier and Alex Normore) at the 2009 Canadian Under 19 nationals. She participated in the shootout for Team Atlantic in the quarterfinals versus Team Ontario Blue in a losing effort.[11] On two occasions, she attended training camp for the 2010 and 2011 IIHF World Women's under-18. For the 2011 camp, Turnbull was one of only two Nova Scotians who were invited. In 2016, she made the Canadian National Women's team and competed in the world championships in Kamloops, BC.[12] She also played for Canada in the 2017 and 2019 World Championships and was selected for the 2020 World Championships before they were cancelled due to the 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak.[13]

Turnbull was selected to the Canadian roster for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea. She would put up 3 points in 5 games, winning a silver medal.[14][15]

In 2021, Turnbull played for Canada at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship, and suffered a broken fibula during the celebration after winning the gold medal.[16] She later called the incident her most embarrassing hockey moment.[17]

On January 11, 2022, Turnbull was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[18][19][20] The team won the gold medal, defeating the United States in the final 3–2.

PWHL

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Following the launch of the new Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), Turnbull was one of three players (alongside fellow Canadian Olympians Sarah Nurse and Renata Fast) signed within a pre-draft period to PWHL Toronto.[2]

Personal life

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Turnbull married retired Canadian bobsledder Ryan Sommer in the summer of 2023.[21]

Turnbull has a Bachelor of Arts degree in legal studies. Her brother Brent played for the Québec Remparts in the QMJHL.[22]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Shattuck-Saint Mary's Sabres USHS-MN 52 30 30 60 14
2010–11 Shattuck-Saint Mary's Sabres USHS-MN 46 23 30 53 47
2011–12 Wisconsin Badgers NCAA 34 7 7 14 14
2012–13 Wisconsin Badgers NCAA 35 3 5 8 18
2013–14 Wisconsin Badgers NCAA 38 18 22 40 12
2014-15 Wisconsin Badgers NCAA 36 15 21 36 18
2015–16 Calgary Inferno CWHL 22 7 9 16 16 3 3 2 5 0
2016–17 Calgary Inferno CWHL 22 9 9 18 12
2017–18 Calgary Inferno CWHL 4 0 0 0 4 3 1 0 1 0
2017–18 Team Canada AMHL 15 2 6 8 4
2018–19 Calgary Inferno CWHL 25 12 9 21 24 4 1 2 3 4
2020-21 Team Scotiabank PWHPA 4 3 3 6 4
2022-23 Team Scotiabank PWHPA 20 9 11 20 14
CWHL totals 73 28 27 55 56 10 5 4 9 4
PWHPA totals 24 12 14 26 18

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2016 Canada WC   5 1 2 3 2
2017 Canada WC   5 1 0 1 2
2018 Canada OLY   5 0 3 3 0
2019 Canada WC   6 4 0 4 0
2021 Canada WC   7 0 1 1 8
2022 Canada WC   7 3 2 5 6
2022 Canada OLY   7 4 3 7 8
2023 Canada WC   7 2 4 6 6
2024 Canada WC   7 1 2 3 2
Senior totals 56 16 17 43 34

Awards and honours

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  • Blayre Turnbull, WCHA Rookie of the Week (Week of October 5, 2011)[23]
  • 2012 Wisconsin Badgers Rookie of the Year[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Canada – 2014 Tournament – Roster". Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Sarah Nurse leads free-agent signings by Toronto's PWHL franchise". September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Blayre Turnbull Bio – UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  4. ^ "Lindenwood vs Wisconsin (Sep 25, 2011)". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  5. ^ "Blayre Turnbull Twitter Account (@katbt617)". Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  6. ^ Lee, Julia (September 14, 2021). "Local pro Blayre Turnbull at last wins a gold medal at IIFH Women's World Hockey Championships". BVM Sports. Retrieved December 29, 2023. Turnbull attended the University of Wisconsin where she played for the Badgers and received a Bachelor of Arts in legal studies.
  7. ^ "Clarkson Cup: Calgary upends Montreal for women's hockey title – Inferno capture first-ever CWHL championship". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. March 13, 2016. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  8. ^ "Olympians Jenner and Turnbull return to Calgary Inferno". March 2018. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "Behind the Glass: Turnbull turns it up". September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  10. ^ "PWHPA Members Invited to NHL All-Star Skills". January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Official Website of Hockey Canada". Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  12. ^ "Blayre Turnbull taking steps towards dream". Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  13. ^ "Women's world hockey cancellation hits Nova Scotia player, coach hard". northeastNOW. March 11, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  14. ^ "'History-making': Two Nova Scotians named to Canadian Women's Olympic Hockey Team | Globalnews.ca". Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  15. ^ "Athletes draw sporting parallels on Shaw Charity Classic Women's Day". Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "Canada's Turnbull suffers broken fibula in celebration | TSN.ca". September 2021. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  17. ^ TSN (January 1, 2024). PWHL Attempts the Smelling Salts Challenge. YouTube. Event occurs at 6m 32s.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ Brady, Rachel (February 14, 2022). "After three months apart from their home in Canada, two engaged Olympians share a brief moment together in Beijing". The Globe and Mail.
  22. ^ "From pond hockey to Pyeongchang, Stellarton celebrates Olympian Blayre Turnbull | CBC News". Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  23. ^ "WCHA.com – WCHA Press Releases". Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  24. ^ "Badgers draw season to a close with team banquet – UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
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Sporting positions
Previous:
Position created
Toronto Sceptres captain
2023–present
Incumbent