Julie Chu

Julie Chu (born March 13, 1982 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an American Olympic ice hockey player who plays the position of forward on the United States women's ice hockey team and the Montreal Stars. Chu's hometown is Fairfield, Connecticut, although she resided in Cambridge, Massachusetts during her college years while playing hockey for Harvard University. In 2007-08 she was an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota Duluth and helped the Bulldogs win their fourth NCAA Division I national championship. For the 2010-2011 hockey season, she will be joining the Union College Women's Hockey Team's coaching staff, serving as assistant coach.

3-time Olympic Medallist / 4-time World Championships Gold / 3-time World Championships Silver / 2-time Clarkson Cup Champion /, nicknamed Chuey, she started playing hockey at the age of 8 yeara after an unsuccessful attempt at figure skating. One of the most exciting moments of her hockey career was experiencing her first Olympic Games in Salt Lake City at the age of 19 years.

Early life

Chu's father, Wah, was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Wah and his mother moved to Hong Kong when he was one year old. In 1967, they emigrated to New York City when Wah was 16. Shortly after arriving, he met his future wife, Miriam, at a youth group meeting at a neighborhood church.^[1] Miriam is half Chinese and half Puerto Rican.^[2] Chu has one sister, Christina, and one brother, Richard. She also has extended family, including cousins Nick and Elizabeth Chu.

As a child, Chu participated in soccer and figure skating before transitioning into youth hockey. She graduated in 2001 from Choate Rosemary Hall. She deferred her acceptance into Harvard University until after the 2002 Winter Olympics. She graduated with honors in 2007 with a concentration in psychology.

Hockey career

Chu is the first Asian American woman to play for the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team and played in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. She won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2007 for best female collegiate hockey player.

During her time at Harvard, Chu became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history and was also the team captain. In her four years at Harvard University, she was the all-time assists leader and obtained 284 points, the most in NCAA history.

World Championships

As a key member and assistant captain of National Hockey Team USA, Chu won Silver medals at the Olympic Games in 2002 and 2010 and a Bronze in 2006. She has recorded 40 goals and 83 assists in 150 games with Team USA.

• 2005, 2008 & 2009 World Champion
• 2001, 2004, 2007 Silver Medallist

Chu was the leading scorer at the 2009 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships tournament with ten points (five goals, five assists).^[3]

Professional hockey

From 2007 to 2010, Chu played forward for the professional hockey Minnesota Whitecaps of the WWHL and won the 2010 Clarkson Cup. In 2010-11, she joined the Montreal Stars in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and claimed her second consecutive Clarkson Cup title, becoming the first player to win the Clarkson Cup with two different teams. In 2010-11 season, Chu was one of the top-5 leading scorers, racking up 35 points, 5 goals and 30 assists in only 19 games.

Accomplishments & Notes

• 2010 Clarkson Cup Tournament Most Valuable Player
• 2007-08 Assistant coach of the University of Minnesota-Duluth women's ice hockey team, which won its fourth NCAA national championship that season. At the end of the 2007-08 season, Chu stepped down to concentrate on the US National Team program and prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
• 2007 Patty Kazmaier Award winner (equivalent to the Heisman Trophy for NCAA women's ice hockey)^[4]
• 2007 Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year Award - Awarded by USA Hockey^[5]
• 2005 USCHO.com Defensive Forward of the Year ^[6]
• Four-time All American at Harvard
• Four-time finalist for Patty Kazmaier Award
• All-time NCAA scoring leader (284 points in four seasons)
• All-time NCAA assist leader (197 points in four seasons)
• Three-time All American
• Three-time NCAA Frozen Four finalist
• Four-time USA Hockey Girls national champion (Connecticut Polar Bears)

Media/National Publicity Biography

• Off The Podium.com Torino 2006 Screensaver
• February 13, 2006 People Magazine
• February 2006 Glamour Magazine
• US Anti-Doping Agency 2006 Campaign
• ESPN Magazine Body Issue, October 2011 edition^[7]

Career statistics

References

External links

• U.S. Olympic Team bio
• NBCOlympics.com profile
• Julie Chu blogs from 09 Worlds
• Minnesota Whitecaps bio