Adam Fox

Adam Hunter Fox (born February 17, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman and alternate captain for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Fox was selected by the Calgary Flames, 66th overall, in the 2016 NHL entry draft. In 2021, Fox won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman, joining Bobby Orr as the only two players in NHL history to win the award before their third NHL season.

He played two seasons in the U.S. National Team Development Program, and finished with the record for the most assists in a single season (in 2015–16) and the most assists in a career (in 2014–2016). He played collegiate ice hockey for Harvard University, leading all NCAA defensemen in the nation in assists and points in his freshman season, and leading all defensemen in the country in points per game and assists in his junior season. In June 2018, Calgary traded Fox's NHL rights to the Carolina Hurricanes, who traded them to the New York Rangers in April 2019. He left college a year early and made his NHL debut for the Rangers in 2019. In his rookie season, he tied for second among all NHL rookie defensemen in goals and was third in assists and points.

Early life Fox was born in Jericho, New York, to parents Bruce and Tammy Fox and is Jewish. His father was a New York Rangers season ticket holder. He has an older brother, Andrew, who is an investment banker. His nickname is "Foxy".

Playing career

Early career Fox grew up playing for the Long Island Gulls of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. 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.

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. He was drafted 66th overall by the Calgary Flames.

College Fox attended Harvard University for three years, majoring in psychology. He was named 2017 ECAC Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Rookie of the Year after his freshman season. 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.

In his sophomore 2017–18 season, he had 28 points on six goals and 22 assists in 29 games. He left Harvard before his senior year to play in the NHL, when he was five classes short of graduating.

Professional 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. Flames general manager Brad Treliving had expressed doubts about the team's chances of signing him.

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 an NCAA player to return for his senior year and become a free agent upon graduation. 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. On May 2, Fox signed an entry-level contract with the Rangers, with a maximum entry-level salary ($925,000 plus bonuses). He won the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award as the top Ranger rookie in training camp in 2019, and made the Rangers' Opening Night roster.

He made his NHL debut in October 2019, at 21 years of age. He finished the 2019–20 season with 42 points (8 goals, 34 assists) in 70 games. He tied for second among all NHL rookie defensemen in goals, and third in points, assists, and PPP (13). 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. His point streak ended on April 9 at 12 games. He also became the first Rangers defenseman to assist on 11-straight power play goals. 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. On June 29, Fox won the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the 2020–21 NHL season. 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. 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. In January 2022, Fox was chosen to his first NHL All-Star Game, which was held at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. 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. 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.

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

International play

Fox has represented the United States junior team at both the 2017 and 2018 World Junior Championships.

In 2017, Fox won a gold medal with the United States, while recording four points in seven games. The following year, Fox was named an alternate captain at the 2018 World Junior Championships. He led the United States to a bronze medal, while leading the team's defensemen in assists and points.

Following the conclusion of his collegiate career, on April 19, 2019, Fox was selected to represent the United States senior team at the 2019 World Championship.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2014–15 US NTDP Juniors USHL 34 3 14 17 26 — — — — — 2014–15 US NTDP U17 USDP 54 4 23 27 40 — — — — — 2015–16 US NTDP Juniors USHL 25 5 17 22 2 — — — — — 2015–16 US NTDP U18 USDP 64 9 50 59 12 — — — — — 2016–17 Harvard University ECAC 35 6 34 40 6 — — — — — 2017–18 Harvard University ECAC 29 6 22 28 12 — — — — — 2018–19 Harvard University ECAC 33 9 39 48 14 — — — — — 2019–20 New York Rangers NHL 70 8 34 42 32 3 0 0 0 2 2020–21 New York Rangers NHL 55 5 42 47 14 — — — — — 2021–22 New York Rangers NHL 78 11 63 74 26 20 5 18 23 2 2022–23 New York Rangers NHL 82 12 60 72 34 7 0 8 8 16 2023–24 New York Rangers NHL 72 17 56 73 36 16 0 8 8 8 2024–25 New York Rangers NHL 74 10 51 61 32 — — — — — 2025–26 New York Rangers NHL 55 9 43 52 20 — — — — —NHL totals 486 72 349 421 194 46 5 34 39 28

International

Awards and honors Award Year RefCollege ECAC Rookie of the Year 2017 ECAC All-Rookie Team 2017 ECAC First All-Star Team 2017, 2018, 2019 ECAC All-Tournament Team 2017 NCAA First All-American Team 2017, 2018, 2019 NHL James Norris Memorial Trophy 2021 NHL First All-Star Team 2021, 2023 NHL All-Star Game 2022, 2023 NHL Second All-Star Team 2024 International World U18 Championship All-Star Team 2016