| Alexandra Carpenter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 13, 1994, North Reading, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 154 lb (70 kg; 11 st 0 lb) |
| Position | Forward |
| Shoots | Left |
| PWHL team | PWHL New York |
| Pro clubs | |
| Ntl. team |  United States of America
|
| Playing career | 2011–present |
Alexandra "Alex" Carpenter (born April 13, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey player, alternate captain of PWHL New York of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), and member of the United States women's national team. She was the first player drafted into the National Women's Hockey League in 2015. She won a silver medal with the United States at the 2014, and 2022 Winter Olympics, won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2015, and was named ZhHL MVP in 2020.[1]
Playing career[]
While in middle school, she played for a male hockey team in Bethlehem, New York. In the fall of 2007, she joined The Governor's Academy in South Byfield, Massachusetts, where she played for their varsity team as a 13-year-old. Over three years, she scored a total of 155 goals and 136 assists for 291 points.[2]
NCAA[]
On July 22, 2010, she committed to joining the Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey program in the fall of 2012.[3]
Alex recorded her 100th career point against UConn Feb 17 of her sophomore season with Boston College (BC).[4]
During her junior season (2014–15) at Boston College, Carpenter was the recipient of the 2015 Patty Kazmaier Award.[1] She was the first player in the history of the Boston College Eagles program, and the first player from the Hockey East conference to claim the award.
Professional[]
Carpenter was the first player drafted in the National Women's Hockey League's (NWHL) inaugural draft in 2015, selected by the New York Riveters.[5] She returned for her senior season with Boston College and her rights were traded to the Boston Pride in April 2016.[6] During the summer of 2016, Carpenter signed with the Boston Pride for a one-year, $19,500 contract, making her the highest paid player of the 2015 NWHL Draft class.[7] Playing for Team Steadman, Carpenter recorded a goal and an assist at the 2nd NWHL All-Star Game.[8] She finished the 2016–17 season as the second highest scorer in the league.[9]
Following her season in the NWHL, Carpenter registered for the 2017 Draft of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and was drafted by one of the two Chinese expansion teams, Kunlun Red Star WIH based in Shenzhen.[9] During the 2017–18 KHL season, her father, Bobby Carpenter, was a coach for HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the men's club that owned the Kunlun Red Star WIH. After being cut from the United States Olympic team, she signed with Kunlun Red Star on January 15, 2018.[10] The following season, the two Chinese CWHL teams were merged to become the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays, and Carpenter re-signed with the team.
After the 2018–19 CWHL season, the CWHL ceased operations, and the team joined the Women's Hockey League (ZhHL). Carpenter again chose to remain in China, citing the better facilities and player support provided by the team than what she had experienced in the NWHL, supporting the boycott of North American leagues that had led to the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).[11] She served as team captain for the 2020–21 season.
On September 8th, 2023, PWHL New York announced that they had signed Carpenter to a 3 year deal, with an undisclosed salary.[12] On December 21, 2023, Carpenter and teammate Ella Shelton were named the first alternate captains in team history.[13]
International play[]
Carpenter competed for Team USA under-18 in an Under-18 three-game exhibition series against Canada's best in Calgary, Alberta. She helped the US team win the 2009 Czech Challenge Cup in Prague.[14] She scored a goal for Team USA in the gold medal game of the 2010 IIHF World Women's Under 18 Championship but the team ultimately fell to Canada and had to settle for the silver medal.[15] She was the youngest girl for Team USA in the tournament at fifteen-years-old. She finished the tournament with eight goals and one assist in five games. She was tied for second in team scoring behind Kendall Coyne.[2]
In 2013, she made the women's senior team and participated in the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship and remained on Team USA for every following season, including the 2014 Olympics. Carpenter scored the game-winning overtime goal to lead the United States to a 1–0 win over Canada at the 2016 Women's World Championship. She was one of the final cuts from the 2018 Olympic team,[16] but was brought back for the 2019 World Championship.[11]
On January 2, 2022, Carpenter was named to Team USA's roster to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[17]
Personal life[]
Carpenter is the daughter of former NHL player Bobby Carpenter.[2]
Alex Carpenter was the first girl to play in the Morristown, New Jersey, Little League in 25 years (performing as a pitcher, catcher, and shortstop) and was the first girl to play as a 10-year-old.[18]
Carpenter is an out member of the LGBTQ community.[19][20] She became engaged to girlfriend Steph Klein, an assistant equipment manager with the Toronto Marlies, in January 2022.[21]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | Boston College | HE | 35 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2012–13 | Boston College | HE | 37 | 32 | 38 | 70 | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2014–15 | Boston College | HE | 37 | 37 | 44 | 81 | 13 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2015–16 | Boston College | HE | 41 | 43 | 45 | 88 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2016–17 | Boston Pride | NWHL | 17 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Kunlun Red Star | CWHL | 13 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Shenzhen KRS | CWHL | 28 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Shenzhen KRS | ZhHL | 27 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Shenzhen KRS | ZhHL | 28 | 29 | 26 | 55 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Team Scotiabank | PWHPA | 20 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| ZhHL totals | 55 | 50 | 58 | 108 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | United States | U18 | 
|
5 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2011 | United States | U18 | 
|
5 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2012 | United States | U18 |
|
5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2013 | United States | WC |
|
5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | United States | OG |
|
5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2015 | United States | WC |
|
5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | United States | WC |
|
5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | United States | WC |
|
5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2019 | United States | WC |
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2021 | United States | WC |
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2022 | United States | OG |
|
7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | United States | WC |
|
7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | United States | WC |
|
7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 15 | 18 | 10 | 28 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 60 | 24 | 28 | 61 | 6 | ||||
Awards and honors[]
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| NCAA | ||
| Patty Kazmaier Award | 2015 | [7] |
| CCM Hockey Women's Division I All-Americans, First Team | 2015 | [22] |
| Hockey East First Team All-Star | 2015 | [23] |
| International | ||
| World U18 Championship – Best Forward | 2011, 2012 | [24][25] |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alex Carpenter Wins 2015 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award (en-us) (2015-03-21).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Pierce (September 2010). Alex Carpenter: Young Carpenter Is Building Quite a Career.
- ↑ It's Boston College! Peabody's Alex Carpenter makes her decision (2010-07-22).
- ↑ Souris, Pete (2013-03-08). BC's Alex Carpenter Named Athletic Republic Player of the Year.
- ↑ Alex Carpenter Becomes 1st NWHL Draft Pick (2015-06-23).
- ↑ Vaughan, Nathan (2016-04-29). What the Alex Carpenter deal means for the Pride (en).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Prospects to Pros: Signing the 2015 NWHL Draft Picks (2016-08-12).
- ↑ Rao, Nicole (2017-02-13). NWHL Stars Shine Bright in Pittsburgh.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bevis, Hannah (2017-08-02). Alex Carpenter registers for the CWHL Draft (en).
- ↑ Kunlun Adds 2017 Draft Pick, Alex Carpenter (2018-01-15).
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 USA Hockey snub leads Alex Carpenter on Chinese adventure (en-US) (2019-11-21).
- ↑ Alex Carpenter, Abby Roque, Micah Zandee-Hart Sign Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Contracts With New York (en) (September 8, 2023).
- ↑ @PWHL_NewYork (December 21, 2023). Meet the first-ever Captains of PWHL New York! 🫡 We are proud to announce defender Micah Zandee-Hart as our Captain and forward Alex Carpenter and defender Ella Shelton as our Alternate Captains!.
- ↑ Kipouras, Bill (2009-09-03). Carpenter shines in international hockey competition.
- ↑ Game Summary (2010-04-03).
- ↑ Murphy, Mike (2018-01-10). Winter Olympics 2018: USA inexplicably goes for gold without snubbed Alex Carpenter.
- ↑ U.S. women with 13 returnees. IIHF (January 2, 2022).
- ↑ It's Governor's for prospect Alex Carpenter (2007-05-04).
- ↑ At least 36 out LGBTQ athletes in Beijing Winter Olympics (en) (2022-02-07).
- ↑ Lim, Solby (2022-02-17). Every Medaling Women's Ice Hockey Team At The Olympics Has Out LGBTQ Representation (en).
- ↑ Buzinski, Jim (2022-02-03). Out athlete Alex Carpenter's 2 goals spark U.S. women in win (en).
- ↑ Four Gophers Earn All-American Status. gophersports.com.
- ↑ Hockey East Honors All-Star Selections at 2015 Championship Banquet (2015-03-06).
- ↑ IIHF World Womens U18 Championship – Best Players Selected by the Directorate. IIHF (2011-01-08).
- ↑ Archived copy. IIHF.
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Alexandra Carpenter at PHF
- Alex Carpenter at USA Hockey
- Alexandra Carpenter on Twitter
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jamie Lee Rattray |
Patty Kazmaier Award 2015–16 |
Succeeded by Kendall Coyne Schofield |
| Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
| Playing venues | Conte Forum (1994–Present) |
| Head coaches | Tom O'Malley (1994–1999) - Tom Babson (1999–2003) - Tom Mutch (2003–2007) - Katie King-Crowley (2007–present) |
| Conference affiliations | ECAC Hockey (1994–2002) - Hockey East (2002–Present) |
| All-time leaders | Kelli Stack (209 Points) - Erin Magee (116 Goals) - Molly Schaus (80 Wins) |
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 2007 - 2009 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 |
| Seasons | 1994–95 - 1995–96 - 1996–97 - 1997–98 - 1998–99 - 1999–00 - 2000–01 - 2001–02 - 2002–03 - 2003–04 - 2004–05 - 2005–06 - 2006–07 - 2007–08 - 2008–09 - 2009–10 - 2010–11 - 2011–12 - 2012–13 - 2013–14 - 2014–15 - 2015–16 - 2016–17 - 2017–18 - 2018–19 - 2019–20 - 2020–21 |
| Patty Kazmaier Award | |
|---|---|
| 1990's | Brandy Fisher (1998) • A.J. Mleczko (1999) |
| 2000's | Ali Brewer (2000) • Jennifer Botterill (2001, 2003) • Brooke Whitney (2002) • Angela Ruggiero (2004) • Krissy Wendell (2005) • Sara Bauer (2006) • Julie Chu (2007) • Sarah Vaillancourt (2008) • Jessie Vetter (2009) |
| 2010's | Vicki Bendus (2010) • Meghan Duggan (2011) • Brianna Decker (2012) • Amanda Kessel (2013) • Jamie Lee Rattray (2014) • Alexandra Carpenter (2015) • Kendall Coyne (2016) • Ann-Renée Desbiens (2017) • Daryl Watts (2018) • Loren Gabel (2019) |
| 2020's | Élizabeth Giguère (2020) • Aerin Frankel (2021) • Taylor Heise (2022) • Sophie Jaques (2023) |