Claire Butorac (born September 24, 1999) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward for

PWHL Minnesota Minnesota are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History It was revealed on August 29, 2023, that one of the PWHL's first s ...

of the

Professional Women's Hockey League The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL; , ''LPHF'') is a Professional sports, professional Ice hockey#Women's ice hockey, women's ice hockey league in North America, wholly owned and operated by the Mark Walter, Mark Walter Group. It con ...

(PWHL). She played

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

at Minnesota State.

Early life

Butorac played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

while growing up. She attended Andover High School in

Andover, Minnesota 'Andover'' is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 32,601 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. County Roads ...

where she was a four-time letter winner in ice hockey and three-time letter winner in

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

. She was named a Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award semifinalist in 2018.

College career

Butroac began her collegiate career for Minnesota State during the 2018–19 season. During her freshman year, she appeared in all 35 games and recorded two goals and three assists. During the 2019–20 season in her sophomore year, she appeared in all 37 games and recorded eight goals and four assists. She led the team with a 17.4 shot percentage and tied for the team lead with eight goals. During 2020–21 season in her junior year, she appeared in all 20 games and recorded one goal and four assists in a season that was shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. During 2021–22 season in her senior year, she recorded three goals and eight assists in 25 games. During 2022–23 season in her graduate year, she recorded seven goals and 16 assists in 36 games.

Professional career

On May 14, 2023, Butroac signed a two-year contract with the

Minnesota Whitecaps The Minnesota Whitecaps are a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF; formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League). They play in Richfield, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, at ...

of the

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and ha ...

(PHF). The PHF ceased operations on June 29, 2023, as a result she never played a game for the Whitecaps. On November 30, 2023, Butorac signed a one-year contract with

. During the 2023–24 season, she recorded one goal and two assists in 21 regular season games. Due to an injury to Taylor Heise, Butorac played on the first

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

along with

Kendall Coyne Schofield Kendall Coyne Schofield (born May 25, 1992) is an Americans, American professional ice hockey player who is currently a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. With the national team, she has won six gold medals at the IIHF ...

and

Kelly Pannek Kelly Pannek (born December 29, 1995) is an American ice hockey player for PWHL Minnesota of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. Career In high school, she s ...

in February 2024. During the

Walter Cup The Walter Cup (french: La coupe Walter) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) playoff champion. History Origins On April 4, 2024, the Professional Women's Hockey League announced in a pre ...

playoffs she recorded one goal and two assists in ten games and helped Minnesota win the inaugural Walter Cup. During game four of the semifinals against

PWHL Toronto Toronto is a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History On August 29, 2023, it was announced that Toronto would be home t ...

, she scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime to force a decisive game five.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butorac, Claire 1999 births Living people American women's ice hockey forwards Minnesota State Mavericks women's ice hockey players Ice hockey players from Minnesota People from Coon Rapids, Minnesota PWHL Minnesota players Walter Cup champions