Sarah Nurse

Did You Know?

• Nurse was featured on the June 2021 cover of Elle Canada with Hanna Bunton and Brigette Lacquette.
• She appeared as a guest judge on the third season of Canada's Drag Race in 2022.
• In 2022 she became the first woman on the cover of an EA Sports NHL title, NHL 23, alongside Trevor Zegras.

Early life

Nurse was born in Burlington and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, the eldest of three children of Michelle and Roger Nurse. She began skating at three and playing hockey at five. At age seven, after watching Canada win gold at the 2002 Olympics, she told her family she would play in the Olympics. Her father immigrated from Trinidad and became a national-level lacrosse player, teacher, and coach. Her uncle Richard Nurse played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and her aunt Raquel-Ann Nurse McNabb played basketball at Syracuse. Her brothers Isaac and Elijah also played hockey. Nurse played in the Hamilton City Hub League, then for teams in Ancaster and Stoney Creek. She won silver at OWHA provincials with Stoney Creek, bronze at the 2010 OFSAA championships, and silver at OFSAA 2011. In 2010 she played with Team Heaney at the Ontario Winter Games. During the 2010–11 PWHL season she led the Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres in scoring and was named to the OWHA All-Star Team. The next season she was an alternate captain and helped the club win bronze at the PWHL championships. In 2012–13 she broke the PWHL record for most goals in a season, scoring 35.

Playing career

Nurse played NCAA Division hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers in the WCHA. In the 2015 WCHA Final Faceoff championship game she scored twice, including the game-winner against Bemidji State. On December 4, 2016, she scored a hat-trick against Minnesota, the first in program history. After the 2018 Olympics, she was drafted second overall by the Toronto Furies of the CWHL. She scored her first CWHL goal on October 17, 2018, a power-play game-winner against Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays. In May 2019 she joined over 200 players boycotting existing leagues as part of the #ForTheGame movement, and co-founded the PWHPA, serving on its board. She skated for Team Sonnet in the Dream Gap Tour, including the 2021 Secret Cup where she had a goal and an assist in a 4–2 loss. She continued with Team Sonnet through the 2022–23 season. In May 2022 the PWHPA signed a letter of intent with Billie Jean King Enterprises and the Mark Walter Group. Nurse served on the PWHPA's bargaining committee, helping negotiate the collective bargaining agreement ratified in July 2023 that led to the PWHL.

International play

Nurse played for Team Ontario blue at the 2011 and 2012 National Women's Under-18 Championship, winning gold and bronze. She won gold at the 2013 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship. At the 2015 4 Nations Cup she won gold with Canada's U22/Development Team. She made her senior IIHF Women's World Championship debut in 2019, finishing third on the team with eight points as Canada won bronze. After the 2020 tournament was cancelled, she contributed a goal and two assists as Canada won the 2021 world title, the country's first in nearly a decade. She helped Canada repeat in 2022. At the 2023 championship in Brampton, she tied for second on the team in scoring and scored the overtime winner in the quarterfinals against Sweden. Canada lost the gold medal game to the United States. She won gold at the 2024 championship in Utica and silver at the 2025 championship in České Budějovice. At the 2018 Winter Olympics she scored her first Olympic goal in a 2–1 win over the United States and helped Canada win silver after a shootout loss in the gold medal game.

Personal life

Nurse began skating at three and playing hockey at five. Her cousins include NHL player Darnell Nurse and WNBA player Kia Nurse. Her uncle Donovan McNabb played quarterback in the NFL, and her uncle Richard Nurse played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Nurse, biracial with a black Trinidadian father and white mother, has spoken about racism in hockey. In 2016 she condemned a student's racist costume at a Badgers football game. During the 2020 George Floyd protests she urged Canadians not to separate themselves from U.S. racism, citing discrimination against Viola Desmond. Her social media commentary on racial equality led to many interview requests. In September 2020 Liz Knox resigned from the PWHPA board to allow Nurse to take her place, citing a blind spot on race issues. In 2023 Nurse was named to the executive committee of the PWHLPA.