VANCOUVER GOLDENEYES ANNOUNCE ASHTON BELL, CLAIRE THOMPSON, AND SARAH NURSE AS TEAM’S FIRST-EVER LEADERSHIP CORE

VANCOUVER (NOVEMBER 21, 2025) – Ahead of tonight’s inaugural Vancouver Goldeneyes PWHL game and home opener, the team has announced the naming of defender Ashton Bell as captain and defender Claire Thompson and forward Sarah Nurse as alternate captains. The trio forms the Goldeneyes first-ever leadership core heading into the team’s first PWHL season.

“It was an honour to select this group to represent our team,” said Goldeneyes General Manager Cara Gardner Morey. “Ashton will be the first captain in team history, and I can’t think of a better person to fill this role. She was our first selection in the expansion draft, and her leadership abilities were a big reason for this. She is a professional, one that leads by example while taking care of her teammates. Claire is one of the best captains I’ve worked with. She balances being fun and light-hearted with being a fierce competitor on the ice. Sarah is a fantastic player advocate. She is respected by staff and loved by her teammates. These three women represent Goldeneyes hockey, and I’m thrilled to have them lead our team in our inaugural season.”

ASHTON BELL – CAPTAIN

Bell steps into the role of captain after being selected first overall in the 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft. In August, the 25-year-old signed a two-year contract extension to remain in Vancouver through the 2027-28 PWHL season.

The Deloraine, Manitoba native spent the last two seasons with the Ottawa Charge, where she was named to the 2024 PWHL All-Rookie Team in the league’s inaugural season. Last season, Bell registered three goals and three assists in 27 regular season games, then played in all eight of Ottawa’s playoff games and scored in the team’s opening win over Montréal.

Bell is a three-time IIHF Women’s World Championship gold medalist (2021, 2022, 2024) as well as an Olympic champion, having represented Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Her considerable international experience started at the U18 level, with silver medals in the 2016 and 2017 U18 Worlds. Bell played collegiately with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, claiming team MVP accolades in 2020-21 and co-captaining the team in her final season.

CLAIRE THOMPSON – ALTERNATE CAPTAIN

Fellow blue-liner Thompson has been named alternate captain after stellar 2024-25 team and individual campaigns where she won the 2025 Walter Cup with the Minnesota Frost and was honoured as a finalist for the PWHL’s Defender of the Year award. The offensive defender was the first player to join an expansion team after signing a one-year deal with the Goldeneyes during June’s exclusive expansion signing window.

Returning to professional hockey after spending a year focused on her medical studies, the third overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft was an integral part of the Frost’s second championship season, finishing third in scoring among defenders with 18 points, including four goals and 14 assists, in 30 games with Minnesota. As part of last season’s playoff run, Thompson finished fourth in playoff scoring with six assists in eight games.

The 27-year-old from Toronto, Ontario, spent her NCAA career at Princeton University and has represented Canada at the Olympics (2022 Gold), and at three IIHF Women’s World Championships (2021 Gold, 2023 Silver, 2025 Silver).

SARAH NURSE – ALTERNATE CAPTAIN

Nurse joins her Team Canada teammates as alternate captain for the 2025-26 Goldeneyes season. A PWHL pioneer, Nurse was part of the Toronto Sceptres foundational first three signings, going on to play two seasons with the club including in the PWHL Takeover Tour game in Vancouver at a sold-out Rogers Arena on January 8, 2025.

The 30-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario ranks fifth overall in career points-per-game average (0.82), compiling 37 points (17G, 20A) in 45 games, and tied for second in the league in scoring during the league’s inaugural season with 23 points in 24 games. In June 2025, Nurse signed a one-year contract with Vancouver as the team’s fourth ever player and first forward.

A decorated Canadian Olympian, Nurse won silver in 2018 and gold in 2022 – breaking the points record (18) for a single Olympic tournament in Beijing – and has six World Championship medals, including three gold medal victories. During her collegiate career with the University of Wisconsin Badgers, Nurse was an alternate captain during her senior season.

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While Vancouver home opener ticket inventory is sold out, fans can catch their new team and leadership core live by exploring pro-rated Season Ticket Memberships, Mini-Packs, and Single Game Ticket options here. The Goldeneyes return to Pacific Coliseum for a three-game stretch on Saturday, Dec. 6 (Kids Takeover Day), Tuesday, Dec. 16 (Inaugural Season Mini-Banner giveaway for first 6,000 fans), and Saturday, Dec. 20 (full schedule here). 

Tune in live to the historic first PWHL expansion game where the Vancouver Goldeneyes face off against the Seattle Torrent through the following channels:

• Canada: TSN
• U.S. (Seattle): KONG-TV
• U.S. (Out of Market): NESN+, Scripps (Denver, Detroit, Tampa)
• Fans around the world can continue to follow every game live via the PWHL YouTube channel and thepwhl.com (except for Canada, Czechia, and Slovakia)

Get excited for the full 2025-26 Goldeneyes season with this special preview here.