Back on Home Ice

Harvard star Jillian Dempsey earns a role on the PWHL’s Boston Fleet team

By Cary Shuman

After one season of playing for the Montreal team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League before record-setting crowds, Winthrop Jillian Dempsey is back in familiar surroundings.

Following pre-season training camp in November, Dempsey was selected to a reserve role on the Boston Fleet’s 2024-25 team.

“I’m at all the training, all the practices, the meetings – I’m at everything except not in the lineup or on the road when we have away games,” said Dempsey. “If there are injuries, short or long team, the team would activate one of the reserves and you would be under the standard player contract. I’m still thrilled for this opportunity, especially because playing back here and representing Boston was my main goal.”

The PWHL season has been expanded to 24 to 30 games this season. Dempsey said she wants to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.

“I’m just showing up every single day, working hard, and I want to be ready if an opportunity to be in the games comes,” said Dempsey. “I’m doing what I can on daily basis in practice to help the team be better and ready for each game.”

Dempsey has enjoyed tremendous support from hockey fans since her record-breaking career at the Rivers School (she was named to the Boston Globe All-Time Team) and later at Harvard where she was a captain and a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. Because of her hometown-hero status and being a schoolteacher and role model for young hockey players, Dempsey became an instant sensation for the Boston Pride, captaining the team to four championship cups. Fans often waited in line for her autograph following games. Dempsey will be wearing jersey

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