Jillian T. Dempsey (born January 19, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The former captain of the Boston Pride of the now-defunct Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), she holds the all-time PHF records for games played, goals, assists, and points, and is one of only two players to have won the Isobel Cup three times.[1][2]

Jillian Dempsey
Dempsey playing for the Boston Pride in 2017.
Born (1991-01-19) January 19, 1991 (age 33)
Winthrop, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Weight 135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
PWHL team
Former teams
Montreal Victoire
National team  United States
Playing career 2011–present
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  United States
IIHF World Women's Championships
Silver medal – second place 2012 United States Tournament
Women's 4 Nations Cup
Gold medal – first place 2011 Sweden Tournament

Career

edit

She played for the Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey team from 2009 to 2013, serving as team captain in her final season. Across 129 NCAA games, she scored 148 points, finishing in the top-10 all-time scorers for Harvard and being named a top-10 finalist for the 2013 Patty Kazmaier Award.[3][4]

In August 2013, she was selected as the 10th overall pick by the Boston Blades in the 2013 CWHL Draft. In October 2013, Dempsey joined the Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne on loan for the first round of the 2013–14 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup, where she scored 13 points in 3 games.[5]

She was awarded the CWHL's Rookie of the Year Award in 2014 after leading all American-born players in league scoring. The following season, she scored 19 points in 22 games as the Blades won the 2015 Clarkson Cup.

When the NWHL was formed in 2015, Dempsey left the Blades to join the Boston Pride.[6] In 2018, she was named Pride captain.

Dempsey participated in the 3rd NWHL All-Star Game.[7] She played for Team Stecklein in the 2019 NWHL All-Star Game, and served as captain for Team Dempsey at the 2020 NWHL All-Star Game.[8] On Sunday, January 26, 2020, Jillian Dempsey became the first player in league history to reach 100 career points, including playoffs. She reached the century mark with an assist in a win versus the Minnesota Whitecaps.[9]

In February 2020, Sportsnet named her one of the 25 most powerful women in hockey.[10] She shared the 2020 NWHL MVP award with Allie Thunstrom, as the Pride finished as regular season champions. The team made it to the finals of the 2020 Isobel cup before the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the 2020–21 NWHL season in Lake Placid, Dempsey injured her shoulder and played through it until the 2-week season was terminated.[11] When the playoffs resumed in Boston in March, she was again at full health and captained the Pride to their second Isobel Cup Championship as the only remaining player from the first win in 2016.[12]

On December 12, 2022, Dempsey tied a PHF record with six points on Sunday including her first career hat-trick to lead Boston in a 7-5 win versus Buffalo.[13]

Following the folding of the PHF, Dempsey was drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 PWHL Draft by PWHL Montreal.[14] On November 9, 2023, she signed a one-year contract with Montreal.[15]

International

edit

Dempsey has represented the United States women's national ice hockey team at the 2009 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship and the 2011 4 Nations Cup.[16] She would again play for the US at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship, winning a silver medal.

Personal life

edit

She is a graduate of the Rivers School and Harvard College, where she majored in Classics.[17] During her time at Harvard, she lived in Canaday Hall in her freshman year, and later in Pforzheimer House. After completing a master's in education, she joined the Teach For America programme. In 2016, she became a fifth grade teacher in her home town of Winthrop, Massachusetts.[18][19] She continued teaching while playing in the NWHL, including conducting class from her hotel room during the 2020–21 Lake Placid bubble.[20]

When she was nine, she won a contest to name the Boston Bruins mascot, Blades the Bruin.[21] Her father, Jack Dempsey, currently serves as the Boston Fire Department commissioner.[22]

Career stats

edit
    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2013–14 Boston Blades CWHL 24 14 14 28 10 4 0 1 1 0
2014–15 Boston Blades CWHL 22 9 10 19 17 2 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Boston Pride NWHL 18 7 7 14 10 4 2 3 5 4
2016-17 Boston Pride NWHL 17 5 10 15 0 2 1 0 1 0
2017-18 Boston Pride NWHL 16 7 8 15 2 1 1 0 1 0
2018-19 Boston Pride NWHL 16 10 4 14 0 1 0 0 0 2
2019-20 Boston Pride NWHL 24 17 23 40 28 1 1 0 1 2
2020-21 Boston Pride NWHL 7 3 3 6 0 2 2 1 3 0
2021-22 Boston Pride PHF 20 7 7 14 6 3 2 1 3 5
NWHL/PHF totals 118 56 62 118 24 14 9 5 14 13
CWHL totals 46 23 24 47 10 6 0 1 1 0
Source[23]

Honours and championships

edit
Championships
2016 Isobel Cup Champion
2021 Isobel Cup Champion
2022 Isobel Cup Champion
  • Boston Bruins John Carlton Award (2009)[24]
  • Harvard Athlete of the Week (Week of February 6, 2012)[25]
  • 4x ECAC Player of the Week (Weeks of December 12, 2011, February 6 and 28, 2012, January 7, 2013)[26]
  • ECAC Rookie of the Week (Week of November 16, 2010)
  • 2010 ECAC All-Rookie Team[27]
  • 2010-11 All-ECAC
  • 2010 Second Team All-Ivy[28]
  • 2013-14 CWHL Rookie of the Year
  • 2013-14 CWHL All-Rookie Team
  • 2013-14 Leading scorer among CWHL rookies
  • 2018, 2019, and 2020 NWHL All-Star Teams
  • 2017-18 and 2018-19 NWHL Denna Laing Award
  • 2019-20 NWHL Most Valuable Player Award
  • 2019-20 NWHL Leading Scorer

References

edit
  1. ^ "PHF (W) - All-time totals". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Awards - PHF (W) Isobel Cup Champion". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Female Career Achievement Award: Jillian Dempsey | Sports | the Harvard Crimson". Archived from the original on 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  4. ^ "Jillian Dempsey - 2012-13 - Women's Ice Hockey". Archived from the original on 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  5. ^ https://www.hockeyfrance.com/championnats/actualit%C3%A9s/actualites-competitions/item/8470-ewcc-neuilly-demarre-fort?highlight=WyJkZW1wc2V5Il0= [dead link]
  6. ^ "Women's Winter Classic Adds to Jillian Dempsey's Proud Boston Hockey Legacy | Women's Hockey Life". 17 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Media Guide for the 2018 NWHL All-Star Game". NWHL.zone. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. ^ "NWHL All-Star Game coming to Boston; Jillian Dempsey will captain". 21 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  9. ^ Nathan Vaughan (28 January 2020). "Record Broken: Dempsey hits 100 The longest tenured member of the Pride is a historic first". SB Nation. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ^ "The 25 Most Powerful Women in Hockey - Sportsnet.ca". Archived from the original on 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  11. ^ Porter, Matt (29 January 2021). "Boston Pride to play Buffalo Beauts in best-of-three to determine fourth playoff seed in NWHL - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Boston tops Minnesota for NWHL championship". ESPN. 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  13. ^ Paul Krotz (2022-12-12). "Sunday Highlights: Dempsey Delivers All-Time Best". premierhockeyfederation.com/. Archived from the original on 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  14. ^ Lauren, Campbell (18 September 2023). "Former Boston Pride captain drafted by Montreal in PWHL Draft". MassLive. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  15. ^ Kennedy, Ian (2023-11-09). "PHF All-Time Leader Jillian Dempsey Signs With Montreal". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  16. ^ "Duo Brings Competitive Spirit | Sports | the Harvard Crimson". Archived from the original on 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  17. ^ "Kaz Watch: Jillian Dempsey is 'living the dream' at Harvard". 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Jillian Dempsey and teachers everywhere have given an A-plus performance - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  19. ^ Shinzawa, Fluto. "Jillian Dempsey is the captain of the Boston Pride. But in this fifth-grade class, she's Ms. Dempsey". Archived from the original on 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  20. ^ Porter, Matt (31 January 2021). "Jillian Dempsey is a star for the Boston Pride. She's also a teacher. For NWHL players, two jobs is the norm - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Boston Pride's Jillian Dempsey ready for 2019 NWHL All-Star Game: 'I'm so excited'". 8 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  22. ^ "Mayor Walsh names new Boston fire commissioner". Archived from the original on 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  23. ^ "Eliteprospects.com - Jillian Dempsey". EliteProspects. Archived from the original on 2017-07-22. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  24. ^ "Bruins Announce 2009 Carlton Award". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  25. ^ "Jillian Dempsey, Women's Hockey: Harvard Athletics - GoCrimson.com". www.gocrimson.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05.
  26. ^ "ECAC Hockey" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  27. ^ "All-League & All-Rookie Teams Announced". 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  28. ^ "Freshman Katie Jamieson Receives All-Ivy Accolades". February 25, 2010. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
edit