Gigi Marvin Leaves Behind a Legacy

A champion through & through.

Gigi Marvin, a storied US women's national team member and professional hockey player, announced her retirement on Monday morning, capping an impressive 14-year career that saw her become a household name in women's hockey, earn a multitude of accolades and succeed at the collegiate, professional and international levels.

From captaining the University of Minnesota to winning multiple Olympic and World Championships medals and playing in various pro leagues, Marvin's career ran the gamut of women's hockey.

Now 37, Marvin began to attract attention for her play on the ice as early as high school. She captained her Warroad High team for two seasons and combined for 215 points in her last two seasons - in just 57 games played. She was named the best female high school hockey player in Minnesota ("Ms. Hockey").

In 2005, she joined the University of Minnesota and quickly made an impact, averaging more than a point-per-game in each of her four seasons with the Golden Gophers. To no one's surprise, USA Hockey took notice, and she began an extensive national team career at World Championships in 2007.

Back on the college scene, she was named captain for her senior year and finished her collegiate career with 195 points in 152 games. She was twice a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award.

The options for women's hockey players after college were limited in 2010, but Marvin was able to stay at home and play for the Minnesota Whitecaps in the WWHL era. She racked up an impressive 27 goals and 14 assists for 41 points in just 17 games and became a WWHL champion.

When the WWHL folded, Marvin made the jump to the CWHL's Boston Blades, where he would play the next few seasons. She won the Clarkson Cup with the Blades in 2013, adding yet another championship to her shelf. (This was her second Clarkson Cup, as the Whitecaps won it as WWHL champions in 2010). When the NWHL emerged in 2015, she stayed in Boston, joining the Pride alongside many fellow Blades teammates - and became a champion again, this time with the Isobel Cup.

As the women's hockey landscape continued to change, Marvin adapted. She joined many of her fellow national team players with the PWHPA from 2019-2021, first in the New England & New Hampshire markets, then the Minnesota market. In 2020, she was one of four women to participate in the ECHL All-Star Game.

Over the years, she continued as a mainstay on the national team, and her accolades are many, including one Olympic gold medal; two Olympic silver medals; five World Championships gold medals, and two World Championships silver medals. In 2018, she scored in the shootout as part of the US' gold-medal winning effort. She also won nine Four Nations Tournament medals, including five golds, before retiring from the national team in 2021.

She did not play during the 2022-2023 season but returned to the game with PWHL Boston (now the Boston Fleet) last season. She appeared in 24 games and notched four points. Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer called Marvin "an ambassador for women's hockey... [who] has left an indelible mark on the game."

Off the ice, she joined the Minnesota Wild as a broadcaster from 2020-2023. Now, she is the owner and head on-ice instructor at RinkRat 19 Hockey School in her hometown, offering on-ice, dryland training, off-ice games, and team building sessions. She also partakes in speaking engagements & online coaching sessions.

To reflect back on Marvin's career is to look back at a history filled with accomplishment; she truly did it all. A versatile player who could slot in at forward or on defense, she retires as a champion at nearly every level she played at (the Walter Cup is the lone exception) and as one of the last two remaining active players to have participated in the WWHL. No matter what her next steps may be, her legacy as a leader, on and off the ice, and as a critical & well-respected part of women's hockey history, will live on for years to come.