Adam Wilcox (born November 26, 1992) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. He is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

who most recently played under contract with the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL). He was selected by the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

in the 6th round (178th overall) of the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars host ...

. Wilcox is cousins with former

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

goaltender, Alex Stalock. Both Wilcox and Stalock played goaltender for the same high school, South St. Paul.

Playing career

Amateur

In his sophomore year, Wilcox's outstanding play was rewarded when he was selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year and named to the 2013–14 All-Big Ten First Team. Wilcox tied Kellen Briggs for the most shutouts in school history (13), with six in his final year with the Gophers. He had the two lowest goals against average in team history. Wilcox had a .932 save percentage as a sophomore in 2013–14, which made him a

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

top-10 finalist, and a top-5 finalist for the inaugural

Mike Richter Award The Mike Richter Award is an annual award given to the goaltender voted to be the most outstanding in Division I NCAA men's ice hockey during the regular season. The award is named in honor of former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter. The inaugur ...

. The .932 save percentage is the best in team history. Wilcox's 73 career wins are the most among active NCAA goalies and is tied for third all-time at Minnesota with Hobey Baker Award winner

Robb Stauber Robert Thomas Stauber (born November 25, 1967) is an American ice hockey coach and former player. He was the head coach of the United States women's national ice hockey team. He played the goaltender position at the University of Minnesota and pr ...

. Wilcox finishes his college career with a 73-26-14 record (.710) while posting 22 or more wins in all three seasons with the Gophers. Wilcox is a three-time all-conference honoree, and he led the school to three-straight conference titles and three-straight NCAA tournament berths, which included a national championship appearance in 2014. In his final season, Wilcox helped the Gophers win the 2015 Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament and capture the school's first conference playoff title since 2007.

Professional

On April 1, 2015, it was announced that Wilcox would forego his senior year as he signed a two-year entry level contract with the

. Wilcox will finish out the remainder of the season on an ATO with the Syracuse Crunch of the

. During his second season with the Crunch in 2016–17, Wilcox was dealt by the Lightning at the trade deadline to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mike McKenna on March 1, 2017. Assigned to the

Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016–17 season. They are the affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. Based in Springfield, M ...

, Wilcox flourished to play out the season in posting 7 wins in 13 games. On June 26, 2017, Wilcox was not tendered a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent from the Panthers. On July 1, 2017, Wilcox signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Buffalo Sabres. He was called up by the Sabres on March 30, 2018, following injuries to goaltenders

Robin Lehner Robin Lehner (born 24 July 1991) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Panda", he previously played in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, New Y ...

and

Linus Ullmark Linus Ullmark (; born 31 July 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round, 163rd overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. ...

. Wilcox made his NHL debut during the last game of the Sabres season on April 7, coming in to relieve

Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco Johnson (born Chad Javon Johnson; January 9, 1978), known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for Santa Monica College and Oregon State University, and pl ...

. In this game, Wilcox was credited with the loss without being charged with a goal against because he was the goaltender of record when the winning goal, an empty-netter, was scored. He was sent down to the AHL the following day. As an impending restricted free agent, Wilcox opted to remain within the Sabres organization, agreeing to a one-year AHL contract to continue with the Americans on June 26, 2018. In the following 2018–19 campaign, Wilcox posted 9 wins in 21 games for the Americans, before he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the season with the Buffalo Sabres on February 24, 2019. Leaving the Sabres organization after two seasons, Wilcox was signed as a free agent to a one-year AHL contract with the San Antonio Rampage on August 12, 2019. He was invited to participate with the Rampage's NHL affiliate, the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

2019 training camp, before returning to begin the 2019–20 season with San Antonio.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Adam 1992 births Living people American men's ice hockey goaltenders Buffalo Sabres players Green Bay Gamblers players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Rochester Americans players San Antonio Rampage players Springfield Thunderbirds players Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tri-City Storm players People from South St. Paul, Minnesota AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans