Editing Jimmy Carson

{{Short description|American ice hockey player (born 1968)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image = 
| image_size = 
| played_for = [[Los Angeles Kings]]<br>[[Edmonton Oilers]]<br>[[Detroit Red Wings]]<br>[[Vancouver Canucks]]<br>[[Hartford Whalers]]<br>[[Lausanne Hockey Club|Lausanne]]
| league = [[National Hockey League|NHL]]
| position = [[Centre (ice hockey)|Center]]
| shoots = Right
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 200
| ntl_team = USA
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|07|20}}
| birth_place = [[Southfield, Michigan|Southfield]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
| draft = 2nd overall
| draft_year = 1986
| draft_team = [[Los Angeles Kings]]
| career_start = 1986
| career_end = 1998
}}
'''James Charles Carson''' (born July 20, 1968) is an American former professional [[ice 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]].<ref name="Gave">{{cite book |last1=Gave |first1=Keith |title=The Russian Five: A Story of Espionage, Defection, Bribery and Courage |date=2018 |publisher=Gold Star Publishing |access-date=10 April 2020 |page=54 |isbn=9781947165175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UlbOswEACAAJ}}</ref>

==Playing career==
As a youth, Carson played in the 1980 and 1981 [[Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament]]s with the [[Detroit Compuware]] [[minor ice hockey]] team.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|title=Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA|year=2018|website=Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament|access-date=2019-01-16|archive-date=2019-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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, 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]], [https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/records/most-goals-in-one-season-by-nhl-players.html] 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 NHL Entry Draft|1989]], [[1991 NHL Entry Draft|1991]] and [[1993 NHL Entry Draft|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]], [[Joe Murphy (ice hockey)|Joe Murphy]] and [[Jeff Sharples]]. These players were instrumental in helping Edmonton win their fifth [[Stanley Cup]] in seven years in [[1990 Stanley Cup Finals|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 [[1995–96 NHL season|1996]].

From 1996-1998 Carson played for his hometown [[Detroit Vipers]] of the [[International Hockey League (1945–2001)|International Hockey League]]. He was a member of the 1997 [[Turner Cup]]-winning team.

Carson represented the [[United States men's national ice hockey team|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]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2012/08/jimmy_carson_red_berenson_amon.html | title=Jimmy Carson, Red Berenson among four additions to Red Wings alumni team for Winter Classic | date=16 August 2012 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Carson is of [[Greece|Greek]] descent; his grandfather changed the family name from Kyriazopoulos to Carson upon immigrating to the United States.<ref>"The Trade at 25: Wayne Gretzky Oral History" by Adam Proteau. The Hockey News. Vol 67, Number SC. July, 2013</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=DiFranco |first1=Michael |title=What Ever Happened to Jimmy Carson? |url=http://thehockeywriters.com/what-ever-happened-to-jimmy-carson/ |publisher=The Hockey Writers |access-date=21 April 2020 |date=31 October 2009}}</ref>

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 [[1986–87 NHL season|1987]].
*NHL single-season record for games played with 86, [[1992–93 NHL season|1992–93]]<small> shared with [[Bob Kudelski]] who also played 86 games in 1993-94<ref>{{cite web|last=Kreiser|first=John|title=A look at some off-the-beaten-track NHL marks|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=569876|work=nhl.com|access-date=4 June 2012}}</ref></small>
*Most goals as a teenager 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===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|[[Regular season]]
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|[[Playoffs]]
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP !! [[Goal (ice hockey)|G]] !! [[Assist (ice hockey)|A]] !! [[Point (ice hockey)|Pts]] !! [[Penalty (ice hockey)|PIM]]
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1983–84
| [[Detroit Compuware Ambassadors]]
| MNHL
| 65 || 85 || 74 || 159 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1984–85 QMJHL season|1984–85]]
| [[Verdun Junior Canadiens]]
| [[Quebec Major Junior Hockey League|QMJHL]]
| 68 || 44 || 72 || 116 || 16
| 14 || 9 || 17 || 26 || 12
|-
| [[1985 Memorial Cup|1984–85]]
| Verdun Junior Canadiens
| [[Memorial Cup|M-Cup]]
| — || — || — || — || —
| 3 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1985–86 QMJHL season|1985–86]]
| Verdun Junior Canadiens
| QMJHL
| 69 || 70 || 83 || 153 || 46
| 5 || 2 || 6 || 8 || 0
|-
| [[1986–87 NHL season|1986–87]]
| [[Los Angeles Kings]]
| [[National Hockey League|NHL]]
| 80 || 37 || 42 || 79 || 22
| 5 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1987–88 NHL season|1987–88]]
| Los Angeles Kings
| NHL
| 80 || 55 || 52 || 107 || 45
| 5 || 5 || 3 || 8 || 4
|-
| [[1988–89 NHL season|1988–89]]
| [[Edmonton Oilers]]
| NHL
| 80 || 49 || 51 || 100 || 36
| 7 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1989–90 NHL season|1989–90]]
| Edmonton Oilers
| NHL
| 4 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1989–90
| [[Detroit Red Wings]]
| NHL
| 44 || 20 || 16 || 36 || 8
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1990–91 NHL season|1990–91]]
| Detroit Red Wings
| NHL
| 64 || 21 || 25 || 46 || 28
| 7 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 4
|-
| [[1991–92 NHL season|1991–92]]
| Detroit Red Wings
| NHL
| 80 || 34 || 35 || 69 || 30
| 11 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1992–93 NHL season|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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1993–94 NHL season|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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1994–95 NHL season|1994–95]]
| [[Hartford Whalers]]
| NHL
| 38 || 9 || 10 || 19 || 29
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1995–96 Nationalliga A season|1995–96]]
| [[Lausanne HC]]
| [[National League (ice hockey)|NDA]]
| 13 || 3 || 4 || 7 || 14
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1995–96 NHL season|1995–96]]
| Hartford Whalers
| NHL
| 11 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1996–97 IHL season|1996–97]]
| [[Detroit Vipers]]
| [[International Hockey League (1945–2001)|IHL]]
| 18 || 7 || 16 || 23 || 4
| 13 || 4 || 6 || 10 || 12
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1997–98 IHL season|1997–98]]
| Detroit Vipers
| IHL
| 49 || 10 || 28 || 38 || 34
| 9 || 3 || 4 || 7 || 6
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 626 !! 275 !! 286 !! 561 !! 254
! 55 !! 17 !! 15 !! 32 !! 22
|}

===International===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="102" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| [[1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships|1986]]
| [[United States men's national junior ice hockey team|United States]]
| [[World Junior Ice Hockey Championships|WJC]]
| 7 || 4 || 1 || 5 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1987 Ice Hockey World Championships|1987]]
| [[United States men's national ice hockey team|United States]]
| [[Ice Hockey World Championships|WC]]
| 10 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 4
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4"| Junior totals
! 7 !! 4 !! 1 !! 5 !! 0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4"| Senior totals
! 10 !! 2 !! 3 !! 5 !! 4
|}

==See also==
* [[List of NHL players with 100-point seasons]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{icehockeystats|legends=10226}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[Dan Gratton]] | title = [[List of Los Angeles Kings draft picks|Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick]] | years = [[1986 NHL Entry Draft|1986]] | after = [[Wayne McBean]]}}
{{s-end}}

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