Jimmy Carson
| Jimmy Carson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
July 20, 1968 Southfield, MI, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Detroit Vipers (IHL) Hartford Whalers Lausanne (Swiss) Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings Edmonton Oilers | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL Draft |
2nd overall, 1986 Los Angeles Kings | ||
| Playing career | 1986–1998 | ||
James Charles Carson (born July 20, 1968) is a retired American professional hockey player. He is best known for his 10-year NHL career, spent with several teams. After retiring from professional hockey, he embarked on a new career as a financial advisor.
Playing career
Jimmy Carson was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft as the 2nd overall pick. He scored 37 goals as an 18-year-old rookie in the 1986–87 NHL season. In just his second NHL season he notched 55 goals, and established himself as one of the sport's top young players. Along with Martin Gélinas, he was a key part of the August 9, 1988, blockbuster trade that sent them, the Kings' three first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993, and $15 million cash to the Edmonton Oilers for Wayne Gretzky, Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski.
Carson demanded a trade out of Edmonton in November 1989 because among other reasons he could not handle the pressure of being expected to replace Wayne Gretzky. Carson was traded to his home town of Detroit along with Kevin McClelland and a fifth round draft pick for Adam Graves, Petr Klíma and Joe Murphy. These players were instrumental in helping Edmonton win their 5th Stanley Cup in 7 years in 1990.
Carson would later return to Los Angeles, in January 1993, following a trade for popular all-star defenceman Paul Coffey. He played with Gretzky and the Kings for parts of two seasons, but never regained the scoring touch he had early in his career. He later played for the Vancouver Canucks and the Hartford Whalers, where he ended his NHL career in 1996.
From 1996-1998 Carson played for his hometown Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League. He was a member of the 1997 Turner Cup championship team.
Carson represented the USA in the 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the 1987 World Ice Hockey Championships.
Carson participated in the Red Wings versus Maple Leafs alumni game during the 2014 NHL Winter Classic at Comerica Park.[1]
Personal life
Carson is of Greek descent; his grandfather changed the family name from Kyriazopoulos to Carson upon emigrating to the United States.[2]
While still a player in the NHL, Carson began to prepare for a post-hockey career by earning certifications in financial planning in 1992.[3] When his playing career ended, he joined Northwestern Mutual.
Carson and his wife have four children and reside in the Metro Detroit area. They have three sons and one daughter.
Achievements
- Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1987.
- NHL single-season record for games played with 86, 1992–93 shared with Bob Kudelski who also played 86 games in 1993-94[4]
- Scored more goals as a teenager than any player in NHL history- 92 goals
- Only Wayne Gretzky (20 years, 40 days old) scored 100 goals at a younger age than Jimmy Carson who achieved the feat at 20 years, 116 days old.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1984–85 | Verdun Junior Canadiens | QMJHL | 68 | 44 | 72 | 116 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 12 | ||
| 1985–86 | Verdun Junior Canadiens | QMJHL | 69 | 70 | 83 | 153 | 46 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1986–87 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 37 | 42 | 79 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1987–88 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 55 | 52 | 107 | 45 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1988–89 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 49 | 51 | 100 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1989–90 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 44 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1991–92 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 34 | 35 | 69 | 30 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 52 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 34 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 25 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Lausanne | Swiss-A | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 18 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 1997–98 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 49 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 626 | 275 | 286 | 561 | 254 | 55 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 22 | ||||
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2012/08/jimmy_carson_red_berenson_amon.html
- ↑ "The Trade at 25: Wayne Gretzky Oral History" by Adam Proteau. The Hockey News. Vol 67, Number SC. July, 2013
- ↑ http://thehockeywriters.com/what-ever-happened-to-jimmy-carson/
- ↑ Kreiser, John. "A look at some off-the-beaten-track NHL marks". nhl.com. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
External links
- Jimmy Carson's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Jimmy Carson's biography at Legends of Hockey
| Preceded by Dan Gratton |
Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick 1986 |
Succeeded by Wayne McBean |