AJ Moore

(AJ Moore during Practice before home game against Texas Oilers 19/1/18)

Antonio Jay Moore (born May 4th, 1976)  is a retired American professional ice hockey forward. He has previously played for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Then-RSL) during his 2003-2005 Campaign in Russia and spent most of his career with Houston Stealth but eventually retired with the Carolina Racers. He was selected 2nd overall by the Houston Stealth in the MLH Draft. He is a strong center behind Conner Modano.

## Early Life

Moore mostly grew up in La Porte with his stepdad until the age of 2 when he went to go live with his mother. He began playing ice hockey at a young age and also participated in other organized athletics, including baseball and football. Moore played for several ice hockey teams from the age of five through 12 before ending up with the Fort Worth Junior Jets from age 12 to age 16, as at the time his family was living in the Texas suburb of Houston. Moore played in the 1986 International Youth Hockey Tournament with the Fort Worth Jets minor ice hockey team.

## Playing Career

### Amateur

AJ Moore played at St.Cloud State University from 1995 to 1997, and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 1995 and WCHA All-Star in 1996. He was then drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the expansion team the Houston Stealth in the 1996 Major League Hockey Draft.

### Professional

#### Houston Stealth (1997-2003)

Moore was a supporting player with the powerhouse Stealth that pulled a three-peat North American cups in 1997,1998 and 1999. He was one of the youngest players in MLH history, at age 19, to win the Gretzky Trophy 3 seasons in a row.

On 29 October 1999, against the Sixers, Moore scored two hat tricks and four assists for a career high seven-point night. He would later match this feat on 11 March 2002 by once again scoring three goals and four assists in a game against the New York Americans breaking Connor Modano's record.

#### Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (2003-2005)

The chance of a superstar the same caliber as Moore heading overseas was nonexistent but shocked the world when Houston Stealth loaned Moore over to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in exchange for Daniel Petrov where he remained for 2 years for development purposes. During his tenure, Moore won the Russian Superleague title with Yaroslavl having 64 points as his highest during his tenure with Lokomotiv where he mostly had a point total from 20-34 points.

#### Houston Stealth (2005-2018)

After the 2005 season, Lokomotiv dealt Moore back to Houston and re-acquired Daniel where Moore remained for 7 years until the MLH's shortened 2012-13 season. After Moore returned he went back to being a top player averaging 70 points in 3 seasons earning him all 3 All-star spots. In 2012 Moore captured his 4th consecutive North American Cup with the Stealth when they defeated Toronto Dynamo in six games in the North American Cup Finals.On March 30th, Moore was traded (along with Clayton Miller) to the Carolina Racers in exchange for John Newcastle, Matt Kershaw, Cayden Forbes, a first-round pick in the 2018 MLH Entry Draft, and a conditional second-round pick in the 2019 MLH Entry Draft.  The trade followed weeks of trade rumors fueled by Moore rejecting a contract extension.

#### Carolina Racers (2018-Present)

On March 30th AJ Moore signed a two-year extension with the Carolina Racers and helped them win the North American Cup in 7 games over the Winnipeg Rampage. Instead of resigning or going on the Free Market, AJ Moore decided to retire after 22 seasons in the MLH.