Winthrop’s Jillian Dempsey Will Play in PHF All-Star Game Saturday in Buffalo

Winthrop resident Jillian Dempsey will be playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) All-Star Game Saturday in Buffalo.

Dempsey, the league’s all-time leading goal scorer and captain of the Isobel Cup defending champion Boston Pride, will be a captain of one of the teams in the game that will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus.

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for the 31-year-old Cummings Elementary School teacher. Dempsey was invited to play in the East Coast Hockey League All-Star Classic Jan. 17 in Jacksonville, Fla. That game was televised live on the NHL Network.

“It was a really cool experience,” said Dempsey, who suited up for the host Jacksonville Icemen team in the game. “It gave us some viewership and a little bit different eyes on women’s hockey. It was nice to be able to get our league’s name out there and I was happy that people tuned in and that it created some interest in women’s hockey. The players were very welcoming to us.”

Dempsey will board a jet at Logan Airport Friday night for the trip to Buffalo.

“The game has a different format this year with three different teams playing and the top two advancing to the finals,” said Dempsey. “I think it’s going to be more creative and exciting than your typical 5-on-5 all-star Game.”

Dempsey will be making her fourth consecutive appearance in the game. In the last game held at Warrior Arena in 2020, Dempsey won the shooting accuracy competition in a record time of 9.6 seconds, obliterating the previous record by three seconds.

Dempsey will be wearing a specially designed PHF hockey jersey in the game. The former Harvard University captain, Dempsey is the league’s most recognizable and most marketable star. Dempsey is the reigning championship game MVP and hoping to lead the Pride to a second consecutive Isobel Cup.

Also playing in the PHF All-Star Game is Dempsey’s Boston Pride linemate, McKenna Brand, the former Northeastern University standout who lives in Winthrop.

As of Wednesday, Dempsey hadn’t told her students about her latest honor of being an All-Star Game captain.

“I usually give them a heads-up on Fridays,” she said humbly. “Hopefully some of my students will be able to watch the game.”