Following France’s tough 4-2 loss to Hungary at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship, captain Lore Baudrit was called upon to speak to media on behalf of her team and explain the game from her perspective. In her answers she was disappointed and honest, but above all demonstrated how much she believes in her team, using what she describes as one of her strengths as a leader—her voice.

“I speak a lot, for that I lose my voice,” said Baudrit. “I want to lead by example and I think I show every shift that I battle hard. Also I speak a lot. I try to help everyone to feel good and to be their best version. We have a mix—we have young, we have old people, so for me it’s trying to help everyone to be together and to play as a team, and I think we showed that today, most of the time.”

Baudrit was named captain of the French national team last summer following the retirement of Marion Allemoz, who had captained the team for over a decade. Now competing in her thirteenth World Championship, Baudrit is one of just six French women to have worn the ‘C’ at a Worlds tournament, in addition to being one of three former Montreal Canadiennes captaining teams in Brampton, joining the likes of Hilary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin.

Hailing from the the town of Castres on the River Agout, which is perhaps better known for rugby than hockey, 31-year-old Baudrit made her senior World Championship debut in 2008. Her national team career spans 15 years, and this past February she played her 200th game in a French jersey against Hungary in a 4 Nations tournament.

“I’ve been on the team for 15 years and 200, it’s big, but for me it’s more about the team,” said Baudrit, eager to redirect away from her own accomplishments and instead focus on the French squad, who she wants to help maintain a spot in the top division and perhaps qualify for the quarterfinals.

Baudrit has been at the forefront of French women’s hockey throughout her career. She was part of the initial core group of French players to compete in North America along with Allemoz and current teammates Athena Locatelli and Betty Jouanny. She spent five seasons with the University of Montreal, starting with 2012-13, and in 2016 helped the team to a CIS (now U Sports) championship. Baudrit stayed in Montreal another year to play with the CWHL’s Canadiennes before moving back to Europe and playing in Sweden.

This past season, Baudrit followed Allemoz (who she also played with on the SDHL’s MoDo) to Linkoping HC, where Allemoz took over as head coach in the fall—their hockey careers continue to intertwine, even now that Allemoz is no longer playing.

Baudrit’s first World Championship with an 'A' as part of France’s leadership group was in 2018, when France earned promotion to the top division for the first time. The 2019 Women's Worlds was not easy, with the team finishing last in Group B and being relegated back to Division I Group A. The preliminary round in Brampton is proving to be a challenge as well.

“Finland is just one of the top teams in the world,” Baudrit said of France’s opening 14-1 loss to the Finns. “Honestly our team didn’t have the experience against them so it was just too fast, too everything. If we can play Finland two or three times every year we would have it.”

“Hungary, we are equal. We really felt like we can do it, so that it the hard part. After 3-0 everyone probably said okay, France is down. When we came back 3-2 I think it was a great team effort.”

Next up for France is Germany, the only team they’ve ever beaten in the top division. The 2019 Women's Worlds match-up between these countries was significant for both the French team as a whole and for Baudrit, who contributed on Germany’s tying power play goal which helped send the game to overtime, with France winning 3-2.


When she laces up on Sunday night, it will be game 200-and-something for Baudrit, but all she will be focused on is what she can do to help the 22 other players on her team be the best they can be on the ice.

“My expectation is to stay in the top division. Whether a player has played for one year or me for 15 years, we all have the same expectations. It’s not finished. We know the chance is little, but we will play until the end.”