Alex DeBrincat

**Alex DeBrincat** (born Alexander DeBrincat on December 18, 1997 in Farmington Hills, Michigan) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL.

He was drafted by the Blackhawks in the first round (39th overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Alex played AAA hockey for Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois. He left high school when he was 15 years old to begin his junior hockey career.

### Junior Playing Career

On April 29, 2014, Alex signed with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League as a free agent and joined the club for the 2014–15 season. He appeared in his first career OHL game on September 24, 2014, and scored his first goal against Nikita Serebryakov of the Saginaw Spirit in a 7–1 win.

On November 7, 2017, Alex scored his first career hat trick in a 5–2 win over the Sarnia Sting. In his final regular season game on March 22, He scored a goal and added five assists for a six-point game as the Otters defeated the Niagara IceDogs 8–7.

He finished the season with 51 goals and 104 points in 68 games, and led all OHL rookies in goals, assists and points. In the post-season, he had nine goals and 16 points in 20 games, as the Otters lost to the Oshawa Generals in the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals.

Alex won the Emms Family Award (which is awarded to the OHL "Rookie of the Year") and was named the CHL Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team, and the OHL Second All-Star Team.

In 2015, he was named the OHL "Player of the Month" for March after he tallied 16 goals, seven assists and 23 points in 12 games. He also became the first Otters player to record back-to-back 50-goal seasons and record five hat-tricks in a season.

In the 2016–17 season, Alex led the OHL with a high of 65 goals along with 62 assists and a plus-minus rating of plus-60. In May 2017, he was named the 2016–17 recipient of the Red Tilson Trophy (which is awarded to the most outstanding player in the OHL).

### Professional Playing Career

After three seasons with the Erie Otters, Alex made the Blackhawks roster out of training camp at the start of the 2017–18 season. He made his NHL debut on October 5, 2017, in a 10–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On October 10, 2017, he scored his first NHL career goal in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on goaltender Carey Price.

On November 27, 2017, Alex recorded his first NHL hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks making him the second youngest Blackhawks player to score a hat trick, just behind Jeremy Roenick by four days.

He scored his second hat trick of the season on January 25, 2018, against the Detroit Red Wings to cinch a 5–1 win in his home state of Michigan; by doing so, he became the youngest Blackhawks player to record two regular season hat tricks in one season, as well as the first rookie to do so since Steve Larmer in the 1982–83 NHL season.

On March 18, 2018, Alex recorded his third career hat trick against the St. Louis Blues; with his third hat trick in his rookie season, he set a new Blackhawks rookie record and tied Tony Granato for most hat tricks by a U.S born rookie in a season.

The following day, Alex became the youngest Blackhawks player to be awarded the Blackhawks Player of the Year Award. He concluded his debut season with 52 points, including a team-high 28 goals.

Alex surpassed his career high in goals, assists, and points during the 2018–19 season. He primarily skated on the Blackhawks' second line alongside with his longtime friend and former Otters' teammate, Dylan Strome (whom the Blackhawks acquired in November).

On February 18, 2019, he recorded his fourth career hat trick and two assists in a 8–7 win against the Ottawa Senators; this was the first five point night in his career.

On October 3, 2019, Alex signed a three year contract extension to remain with the Blackhawks.

## International Play

Alex was named to Team USA in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland. He was injured in a game against Sweden, but recovered quick enough to net a vital goal against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. He ended the tournament with 1 goal in 5 games to help Team USA clinch Bronze.

After the end of his rookie season with the Blackhawks, he was named to the Team USA roster to compete at the 2018 IIHF World Championship. He contributed with 9 point in 10 games to help the United States claim the Bronze Medal in Denmark.

Alex returned to the World Championship the following year, as he was named to Team USA roster to compete at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, held in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia.

## Personal Life

Alex's mother, Tracey is Canadian and his father, David is Maltese. He has an older brother, Andrew (born on July 21, 1993), who played hockey for Lake Forest Academy for two seasons before graduating in 2012; he currently plays for the Cincinatti Cyclones in the ECHL.

Alex attended Harrison High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan for one season before transferring to Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois.