Bio

The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team welcomed back former captain Kyle Schempp, who joins the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant for the 2020-21 campaign.

"We are pleased that Kyle has elected to come back to Ferris State University to finish his degree in Environmental Biology after a successful pro career," Ferris State Hockey Head Coach Bob Daniels said. "We are also excited about him joining our staff as a volunteer assistant coach. He will be counted on to help develop our player's individual skills through the knowledge he has gained at the professional level."

The Saginaw native helped the Bulldogs to a pair of NCAA Regional Championship games, a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Regular Season title in 2014 and Postseason Championship in 2016. This past season, Schempp was named to the Ferris State Hockey All-Decade Team. 

As a junior, Schempp put up 25 more points with 16 assists in 41 games to help Ferris State back to the WCHA Final Five for the third consecutive year, where the Bulldogs upset the co-regular season champions Michigan Tech and Minnesota State on back-to-back nights to win the Broadmoor Championship at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena.

Following his rookie campaign at Ferris State, Schempp had drawn enough eyes to become the seventh Bulldog in program history to be selected in the National Hockey League (NHL) Entry draft when the New York Islanders selected him with their sixth round selection (155th overall) in the 2014 Entry Draft. Schempp was a rare Bulldog to earn a letter on his uniform as an underclassmen, serving as an Alternate Captain in 2014-15.

During the 2014-15 season, Schempp ended the longest game in Ferris State Hockey history, tipping a Ryan Lowney shot past Bemidji State goaltender Michael Bitzer at 6:40 of the third overtime (106:40 of game time) to send the Bulldogs to their second of three-straight WCHA Final Five appearances.

As a freshman, Schempp had 25 points during the 2013-14 campaign to help the Bulldogs to the second-most wins in a single season in school history (29) as Ferris State advanced to the NCAA Regional Championship game. Schempp was a 2014 WCHA All-Rookie team selection.

Schempp follows other former Bulldogs including Trace Pennock, Justin DeMartino and Taylor Nelson who have returned to Ferris State as Volunteer Assistant Coaches. DeMartino is currently coaching in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the Topeka Pilots as the associate head coach while Nelson is the assistant coach at Canisius.

Schempp recently wrapped up a four-year professional career, seeing time in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and in the ECHL with the Missouri Mavericks, Worcester Railers and Idaho Steelheads. Schempp had 84 points in 175 ECHL games and played in 46 AHL games with nine points.