Sports

And so starts another NHL season for crew of Alaskans

In the vernacular of youth hockey, a player is commonly identified by his birth year -- when Scott Gomez rose through the ranks, for instance, he was referred to as a '79.

Matt Carle and Nate Thompson were each called an '84, and Brandon Dubinsky an '86.

Those birth years furnished some of Alaska's most elite players because those four players, all from Anchorage, start the NHL season as veterans in the world's best league.

Gomez, 35, is the state's most decorated player. The playmaking center and former NHL Rookie of the Year has twice hoisted the Stanley Cup and both times brought it home to share with his community. He has played 15 NHL seasons, racking up nearly 1,200 regular-season and playoff games. He has delivered 747 career regular-season points and another 101 points in the playoffs.

As of Tuesday night, Gomez still was with the St. Louis Blues after joining them in training camp on a tryout basis. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Blues are in contract negotiations with Gomez, who last season resurrected his career with the New Jersey Devils, the team with which he won two Cups.

Defenseman Carle, 31, remains with the Tampa Bay Lightning and is entering his 10th full season on the circuit. The former Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner as college hockey's best player has logged 660 regular-season games and another 113 in the playoffs. He has twice played in the Stanley Cup Final, coming up short last spring with the Lightning and in 2010 with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated Carle's club both times.

Dubinsky, 29, a center for the Columbus Blue Jackets, is entering his ninth full NHL season. Twice he has scored 20 goals or more in a season. He's played 545 career games. He bagged 13-23--36 totals in 47 games last season when his campaign was interrupted by injuries.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thompson, 31, is a center for the Anaheim Ducks. He is entering his eighth pro season and will begin it on injured reserve after offseason shoulder surgery. He's played 471 games, impressive for a guy who was a sixth-round draft pick -- Gomez was a first-rounder, and Carle and Dubinsky were second-rounders -- and played three full seasons in the American Hockey League before ascending to the NHL.

Gomez, Carle, Dubinsky and Thompson are among 15 Alaskans who have played in the NHL.

The next wave looks to include winger Casey Bailey of Anchorage, who made his NHL debut late last season with Toronto, and goaltenders Stephon Williams of Fairbanks and Pheonix Copley of North Pole. All three will start this season in the American Hockey League, one step below the NHL.

And while Colton Parayko isn't an Alaskan -- he's an Alberta boy -- the former UAF All-American defenseman is making a splash in the NHL. Parayako, 22, a third-round pick who signed with the Blues last spring after his junior season with the Nanooks, made the Blues' season-opening roster after his first NHL training camp.

Also, former UAA center Jay Beagle plays for the Washington Capitals, former UAF goaltender Chad Johnson plays for the Buffalo Sabres and several former Alaska Aces are playing in the NHL.

The Aces connection is shared by most of the Alaskans currently in the NHL. Gomez twice played for the Aces during NHL lockouts, and he, Dubinsky and Thompson were Aces teammates during the 2012-13 lockout.

Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

ADVERTISEMENT