Tessa Bonhomme

Tessa Bonhomme (born July 23, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and is a television sports reporter for The Sports Network (TSN). She was an Olympic gold medallist as a member of the Canadian national women's hockey team and played for the Toronto Furies in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. She was also co-captain of the Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey team in the NCAA.

Playing career

Bonhomme was a member of the Sudbury Lady Wolves from 1998 to 2003 and served as a captain in 2003. During that same time she competed for the Lasalle Secondary School hockey team from 1999 to 2003 and was the captain in 2003. She was the leading scorer at Lasalle and the league leader for three consecutive years (2001–2003). In 2001, she led Lasalle to a second-place finish in its league and a city championship title in 2001.

Ohio State Buckeyes The 2003–04 season marked Bonhomme's freshman year with the Buckeyes. She played in 34 of 35 games and her 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists) led the Buckeye freshman class and tied for third on the squad. In WCHA conference games, Bonhomme tied for fifth among freshmen and seventh among defencemen with 13 points. Her 107 shots paced the freshman class and was third on the team while her four power play goals tied for first on the team.

On October 17, 2003, she registered her first career assist versus Minnesota. Versus Wisconsin (on November 1), Bonhomme scored her first career goal. Said goal was also the game-winning goal. From October 25 to November 15, she had a five-game point streak. November 22 marked the first multi point game of her career. She had two assists versus Bemidji State.

Heading into her sophomore season (2004–05), Bonhomme appeared in 30 of 37 games. Her 27 points ranked third on the team while her 20 assists were second. Of her seven goals, three were scored on the power play. For the season, she was the only Buckeye to finish with positive rating at plus-3. On December 11, 2004, Bonhomme scored two goals against North Dakota in a 3–1 win. In a 5–4 win against the Yale Bulldogs (on January 14), Bonhomme registered three assists. During the season, she had a five-game point streak that began on January 21 and ended on February 4. In a WCHA tournament game (March 4), she had two assists vs. Minnesota State. Of note, she was the first Buckeye to compete for the Canadian women's national ice hockey team when she was one of 20 Canadian players selected to participate in the 4 Nations Cup from November 10–14.

Bonhomme returned to the Buckeyes in 2006 after redshirting the 2005–06 season while taking part in the Canadian Centralization Program in association with the women's national team. Through two seasons, the two-time letterwinner already ranked fourth all-time in defencemen scoring with 47 points. She was co-captain of the team along with Amber Bowman, Katie Maroney and Lacey Schultz.

In her first series back with Ohio State (October 6–7, 2006), Bonhomme had two goals and five assists in a series sweep of Northeastern. In the October 6 contest, Bonhomme scored a career-high four points (two goals and two assists). She attained a career high in points with 36 (14 goals and 22 assists). On the power play, she contributed 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists). Her four game-winning goals led the Buckeyes. Her 1.09 points per game ranked fourth in the NCAA among defenders. During the season, Bonhomme had nine multi-point, three multi-goal and three multi-assist games. Her 137 shots on goal led all Buckeyes players. In WCHA conference play, Bonhomme tallied 23 points 24 conference games. Against WCHA opponents, she scored five power play goals and three game-winning goals. On January 19, she had a career high nine shots on goal against St. Cloud State. From December 30 to January 26, Bonhomme had a seven-game point streak. The February 16–17 series against Minnesota State was the only series where she was held without a point.

2010 Olympic Games Bonhomme scored Canada's second goal in their first game of the tournament, 3 minutes and 6 seconds into the first period and was awarded an Olympic gold medal in women's hockey at the 2010 games in Vancouver.

CWHL In the 2010 CWHL Draft, Bonhomme was the first overall selection. She appeared with the Toronto Furies in the championship game of the 2011 Clarkson Cup, and would help the club win the 2014 Clarkson Cup. With the Cup victory, she became the twelfth woman in hockey history to win IIHF World Gold, Olympic Gold and the Clarkson Cup.

Career stats Career statistics are from the Team Canada Media Guide for 2012–13. or USCHO.com, or Eliteprospects.com.

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2003–04 OSU WCHA 31 3 14 17 30 3 2 1 3 4 2004–05 OSU WCHA 27 7 18 25 58 3 0 2 2 0 2006–07 OSU WCHA 30 14 20 34 64 3 0 2 2 4 2007–08 OSU WCHA 32 14 27 41 42 3 2 2 4 2 2008–09 Calgary Oval X-Treme WWHL 21 12 21 33 18 2 1 2 3 2 2010–11 Toronto CWHL CWHL 26 8 8 16 26 4 2 2 4 4 2011–12 Toronto Furies CWHL 24 4 12 16 16 3 0 1 1 0 2012–13 Toronto Furies CWHL 24 4 5 9 22 3 0 1 1 0 2013–14 Toronto Furies CWHL 11 1 3 4 10 4 0 3 3 4 2014–15 Toronto Furies CWHL 12 2 2 4 12 2 1 1 2 2 CWHL totals 97 19 30 49 86 16 3 10 13 14

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2004 Canada 4 Nations Cup 4 0 0 0 16 2005 Canada U22 ACC 4 0 4 4 2 2005 Canada 4 Nations Cup 4 0 0 0 0 2005 Canada Torino Ice 3 0 1 1 6 2006 Canada U22 ACC 4 0 1 1 0 2006 Canada 4 Nations Cup 3 0 1 1 2 2007 Canada U22 ACC 3 1 2 3 2 2007 Canada WC 5 1 1 2 6 2008 Canada 4 Nations Cup 3 0 2 2 2 2009 Canada WC 5 0 3 3 0 2009 Canada HC Cup 4 0 2 2 0 2009 Canada 4 Nations Cup 3 1 1 2 0 2010 Canada OG 5 2 2 4 0 2010 Canada 4 Nations Cup 4 0 3 3 2 2011 Canada WC 5 1 3 4 0 2011 Canada 12 Nations 6 2 6 8 2 2012 Canada WC 5 0 1 1 2 2012 Canada 4 Nations Cup 4 1 2 3 0 2013 Canada WC 5 0 3 3 2 U22 totals 12 1 7 8 4 Senior totals 68 8 31 39 40

Awards and honours 2007 European Air Canada Cup, Tournament All-Star team 2010 Olympic Gold Medallist Bonhomme was selected by The Hockey News on its annual list of the 100 People of Power and Influence in Ice Hockey. For the 2012 list, Bonhomme ranked at number 89. Sportsnet Magazine, 30 Most Beautiful Athletes on the Planet (2012)

Ohio State Ohio State Most Valuable Freshman (2004) Top 10 Finalist for 2007 Patty Kazmaier Award (first two-time finalist for the award)

Media career Hockey broadcasting On December 2, 2011, it was announced that Bonhomme would be joining Leafs TV to "appear and report on flagship programs for Leafs Today and Leafs@Practice, host Toronto FC telecasts on GOLTV Canada and share her unique insider perspective as an online contributor at www.mapleleafs.com" in addition to continuing to play hockey in the CWHL. Bonhomme stated that she grew up watching and cheering for the Leafs.

In September 2014, it was announced that Bonhomme would join TSN's SportsCentre as a host and reporter.

Bonhomme co-hosts the podcast Jocks in Jills with Julia Tocheri. The podcast is centred on women's hockey, and features interviews with current and upcoming PWHL players.

Other appearances It was announced on October 5, 2010, that Bonhomme was one of several athletes selected to participate in an all-athletes episode of Wipeout Canada. The episode aired in April 2011. Bonhomme was a presenter at the 2011 Gemini Awards.

On August 22, 2011, CBC television announced that Bonhomme would compete in their figure skating competition TV program Battle of the Blades. She is the first female hockey player to be a competitor in Battle of the Blades. Bonhomme told the media that she couldn't wait to take on the NHL players and show them that women's hockey has come a long way, adding that she was honoured to be the first woman representing all those who play hockey and excited to be partnered with Olympic gold medallist David Pelletier. On November 14, 2011, it was announced that she and her partner were the winners of the 2011 competition.

In 2016, she appeared in the second season of the romcom series Man Seeking Woman.

In 2017, she appeared in the hockey comedy film Goon: Last of the Enforcers.

In 2019, Bonhomme appeared as herself in the 8th season of the CraveTV comedy series Letterkenny. In 2022, Bonhomme appeared as herself in the first season of the Letterkenny spinoff comedy series Shoresy. She has since appeared in all four seasons of the show.