Nathan Dempsey

Nathan Dempsey (born July 14, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 260 games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins.

Playing career Nathan Dempsey was selected in the 11th round, 245th overall, in the 1992 NHL entry draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the WHL's Regina Pats.

Dempsey spent the majority of his 9-year tenure with the Leafs with their AHL affiliate, the St. John's Maple Leafs. His most successful season came in the 2001–02 season where he scored 61 points in 75 games for St. John's. Dempsey had only played 48 games for Toronto when he left as a free agent on July 12, 2002, signing with the Chicago Blackhawks.

He established himself as an NHL regular in the Blackhawks blueline in the 2003–04 season and on March 2, 2004, he was traded from the Blackhawks to the Los Angeles Kings for a 4th round draft selection (Nathan Davis) in 2005 and future considerations.

Dempsey spent the 2004 NHL lockout with German team Eisbären Berlin of the DEL, before returning to the Kings for the 2005–06 season.

He joined his fourth NHL team on August 7, 2006, when he signed with the Boston Bruins. He spent the majority of the year in the minors with AHL affiliate the Providence Bruins.

On July 10, 2007, Dempsey signed with Swiss team, SC Bern of the NLA for his last professional season.

Personal life

At age 37, Dempsey was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He still plays hockey, coaches and works at Edmonton's Vimy Ridge Hockey Academy.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1991–92 Regina Pats WHL 70 4 22 26 72 — — — — — 1992–93 Regina Pats WHL 72 12 29 41 95 13 3 8 11 14 1992–93 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL — — — — — 2 0 0 0 0 1993–94 Regina Pats WHL 56 14 36 50 100 4 0 0 0 4 1994–95 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 74 7 30 37 91 5 1 0 1 11 1995–96 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 73 5 15 20 103 4 1 0 1 9 1996–97 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 52 8 18 26 108 6 1 0 1 4 1996–97 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 14 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 1997–98 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 68 12 16 28 85 4 0 0 0 0 1998–99 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 67 2 29 31 70 5 0 1 1 2 1999–00 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 44 15 12 27 40 — — — — — 1999–00 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 6 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 2000–01 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 55 11 28 39 60 4 0 4 4 8 2000–01 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 25 1 9 10 4 — — — — — 2001–02 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 75 13 48 61 66 11 1 5 6 8 2001–02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 0 6 0 2 2 0 2002–03 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 67 5 23 28 26 — — — — — 2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 58 8 17 25 30 — — — — — 2003–04 Los Angeles Kings NHL 17 4 3 7 2 — — — — — 2004–05 Eisbären Berlin DEL 10 2 3 5 26 12 0 3 3 14 2005–06 Los Angeles Kings NHL 53 2 11 13 48 — — — — — 2006–07 Boston Bruins NHL 17 0 1 1 6 — — — — — 2006–07 Providence Bruins AHL 46 4 17 21 40 3 0 0 0 2 2007–08 SC Bern NLA 29 3 10 13 20 — — — — — NHL totals 260 21 67 88 120 6 0 2 2 0

Awards and honours Award Year WHL East Second All-Star Team 1993–94 AHL All-Star Game 2001, 2002 Second All-Star Team 2002 Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award 2002