Jillian Dempsey, a staple in Boston pro women's hockey, announces retirement
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This past season was a homecoming for Dempsey, who grew up in Winthrop and played at the Rivers School and Harvard.
She began her professional career with the now-defunct CWHL's Boston Blades and was named Rookie of the Year in 2014, after leading all American-born players in scoring.
She later joined and was named captain of the NWHL/PHF's Boston Pride, setting league records for games, goals, assists, and points, and became one of only two players to have won the Isobel Cup three times.
While at Rivers, Dempsey was named a 2009 Globe All-Scholastic, and the Globe recently named her to the
Throughout her professional career, Dempsey juggled practices and games with her other passion: teaching elementary school in her hometown. She took a leave of absence from teaching in 2024, to devote her time to the PWHL.
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'I had to decide to keep playing or teach at school,'
Emma Healy can be reached at
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