Profile: Julie Chu

The second-most decorated American woman in Olympic Winter Games history, Julie Chu (1982-) has had one of the most accomplished international, professional, and coaching careers in hockey.

Chu was the first Asian-American to join the US National Team when she was selected for the 4 Nations Cup in 2000. A right-shooting centre, she would go on to compete in nine World Championships and four Olympic Games for the United States, winning five gold medals at the World Championships, including once as team captain in 2013.

Chu scored a total of 124 points in 155 games during her career for the US National Team, and won three silver medals as well as one bronze medal at the Olympics. At the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, she was elected by her teammates to carry the American flag at the Closing Ceremonies.

“When I found out I was the flag bearer for the closing ceremony I was trying to process what a humbling honor it was…with the way that we select the flag bearer, being able to be elected by my peers is unreal, especially with the success that so many of our athletes have had.”

From 2002 to 2007, Chu played NCAA hockey for Harvard University, where she became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history with 284 points in 129 games. A four-time finalist, she won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the best female college player in 2007 and also served as Harvard’s captain for two years. 

After graduating in 2007, Chu played professional hockey with the Minnesota Whitecaps in the Western Women’s Hockey League, winning the Clarkson Cup in 2010 as League Champion. After the WWHL merged with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, Chu joined the Montreal Stars (Canadiennes) and not only finished top-5 in league scoring with 35 points in 19 games, but also won her second consecutive Clarkson Cup in 2011 and was named Clarkson Cup MVP.

During the next 7 seasons in Montreal, Chu was selected for the inaugural CWHL All-Star Game in 2014 and was voted captain for the CWHL All-Star Game in 2015. She retired in 2017 after winning the Clarkson Cup for a third time, finishing her CWHL career with 93 points in 95 games.

In 2007 during the midst of her playing career, Chu joined the University of Minnesota-Duluth as an Assistant Coach, helping lead the team to a NCAA Division I National Championship in 2008. In 2010, Chu joined the coaching staff of Union College, where she worked as an Assistant Coach for 3 years.

After the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Chu was an Assistant Coach at Concordia University in Montreal for 2 years before being promoted to Head Coach in 2016. She was named Coach of the Year in 2017.