Natalie Spooner Bio
Natalie Marie Spooner (born October 17, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and a longtime member of the Canadian national women’s team. She was named the IIHF Female Player of the Year in 2024 and is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished forwards in women’s hockey. A four-time Olympic medalist and longtime scoring leader at every level she has played, Spooner continues to combine an elite playing career with youth development through her High Performance Hockey Academy for girls.
Early Life and Background
Natalie Marie Spooner was born on October 17, 1990, in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. She grew up in the Scarborough neighbourhood of Toronto after her parents, Peter and Ann-Marie, emigrated from England to Canada in the 1970s. The youngest of four children, Spooner followed her three older brothers into hockey and spent winters helping build and skating on a backyard rink behind the family home.
Spooner began playing organized hockey at age four, starting on a boys’ team before joining the Durham West Lightning Girls Hockey Association, where she played for more than a decade. A multi-sport student, she also took part in soccer, swimming, school band, and French immersion, the last of which later helped her adapt to bilingual Team Canada dressing rooms. As a teenager, she attended Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute, where she was named the school’s athlete of the year in each of her four years and built her reputation as a prolific goal-scorer with the Durham West junior program.
Path to Professional Hockey
Spooner’s competitive climb began in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League, where she led the Durham West Lightning in goals and served as an assistant captain during the 2006–07 PWHL season. The following year she captained Team Ontario Red to a gold medal at the U-18 National Hockey Tournament after returning from a broken jaw that had been wired shut for five weeks. Her play with the Mississauga Chiefs at the 2008 Esso Women’s Nationals confirmed her status as one of Canada’s top young forwards.
With roughly 30 universities and colleges expressing interest in her, Spooner committed to Ohio State to study food science nutrition. She was also a youth international standout, becoming the first player to compete for the Canadian under-18, under-22, and senior national teams. Her early medals, including World U-18 silver in 2008 and Under-22 gold at the 2010 MLP Cup, set the stage for a long and decorated career in the sport.
Natalie Spooner Career
Ohio State Buckeyes (2009–2012)
Spooner played college ice hockey for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2009 to 2012, and she wasted little time making her mark. As a freshman, she led the team in goals with 21 and set a Buckeye record with four WCHA Rookie of the Week awards. By the end of her four seasons, she owned the Ohio State career record for goals with 100, ranked second in program history with 163 career points, and held program records for career game-winning goals and single-season goals.
Her final year was especially dominant, as she posted 50 points on 31 goals and 19 assists, earned Second Team CCM All-America honours, and finished second in WCHA conference goal-scoring. On January 7, 2012, she surpassed Jeni Creary’s school record of 86 career goals in a series against St. Cloud State, and she was later inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame in 2019.
Toronto Furies (2012–2019)
Selected by the Toronto Furies in the second round, seventh overall, of the 2012 CWHL Draft, Spooner set a franchise record for goals by a rookie and finished second in team scoring behind Rebecca Johnston. Her Toronto debut on October 20, 2012, at Brampton produced a four-point performance, including a hat trick and the overtime game-winner in a 4–3 victory.
Spooner became the Furies’ all-time leading scorer and the first player in franchise history to reach 90 career points during the 2016–17 CWHL season. She was a central figure in the 2014 Clarkson Cup run, scoring the series-clinching goal against the Montreal Stars and adding an assist on the Cup-winning goal versus the Boston Blades, becoming the first player to win an Olympic gold medal and the Clarkson Cup in the same year.
PWHPA Years (2019–2023)
After the CWHL folded in May 2019, Spooner joined the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association through the #ForTheGame movement and competed on the Dream Gap Tour with the PWHPA’s Toronto-based team. The tour combined exhibition games with community events in cities across Canada and the United States, helping push for a sustainable professional league.
As the PWHPA organized the PWHLPA players’ union and negotiated a collective bargaining agreement with the Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises, Spooner remained a leading voice for the Toronto group throughout the transition period that would eventually produce the PWHL.
Toronto Sceptres Era (2023–Present)
On September 16, 2023, Spooner was selected in the fourth round, 23rd overall, by Toronto in the 2023 PWHL Draft, and she signed a two-year contract on November 14, 2023. In the league’s inaugural season, she led the PWHL in both goals and points, finishing with 20 goals and 27 points, and was named the SupraStar of the Month in February and March 2024. She was awarded the Billie Jean King MVP, PWHL Forward of the Year, and a PWHL First Team All-Star selection.
During the 2024–25 season, Spooner recorded three goals and two assists in 14 regular season games and added one assist in four playoff games. On June 17, 2025, she signed a two-year contract extension with the Sceptres to remain with the club through the 2026–27 season.
Driving Style and Strengths
Spooner is a right-shooting forward known for her size at 5 feet 10 inches and 181 pounds, allowing her to win battles along the boards and protect the puck in tight spaces. Her strengths include a quick, accurate release, a willingness to drive to the net, and consistent production in big moments, as she has shown at every stop from Durham West to Ohio State to the PWHL.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among her signature accomplishments, Spooner set Ohio State’s all-time career goal record, became the first player to win both an Olympic gold medal and the Clarkson Cup in the same year in 2014, and led the PWHL in scoring in its inaugural 2023–24 season. She was also named the IIHF Female Player of the Year in 2024, the same year Canada won gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship.
Natalie Spooner Career Wins
Spooner has built a deep trophy case across club, collegiate, and international play. Her honours include multiple Clarkson Cup and World Championship medals, the Billie Jean King MVP, and her 2024 IIHF Female Player of the Year recognition.
National Team Highlights
With Canada, Spooner is a four-time Olympic medalist, winning gold at the 2014 and 2022 Winter Olympics and silver at the 2018 and 2026 Games. She has won 11 medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, including three gold, seven silver, and one bronze, and was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award during her time at Ohio State.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond her hockey career, Spooner has appeared on Canadian television, finishing second on the second season of The Amazing Race Canada in 2014 and second on the fifth season of Battle of the Blades in 2019. She also won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2009 Ball Hockey World Championship in Pilsen, Czech Republic.
Natalie Spooner Family
Family Background and Hockey Lineage
Hockey runs throughout the Spooner family. Her three older brothers all played the sport, and her brother Rick played college hockey for the Wisconsin Badgers, while her brother Doug played for the Waterloo Warriors in Ontario. Their parents, Peter and Ann-Marie, emigrated from England to Canada in the 1970s and supported a busy household built around the game.
Personal Life
Natalie Marie Spooner is married to Adam Redmond. The couple welcomed their son in December 2022, and Spooner returned to on-ice training within four weeks, missing only eight weeks of hockey in total before rejoining Team Canada for the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
2025 Season Performance
The 2024–25 PWHL season saw Spooner maintain her veteran role with the Toronto Sceptres, contributing three goals and two assists in 14 regular season games while helping the club reach the 2025 PWHL playoffs, where she added an assist in four postseason games. Her consistent two-way play and leadership kept the Sceptres in playoff contention in a tightly contested league.
Internationally, Spooner added a silver medal at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Czechia, extending her streak of World Championship appearances and underlining her enduring role within the national team program. On June 17, 2025, she signed a two-year contract extension with the Sceptres, signalling her intent to remain a central figure for Toronto heading into the 2025–26 season and the run-up to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
