Adam Fox

Fox grew up playing for the Long Island Gulls of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League.[9][5]

He played two seasons (2014–16) in the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP) in Plymouth, Michigan.[9] During his final season in the program, he led all under-18 defensemen in goals, assists, and points.[10] He finished his career with the record for the most assists in a single-season (59; in 2015–16), the most assists in a career (86; in 2014–2016), and the third-most points by a defenseman in USNTDP history.[10][9]

He was named the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships Best Defenseman, to the 2016 U18 World Hockey Championships Media All-Star Team, and won a bronze medal at the 2016 Championships.[11]

Leading up to the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Fox was ranked 50th for North American Skaters in the final ranking by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[12] He was drafted 66th overall by the Calgary Flames.[13]

Fox attended Harvard University for three years, majoring in psychology.[3] He had an immediate impact after joining Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team for the 2016–17 season.[9] He led all NCAA defensemen in the nation, and ranked 4th among NCAA freshmen skaters with 40 points, led all NCAA defensemen and all NCAA freshmen skaters in assists with 34, and led all ECAC skaters in both points and assists, as he played 35 games.[9][7] He was named 2017 ECAC Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Rookie of the Year after his freshman season.[9] In his freshman season, Fox helped Harvard win the Beanpot for the first time since 1993 by recording a goal and an assist to beat Boston University 6–3.[14] Fox also helped Harvard reach its first Frozen Four series since 1994 and win an Ivy title and ECAC Hockey Championship. In the Frozen Four semifinals against University of Minnesota Duluth, the Crimson lost 2–1.[15]

In his sophomore 2017–18 season, he had 28 points on six goals and 22 assists in 29 games.[9] He was fifth in the nation among defensemen, averaging .97 points per game.[7]

In his junior 2018–19 season, he had 48 points (9 goals, 39 assists) in 33 games for Harvard, and was the top scoring player and defenseman in the country with 1.45 points per game.[3][7] He led the NCAA in assists and was fourth in points, while also setting school single-season records for assists and points by a defenseman.[3] Fox broke the school record for points by a Harvard defenseman in one season, set by Mark Fusco in 1983.[7] He was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey, won the 2019 Walter Brown Award, and was an Academic All-Ivy honoree.[3][7]

Fox was also named to the NCAA First All-American Team and ECAC First All-Star Team in each of his three seasons (2017–19).[9] In 97 career games, he had 116 points (21 goals, 95 assists).[3] He became the fourth defenseman in Harvard history to reach 100 career points.[16] He left Harvard before his senior year to play in the NHL, when he was five classes short of graduating.[17][2][18] Fox graduated from Harvard in 2022 after taking his final two classes needed for his degree that summer.[19]

On June 23, 2018, the Calgary Flames traded Fox's NHL playing rights (along with Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland) to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin.[20][21] Flames general manager Brad Treliving had expressed doubts about the team's chances of signing him.[22]

Fox, Ryan Strome, and Brett Howden riding the subway to Lasker Rink in Central Park

The likelihood that Fox would sign with the Hurricanes diminished with the team becoming a playoff contender with a surplus of quality defensemen and a clause in the NHL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) allowing a NCAA player to return for his senior year and become a free agent upon graduation.[22] Hurricanes owner Thomas Dundon expressed his pessimism over the matter by stating, "We’ll try to trade him."[23] On April 30, 2019, Carolina traded Fox's NHL rights to the New York Rangers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and what would become a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.[24][25] On May 2, Fox signed an entry-level contract with the Rangers, with a maximum entry-level salary ($925,000 plus bonuses).[18][26] He won the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award as the top Ranger rookie in training camp in 2019, and made the Rangers' Opening Night roster.[3][27]

He made his NHL debut in October 2019, at 21 years of age.[28][29] He finished the 2019–20 season with 42 points (8 goals, 34 assists) in 70 games.[30] He tied for second among all NHL rookie defensemen in goals, and third in points, assists, and PPP (13).[3] He ranked first among Rangers defensemen in Goals Above Replacement (14.9) and Wins Above Replacement (2.7).[31] He became the fifth rookie defenseman in franchise history to have at least 40 points in a season, joining Ron Greschner, Reijo Ruotsalainen, Brian Leetch, and Mike McEwen.[3] Despite his rookie season success, Fox fell short of a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination.

During the 2020–21 season, on April 6, during a 8–4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Fox became the fourth defenseman in Rangers history to record an 11-game point streak.[32] His point streak ended on April 9 at 12 games.[33][34] He also became the first Rangers defenseman to assist on 11-straight power play goals.[35] On April 29, Fox was named the recipient of the Steven MacDonald Extra Effort Award. He was given the award for his outstanding defense and consistent play throughout the season. Fox was the first defenseman to win the award since Brian Leetch won in 1997.[36] On June 29, Fox won the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the 2020–21 NHL season.[37] Fox became only the second defenseman in NHL history to win the award before starting his third season. He is the youngest winner since then Montreal Canadiens defenseman P. K. Subban won it at the age of 23 in 2013, and is the first Rangers player to receive the honor since Brian Leetch in 1997.[38][39] In a shortened 56-game schedule, Fox led all defensemen with 42 assists and was second in points with 47, behind Tyson Barrie of the Edmonton Oilers. In 55 games, he registered five goals, posted a plus-19 rating, averaged 24:42 of ice time per game, and finished with 23 power play points.

On November 1, 2021, Fox signed a seven-year, $66.5 million contract extension with the Rangers.[40][41] In January 2022, Fox was chosen to his first NHL All-Star Game, which was held at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.[42] After scoring two goals with an assist in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 19, Fox became the first Rangers defenseman to reach the 40-point mark in 40 games or fewer since Brian Leetch in the 2000–01 season.[43] On November 6, during a game against the Calgary Flames, Fox was heavily booed by Flames fans whenever he touched the puck. He scored a goal at the end of the first period and started mocking fans, but the goal was called back because of an offside, Flames fans throughout the game started chanting "Fox you suck!", which was caused by Fox not wanting to sign an entry-level contract with the Flames, his draft team.[44]

Fox was a Norris Trophy finalist for the second time for the 2022–23 season.[45]