Nicholas Guenter Kempf (born March 1, 2006) is an American college ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the University of Notre Dame. He was drafted in the fourth round, 114th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2024 NHL entry draft.
Kempf played under-13, under-14, and under-15 Tier I AAA youth hockey with the Chicago Mission. In the 2020–21 season, he played in 21 games including 5 shutouts[1] and a league-leading 1.61 Goals Against Average (GAA).[2] Kempf played in five of the six games for Mission at the 2022 USA Hockey Youth Tier I 15-only National Championship[3] and finished with an impressive .944 Save Percentage (sv%), 1.20 GAA, and one shutout.[4][5]
Kempf played two seasons with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Appearing in 30 games with the under-17 team, he posted a 15-11-0 record, a 4.04 GAA, a .886 sv%, and two shutouts.[6] With the under-18 team, he appeared in 30 games posting a 3.21 GAA, a .894 sv%, a 18-8-0 record, and one shutout.[7] Kempf ranked second among draft-eligible goalies in North America in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft midterm ranking (January 12, 2024)[8] and fourth in the final NHL Central Scouting ranking (April 16, 2024).[9] As an under-18, he also played at the 2024 USA Hockey All-American Game.[10] He is committed to play college ice hockey for the University of Notre Dame.[11][12]
Kempf was drafted 114th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2024 NHL entry draft. He was the tenth goaltender and only American goaltender selected in the draft.[13]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  United States
| ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| World U18 Championship | ||
 |
2024 Finland | |
| World U-17 Hockey Challenge | ||
 |
2022 Canada | |
Kempf represented the United States at the 2022 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, recording a .917 Save Percentage (sv%) over four games en route to a gold medal,[14] and posted a .919 sv% in six games at the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championships for the silver medal.[15]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T/OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2022–23 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 18 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 95 | 81 | 1 | 5.10 | .834 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 4.03 | .840 | ||
| 2023–24 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 18 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 943 | 61 | 0 | 3.88 | .870 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | University of Notre Dame | B1G | 13 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 722 | 45 | 0 | 3.74 | .895 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NCAA totals | 13 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 722 | 45 | 0 | 3.74 | .895 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | United States | U17 | 
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 10 | 0 | 2.50 | .917 | |
| 2024 | United States | U18 | 
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 318 | 10 | 0 | 1.89 | .919 | |
| Junior totals | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 558 | 20 | 0 | 2.15 | |||||
