Incoming Notre Dame goaltender Nick Kempf chosen by Washington in NHL Draft

Incoming Notre Dame hockey freshman goaltender Nick Kempf was selected by the Washington Capitals in the fourth round of the National Hockey League Draft held Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

The 6-foot-2, 189-pound Kempf of Morton Grove, Ill., is coming off his second season with the United States National Team Development Program, which was developed back in 1996 by Jeff Jackson. J ackson announced last week he would make the 2024-25 season, his 20 ^th at Notre Dame, his final one before handing off the reins to former Irish player and current associate head coach Brock Sheahan.

The Capitals selected Kempf as the 17 ^th pick in the fourth round — the 114 ^th overall. He became Notre Dame’s 98 ^th all-time draft pick.

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The 18-year-old Kempf had a 23-7 record with a 2.99 goals-against average and an .897 saves percentage with three shutouts in 30 games for the U.S. National Under-18 team. He also had a 10-4-1 record with a 3.88 average for the USNTDP Juniors team in the United States Hockey League. Kempf finished the year with a 5-1 record, 1.89 average and .919 saves percentage in six games helping Team USA to the silver medal in the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Finland in early May.

Kempf will be one of seven 2024-25 Notre Dame players who have been selected by NHL teams in past drafts. The other six are grad transfer forward Blake Biondi (2020 by Montreal), senior forward Justin Janicke (2021, Seattle), sophomore forward Brennan Ali (2022, Detroit), sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer (2023, St. Louis), sophomore forward Cole Knuble (2023 Philadelphia) and sophomore forward Danny Nelson (2023 New York Islanders).

World Junior Summer Showcase

Kempf, Fischer and Nelson are among 46 players 20 years of age and younger who have been invited to participate in the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase July 26 through Aug 4 at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich. Teams from the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland will participate.

The 18-year-old Nelson is one of 10 returning members of last year’s U.S. team which won the gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship with a 6-2 victory over host Sweden in Gothenburg last Jan. 5. This year’s world championships take place Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, 2006 in Ottawa, Canada.

"It was an honor representing Notre Dame and the United States last year at the World Junior Championships and I’m extremely excited to get the chance to potentially do it again,” said Nelson, who had a goal and an assist in seven games for Team USA. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Maple Grove, Minn., resident finished third for the Irish in scoring with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 30 games, missing four games while with Team USA and then two more at the end of the Irish season after suffering an ankle injury which required season-ending surgery.

The 19-year-old Fischer, a 6-foot, 199-pound River Forest, Ill., resident, finished tied for eighth in scoring for the Irish with 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 34 games.

Anders Lee honored by NHL

Former Notre Dame All-American Anders Lee, now the captain for the New York Islanders, recently was honored by the NHL with the King Clancy Memorial Trophy which is awarded annually to a player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community. Lee received a $25,000 donation to benefit the charity of his choice.

Among the charities Lee has helped is the Jam Kancer in the Kan Foundation to help raise money to fight cancer. He has been the host to four tournaments, with the last one raising more than $155,000 thanks to his own $30,000 contribution.

Lee, a three-sport standout at Edina (Minn.) High School, scored 61 goals and 116 points in 125 games for Jackson’s Irish from 2010 through 2013, returning to Notre Dame during his off-seasons to earn his bachelor’s degree. The Islanders’ captain since the 2018-19 season, the 33-year-old Lee has scored 260 goals and 453 points in 759 games for the team. On Friday night at the NHL Draft, Lee made the announcement welcoming first-round pick Cole Eiserman, a left wing on the U.S. Under-18 club, to the Islanders.

Bischel hockey camp

Graduated goaltender Ryan Bischel, who will begin his professional career with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League in the fall, will conduct his second hockey camp for youngsters 7-14 at the Compton Family Ice Arena July 11-14.

Bischel, who earned West All-American honors two seasons ago, compiled a 2.46 goals-against average, .924 saves percentage and 10 shutouts in 105 career games for the Irish.

Joining Bischel as coaches will be several of his college teammates and coaches, including recent Irish graduates Landon Slaggert (Chicago Blackhawks), Trevor Janicke and Josh Graziano.

Open to boys and girls players, the mites (7-8) and squirts (9-10) will have two hours of ice daily (morning and afternoon one-hour sessions) while the pee wees (11-12) and bantams (13-14) will have 75-minute daily sessions. There also will be daily off-ice training and sports competitions. All players will receive camp t-shirts and jerseys. Also available will be information for paths to Division I hockey and Name/Image/Likeness (NIL).

For camp prices, additional information and registration, go to ryanbischelhockey.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Incoming Notre Dame goaltender Nick Kempf chosen by Washington in NHL Draft