Jocelyne Larocque Bio
Jocelyne Dawn Marie Larocque (born May 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who plays for the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Standing 5 feet 6 inches tall and shooting left, she has built a career defined by steady two-way play, leadership on the blue line, and a lengthy list of international medals. She is recognized as the first Indigenous athlete to participate in the women’s ice hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics.
Larocque has represented Canada at four Olympic Games, capturing two gold medals and two silver medals, the most Olympic hardware collected by any North American Indigenous athlete. Her career has also included stints in college hockey, the Western Women’s Hockey League, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the PWHPA, and the PWHL, giving her one of the most varied résumés in the women’s game.
Early Life and Background
Jocelyne Dawn Marie Larocque was born on May 19, 1988, in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, a small community of roughly 1,500 people southeast of Winnipeg. She is of Métis heritage and grew up in a hockey household that helped shape her early passion for the sport. Her sister, Chantal, later competed for Canada at the ISBHF World Championships, and the two even shared the ice as teammates on the Calgary Oval X-Treme.
Larocque attended College Lorette Collegiate in Manitoba, where she played both hockey and basketball from 2002 to 2004. During the 2003–04 season, she became the first female player to appear in the Winnipeg High School Boys League, an early signal of the trailblazing path her career would follow. She later attended the Hockey Manitoba Program of Excellence Camp in June 2004, competed for Manitoba at the 2003 Esso Women’s Nationals in Saskatoon, and was named Top Defenceman at the 2005 Canadian National Women’s Under-18 Championship in Salmon Arm, British Columbia.
Path to Professional Hockey
Larocque’s rise through the women’s game moved quickly after high school. She won the WWHL championship with the Calgary Oval X-Treme in 2005 and was an Air Canada Cup women’s champion in 2005–06 and 2006–07, establishing herself as a reliable defenceman at the top club level in Canada. Her development continued with Hockey Canada’s National Team Fall Festival in 2007, and she joined Canada’s centralized roster pool heading into the next Olympic cycle.
After a successful college career, Larocque transitioned to the professional ranks, beginning with the Team Alberta franchise of the CWHL. The program was later rebranded as the Calgary Inferno, where she continued to anchor the back end. In August 2013, she was traded to the Brampton Thunder for fellow Manitoban Bailey Bram, a familiar teammate from her Ste. Anne hometown, beginning a long run of captaincy in southern Ontario.
Jocelyne Larocque Career
Early Career (2004–2011)
Larocque enrolled at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she became one of the most decorated defencemen in program history. In March 2008, she recorded an assist as the Bulldogs won the NCAA national championship with a 4–0 victory over the University of Wisconsin. Two years later, on March 22, 2010, she helped UMD claim a fifth national title in a 3–2 triple-overtime thriller against Cornell University.
By the time she graduated with honours in 2011 with a Bachelor of Accountancy, Larocque had become UMD’s all-time leader in scoring among defencemen, finishing with 105 points on 19 goals and 86 assists in 127 games. She was named to the All-WCHA first team, voted WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, and recognized as the league’s top-scoring defenceman during the 2010–11 season.
CWHL and PWHPA Years (2011–2023)
Larocque’s professional career took off after college, beginning with the Calgary Oval X-Treme and continuing with the Calgary Inferno. Following her 2013 trade to the Brampton Thunder, she was named team captain and led the franchise through its relocation to Markham, Ontario, as the Markham Thunder. Under her leadership, the Thunder captured the 2018 Clarkson Cup, the first such title in franchise history.
During the CWHL’s final years, Larocque also spent time in the PWHPA, the movement that pushed for a sustainable professional league for women. She was an Air Canada Cup women’s champion with Team Canada events and continued to serve as a steady veteran presence on the blue line. Her combination of poise, shot-blocking, and leadership made her one of the most respected defencemen in the women’s game.
PWHL Era (2023–Present)
On September 18, 2023, Jocelyne Larocque was drafted second overall by PWHL Toronto in the 2023 PWHL Draft, launching a new chapter in her professional career. She participated in the first-ever PWHL game on January 1, 2024, at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre, helping to set the tone for the league’s debut season with the Toronto Sceptres.
On December 30, 2024, Toronto traded Larocque to the Ottawa Charge, alongside Victoria Bach, in exchange for Savannah Harmon and Hayley Scamurra. The deal marked the first trade of the 2024–25 PWHL season and reunited Larocque with Bach, her former Markham Thunder teammate. In Ottawa, she has continued to serve as a veteran leader and shutdown defenceman for the Charge.
Driving Style and Strengths
Larocque is widely regarded as a calm, positional defenceman who excels at breaking up plays in her own zone before they develop. Her left-handed shot, dependable gap control, and willingness to block shots have made her a coach’s favourite across multiple leagues and national team staffs. Pair that defensive reliability with strong transition passing and penalty killing, and she remains a stabilizing force on any blue line she joins.
Notable Events and Milestones
Few moments in Larocque’s career drew more attention than her silver medal reaction at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, when she removed her medal immediately after the presentation and later apologized for the gesture. She has also made history as a two-time NCAA national champion with UMD, a 2018 Clarkson Cup champion with the Markham Thunder, and a four-time Olympic medallist. Her crowning milestone remains her selection to Canada’s 2026 Olympic roster, cementing her place as the most-decorated North American Indigenous Olympic athlete in winter sports history.
Jocelyne Larocque Career Wins
Across more than two decades of competitive hockey, Jocelyne Larocque has built a deep catalogue of championships at every level. Her trophy case includes two NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament titles, a WWHL championship, two Air Canada Cup women’s championships, a Clarkson Cup, two Olympic gold medals, two Olympic silver medals, and multiple IIHF Women’s World Championship medals with Team Canada.
NCAA and Collegiate Highlights
Larocque won NCAA national championships with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in 2008 and 2010, contributing an assist in the 2008 title game and helping anchor a defence that allowed just two goals in a triple-overtime classic against Cornell in 2010. She also became the first Bulldogs defenceman named to the All-American first team and the first UMD defenceman to reach 100 career points.
CWHL and International Highlights
In the CWHL, Larocque captained the Markham Thunder to the 2018 Clarkson Cup, a franchise first. Internationally, she has appeared in four Olympic Games, winning gold at the 2014 Sochi and 2022 Beijing Olympics, and silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang and 2026 Milano Cortina Games. She has also represented Canada at numerous IIHF Women’s World Championships, contributing to Canada’s long-running medal streak in the event.
Jocelyne Larocque Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Jocelyne Larocque comes from a deeply hockey-minded Métis family in Ste. Anne, Manitoba. Her sister, Chantal Larocque, has represented Canada at the ISBHF World Championships, and the two sisters once shared the ice as teammates on the Calgary Oval X-Treme. Larocque is also a cousin of former University of Minnesota Golden Gophers captain Melanie Gagnon, and the two were part of a tight-knit group of Ste. Anne–raised players, including Mercyhurst forward Bailey Bram, who became known colloquially as the Ste. Anne Three.
Personal Life
Off the ice, Larocque earned a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2011, graduating with honours. She has been a prominent figure in Indigenous representation in sport, often highlighted as a role model for young Métis and First Nations athletes. A team was named after her at the 2007 Female Atom Hockey Festival presented by the Manitoba Moose, a recognition of her growing influence in Canadian hockey circles.
2025 Season Performance
Jocelyne Larocque’s 2025 calendar has been defined by her midseason move from the Toronto Sceptres to the Ottawa Charge, a deal that became the first trade of the 2024–25 PWHL season. The trade reunited her with former Markham Thunder teammate Victoria Bach and signaled a fresh opportunity to anchor the Charge’s defensive corps. In Ottawa, she has been deployed in shutdown minutes, penalty killing, and leadership roles on a young blue line.
On the international stage, Larocque was named to Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina on January 9, 2026, rewarding another strong club season with a fourth Olympic appearance. The selection added to an already historic medal haul that includes golds from 2014 and 2022, plus silver from 2018, with another silver coming at Milano Cortina. Her continued presence on the national team underscores her value as both a player and a leader in the dressing room.
Looking ahead, the 2025–26 PWHL season will give Larocque a full year to build chemistry with the Ottawa Charge and push for another deep playoff run. With her experience, her four Olympic medals, and her status as the most-decorated Indigenous athlete from North America, she remains a central figure in the continued growth of professional women’s hockey.
