stempniak graduated from st. francis high school in athol springs, new york, in 2001, and played his college hockey at dartmouth college in new hampshire. a well-traveled and versatile forward, stempniak has played for ten different teams in his nhl career, which is tied for the second-most in nhl history. on october 1, 2019 after 14 seasons in the nhl he announced his retirement.