Jimmy Carson
A teenage scoring phenom whose early NHL brilliance was overshadowed by the blockbuster trade that reshaped hockey history.
Born 1968 (age 58)·American ice hockey player·Birthday: July 20·Generation X
Biography
Jimmy Carson arrived in the NHL with the force of a cannon blast. Drafted second overall in 1986, he immediately lived up to the hype, becoming a goal-scoring machine for the Los Angeles Kings. In just his second season, he racked up 55 goals, joining Wayne Gretzky as the only teenagers to hit the 50-goal mark—a feat that announced a superstar in the making. Yet Carson’s name is forever linked to the seismic event that redirected his career: he was the central young asset sent to the Edmonton Oilers in 1988 in the trade for Gretzky himself. The weight of that exchange was immense. Though he scored 49 goals in Edmonton, the pressure and expectations were unrelenting. Stints with several other teams followed, but the early, explosive promise of his career proved difficult to sustain. Carson’s narrative is a compelling 'what if,' a tale of prodigious talent caught in the whirlwind of the sport's most monumental transaction.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Jimmy was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jimmy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Jimmy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 40
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 50
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 58 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Scored 55 goals in the 1987-88 season as a 19-year-old, becoming the second teenager in NHL history to score 50+ goals.
- Was the key player piece sent from Los Angeles to Edmonton in the historic 1988 trade for Wayne Gretzky.
- Recorded four consecutive seasons with 35 or more goals from 1987 to 1991.
- Finished his NHL career with 275 goals and 561 points over 10 seasons.
Did You Know?
He was born in Southfield, Michigan, and played his junior hockey for the Verdun Juniors in the QMJHL.
His father was a former college hockey player at the University of Michigan.
After retiring from playing, he worked in financial services and as a youth hockey coach.
“You don't get fifty-five goals by admiring the ice.”
