Jillian T. Dempsey (born January 19, 1991) is an American ice hockey player who currently captains the
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
in the
Premier Hockey Federation
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and h ...
(PHF). She currently holds the all-time PHF records for games played, goals, assists, and points, and has won both the
Clarkson Cup
The Clarkson Cup (french: La Coupe Clarkson) is a women's ice hockey trophy, which from 2009 to 2019 was awarded to the winner of the Canadian Women's Hockey Championship (CWHL champion). With the folding of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CW ...
and the
Isobel Cup
The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...
.
Career
She played for the
Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey
The Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey team represents Harvard University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women's hockey. Harvard competes as a member of the ECAC Conference and plays its home games at the Bright H ...
team from 2009 to 2013, serving as team captain in her final season. Across 129
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
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.
In August 2013, she was selected as the 10th overall pick by the
Boston Blades
The Worcester Blades were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, and played their home games at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The team began play in the 2010–1 ...
in the
2013 CWHL Draft. In October 2013, Dempsey joined the
Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne
The Hockey Club Neuilly-sur-Marne is a French ice hockey club based in Neuilly-sur-Marne. The men's representative team, ''Les Bisons'' ''de Neuilly-sur-Marne'', plays in the second-tier FFHG Division 1.
History
The club was founded in 1974 as HC ...
on loan for the first round of the
2013–14 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup
The 2013–14 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup was the tenth holding of the IIHF European Women Champions Cup (EWCC). Russian team Tornado Moscow Region (HC Tornado) of the Russian Women's Hockey League won the tournament for the third conse ...
, where she scored 13 points in 3 games.
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 The 2015 Clarkson Cup was a women's ice hockey tournament that was contested in Markham, Ontario to determine the champion of the Canadian Women's Hockey League from March 4 to March 7, 2014. The Boston Blades defeated the Montreal Stars by a 3-2 ta ...
.
When the NWHL was formed in 2015, Dempsey left the Blades to join the
Boston Pride
The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
. In 2018, she was named Pride captain.
Dempsey participated in the
3rd NWHL All-Star Game
The 3rd NWHL All-Star Game took place on February 11, 2018 at TRIA Rink in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A skills competition was held the day prior on February 10, 2018.
Brittany Ott of the Boston Pride and Amanda Leveille of the Buffalo Beauts serve ...
. 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. 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.
In February 2020, Sportsnet named her one of the 25 most powerful women in hockey. She shared the 2020 NWHL MVP award with
Allie Thunstrom
Allison Thunstrom (born April 20, 1988) is an American ice hockey forward for the Boston Pride in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She currently holds the PHF record for goals scored in a single season. She has also played for the U ...
, 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
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
During the 2020–21 NWHL season in Lake Placid, Dempsey injured her shoulder and played through it until the 2-week season was terminated. 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.
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.
International
Dempsey has represented the
United States women's national ice hockey team
The United States women's national ice hockey team is controlled by USA Hockey. The U.S. has been one of the most successful women's ice hockey teams in international play, having medaled in every major tournament.
In 1998, the women's Olympic ...
at the
2009 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship
The 2009 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship was the second holding of the World Women's U18 Championships, the premier International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament for top division national women's junior ice hockey teams. It was held ...
and the
2011 4 Nations Cup
The 2011 4 Nations Cup was a women's ice hockey tournament that was held in Nyköping, Sweden. All matches were held at the Stora Hallen arena. The November 10 match between Canada and the US marked the 100th time since 1990 that the two countrie ...
. She would again play for the US at the
2012 IIHF Women's World Championship
The 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships was the 14th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation and took place in Vermont, United States, at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, and the Cairns Arena in South Burlington. ...
, winning a silver medal.
Personal life
She is a graduate of the
Rivers School
The Rivers School is an independent, coeducational preparatory school in Weston, Massachusetts.
Rivers' Middle School program includes grades 6-8, while its Upper School program includes grades 9-12. As of 2014, 489 students are enrolled from ...
and
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, where she majored in
Classics. During her time at Harvard, she lived in
Canaday Hall in her freshman year, and later in
Pforzheimer House
Pforzheimer House, nicknamed PfoHo (''FOE-hoe'') and formerly named North House, is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. It was named in 1995 for Carol K. and Carl Howard Pforzheimer Jr, major University and Radc ...
. After completing a master's in education, she joined the
Teach For America programme. In 2016, she became a
fifth grade
Fifth grade (called Grade 5 in some regions) is a year of education in many nations, and some other regions call it Year 5. In the United States, the fifth grade is the fifth and last year of elementary school in most schools. In other schools, it ...
teacher in her home town of Winthrop, Massachusetts. She continued teaching while playing in the NWHL, including conducting class from her hotel room during the 2020–21 Lake Placid bubble.
When she was nine, she won a contest to name the
Boston Bruins mascot, Blades the Bruin. Her father, Jack Dempsey, currently serves as the
Boston Fire Department
The Boston Fire Department provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It also responds to such incidents as motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material spills, utility mishaps, ...
commissioner.
Career stats
;Source
Honours and Championships
*
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
John Carlton Award (2009)
* Harvard Athlete of the Week (Week of February 6, 2012)
*4x
ECAC Player of the Week (Weeks of December 12, 2011, February 6 and 28, 2012, January 7, 2013)
*ECAC Rookie of the Week (Week of November 16, 2010)
*2010 ECAC All-Rookie Team
*2010-11 All-ECAC
*2010 Second Team All-Ivy
*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
External links
*
*
Boston Blades profileHarvard Crimson profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Jillian
1991 births
Living people
American women's ice hockey forwards
Boston Blades players
Boston Pride players
Clarkson Cup champions
Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey players
Harvard College alumni
Ice hockey players from Massachusetts
Isobel Cup champions
Premier Hockey Federation players
People from Winthrop, Massachusetts
Rivers School alumni