10/21/2022 12:00:00 PM[–> | Men’s Hockey
ST. PAUL – When he took the ice for the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center Thursday night, former Golden Gopher men’s hockey player Alex Goligoski skated in his 1,000th career National Hockey League game.
A native of Grand Rapids, Minn., he became the sixth player in Gophers’ history to see the ice in 1,000 or more NHL games and also ranks eighth for the program recording 459 career points at the NHL level.
The 37-year-old has played for four teams during his professional career spanning 16 years and is in his second season right here in the State of Hockey. A second-round pick (61st overall) of Pittsburgh in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, he played three years and won the 2009 Stanley Cup for the Penguins before spending just over five seasons with the Dallas Stars. Goligoski continued his career playing five years for the Arizona Coyotes until signing as a free agent with Minnesota in 2021.
Goligoski totaled 98 points, behind 25 goals and 73 assists, in 118 appearances across three seasons for the Gophers and ranks 14th in team history in scoring by a defenseman. He was a 2007 First Team All-America selection and earned WCHA Defensive Player of the Year accolades as a junior, while serving as a team captain for the Maroon and Gold in the 2006-07 season.
He was a two-time All-WCHA honoree landing on the first team as a junior after being named to the second team in 2005-06 as the team won conference championships in each of his final two collegiate seasons. He also earned WCHA All-Rookie Team recognition during the 2004-05 campaign helping the Gophers reach the NCAA Frozen Four.
Minnesota is the only NCAA team with three former players to reach the milestone and remain active in the NHL as Goligoski joined Phil Kessel (1,209) and Blake Wheeler (1,050) in the elite company.
Most NHL Games by a Former Gopher
Phil Kessel – 1,209
Neal Broten – 1,099
Mike Ramsey – 1,070
Blake Wheeler – 1,050
Thomas Vanek – 1,029
Alex Goligoski – 1,000
*Regular season only*