Jimmy Carson

James Charles Carson (born July 20, 1968) is an American former professional hockey player. He played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League 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.[1]

Jimmy Carson
Born (1968-07-20) July 20, 1968
Southfield, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Center
Shot Right
Played for Los Angeles Kings
Edmonton Oilers
Detroit Red Wings
Vancouver Canucks
Hartford Whalers
Lausanne (Swiss)
Detroit Vipers (IHL)
National team  United States
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 1986
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 1986–1998

Playing career

As a youth, Carson played in the 1980 and 1981 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Detroit Compuware minor ice hockey team.[2]

Carson was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings 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. In just his second NHL season he notched 55 goals, and established himself as one of the sport's top young players. He was part of the August 9, 1988, blockbuster trade that sent himself, Martin Gélinas, 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. He was traded to his hometown 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 fifth Stanley Cup in seven years in 1990.

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

Carson represented the United States in the 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships 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.[3]

Personal life

Carson is of Greek descent; his grandfather changed the family name from Kyriazopoulos to Carson upon immigrating to the United States.[4]

While still a player in the NHL, Carson began to prepare for a post-hockey career by earning certifications in financial planning in 1992. When his playing career ended, he joined Northwestern Mutual.[5]

Carson and his wife have four children and reside in the Metro Detroit 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.
  • NHL single-season record for games played with 86, 1992–93 shared with Bob Kudelski who also played 86 games in 1993-94[6]
  • 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 and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84Detroit Compuware AmbassadorsMNHL658574159——————
1984–85Verdun Junior CanadiensQMJHL68447211616149172612
1984–85Verdun Junior CanadiensMC—————30114
1985–86Verdun Junior CanadiensQMJHL6970831534652680
1986–87Los Angeles KingsNHL803742792251236
1987–88Los Angeles KingsNHL8055521074555384
1988–89Edmonton OilersNHL8049511003672136
1989–90Edmonton OilersNHL41230—————
1989–90Detroit Red WingsNHL442016368—————
1990–91Detroit Red WingsNHL642125462872134
1991–92Detroit Red WingsNHL8034356930112350
1992–93Detroit Red WingsNHL5225265118—————
1992–93Los Angeles KingsNHL3412102214185492
1993–94Los Angeles KingsNHL2547112—————
1993–94Vancouver CanucksNHL34107172220110
1994–95Hartford WhalersNHL389101929—————
1995–96Lausanne HCNDA1334714—————
1995–96Hartford WhalersNHL111010—————
1996–97Detroit VipersIHL1871623413461012
1997–98Detroit VipersIHL491028383493476
NHL totals 626 275 286 561 254 55 17 15 32 22

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1986 United States WJC 7 4 1 5 0
1987 United States WC 10 2 3 5 4
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gollark: I quite like expression-based and indented stuff.

See also

References
  1. Gave, Keith (2018). The Russian Five: A Story of Espionage, Defection, Bribery and Courage. Gold Star Publishing. p. 54. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  3. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2012/08/jimmy_carson_red_berenson_amon.html
  4. "The Trade at 25: Wayne Gretzky Oral History" by Adam Proteau. The Hockey News. Vol 67, Number SC. July, 2013
  5. DiFranco, Michael (31 October 2009). "What Ever Happened to Jimmy Carson?". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. Kreiser, John. "A look at some off-the-beaten-track NHL marks". nhl.com. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
Preceded by
Dan Gratton		 Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick
1986		 Succeeded by
Wayne McBean
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