James Charles Carson (born July 20, 1968) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He played 10 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with five different teams. In 1988, he became only the second teenager in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season; the first was

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

Playing career

As a youth, Carson played in the 1980 and 1981

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

s with the Detroit Compuware

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team. Carson was drafted by the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft as the second overall pick. He scored 37 goals as an 18-year-old rookie in the

1986–87 NHL season The 1986–87 NHL season was the 70th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to three in the Cup finals. League business Chicago renaming The Chicago-based clu ...

. In just his second NHL season he notched 55 goals, establishing himself as one of the sport's top young players and setting a single season NHL record for most goals by a United States-born player. The record was matched by Kevin Stevens in the

1992–93 NHL season The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the season to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. The league expanded to 24 teams with the ...

At the end of his second season, Carson was part of the August 9, 1988, blockbuster trade that sent himself, Martin Gélinas, the Kings' three first-round draft picks in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, and $15 million cash to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

for

Marty McSorley Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he could play both the forward and defense positions. He was also hea ...

and

Mike Krushelnyski Michael "Kruzer" Krushelnyski (born April 27, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre/ left winger who played 14 years in the National Hockey League (NHL). While playing in the NHL, he won three Stanley Cups as a player with th ...

. Carson demanded a trade out of Edmonton in November 1989. He was traded to his hometown of Detroit along with Kevin McClelland and a fifth-round draft pick for Adam Graves, Petr Klíma, Joe Murphy and Jeff Sharples. These players were instrumental in helping Edmonton win their fifth

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

in seven years in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. Carson later returned to Los Angeles in January 1993, following a trade for popular all-star defenseman

Paul Coffey Paul Patrick Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time ...

. 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 The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

and the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

, where he ended his NHL career in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. From 1996-1998 Carson played for his hometown

Detroit Vipers The Detroit Vipers were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the International Hockey League (IHL). Originally founded in 1969 as the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in Salt Lake City, the team was purchased by Palace Sports & Entertainment ...

of the International Hockey League. He was a member of the 1997 Turner Cup-winning team. Carson represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the

1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1986 WJHC'') was the tenth edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held from December 26, 1985, until January 4, 1986. It was held mainly in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The S ...

and the 1987 World Ice Hockey Championships. Carson participated in the Red Wings versus Toronto Maple Leafs alumni game before the 2014 NHL Winter Classic at

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium (Detroit), Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, t ...

Personal life

Carson is of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

descent; his grandfather changed the family name from Kyriazopoulos to Carson upon immigrating to the United States. While still a player in the NHL, Carson began to prepare for a post-hockey career by earning certifications in

financial planning In general usage, a financial plan is a comprehensive evaluation of an individual's current pay and future financial state by using current known variables to predict future income, asset values and withdrawal plans. This often includes a budg ...

in 1992. When his playing career ended, he joined

Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning ...

. Carson and his wife have four children and reside in the

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

area. They have three sons and one daughter.

Achievements

*Played in 1989 NHL All-Star Game. *Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. *NHL single-season record for games played with 86, 1992–93 shared with Bob Kudelski who also played 86 games in 1993-94 *Most goals as a teenager in NHL history- 92 goals *Only

(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 and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Jimmy 1968 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers 20th-century American people of Greek descent Detroit Red Wings players Edmonton Oilers players Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from Oakland County, Michigan Ice hockey players from Michigan Los Angeles Kings players Detroit Vipers players Los Angeles Kings draft picks National Hockey League All-Stars NHL first-round draft picks Sportspeople from Southfield, Michigan Vancouver Canucks players Verdun Junior Canadiens players 20th-century American sportsmen