Dan Hamhuis, left, has called time on his career at 37 ©Getty Images

Olympic champion and two-time world ice hockey champion Dan Hamhuis has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 37.

The Canadian, who played more than 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a defenseman, has called time on his career after entering the league in 2002.

Hamhuis had limited success with his NHL clubs but plenty of glory with Canada - the highlight being winning a gold medal at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

In 2007 and 2015, he was also part of the Canadian team that won world titles in Russia and Czech Republic respectively.

Hamhuis was additional a member of the teams that made the world final in 2008 and 2009, collecting two silver medals.

He played for the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars during his NHL career, finishing with a total of 1,148 games played in the league.

For the past two seasons, Hamhuis had returned to the Predators - the team he started his league career - making the play-offs in the 2018-2019 season with them.

He won the Presidents' Trophy with the Canucks in the 2010-2011 season, who finished top of the standings in the regular season, before losing the Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins.

As a junior, Hamhuis won silver and bronze medals in 2002 and 2001 respectively at the World Junior Championships.

"I'm happily going into a retirement now from hockey," said Hamhuis to TSN 1050.

"I feel real at peace with it.

"In March when the season closed down, we didn't even have a year-end party or anything, we just kind of scattered.

"I was like, 'Well if that's it, that's it' - I was at peace with it then.

"I feel very fortunate to have played for the three organisations that I have.

"Couldn't have asked for better places to play, but I think the thing I'll look back on most is just all those relationships and friendships that you make over the years."

He was selected by Nashville in the first round of the 2001 NHL Draft as the 12th overall pick and scored 59 goals, collecting 297 assists in his time.

Hamhuis also added that he was looking forward to spending more time with family, but has kept his options open for mentoring and coaching roles in the future.