South St. Paul native Alex Stalock isn’t ready to hang up the skates. Not yet at least.
The 36-year-old goaltender signed a 1-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, which should keep him in the NHL through the 2023-24 season. He has appeared in 179 games in his NHL career, playing for the San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks.
The fact that Stalock is still hanging around the NHL is a testament to his hard work. Originally selected by the Sharks in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Draft, Stalock played collegiately at the University of Minnesota Duluth, then grinded in the American Hockey League before making the jump to the NHL.
Not long after making his NHL debut on Feb. 1, 2011, Stalock suffered a sliced nerve that nearly forced him to stop playing. He recovered from the major injury, carved out a niche with the Sharks, then signed with the Wild, where he slowly rebuilt his value leaguewide.
Though that stretch with the Wild extended his time in the NHL, Stalock missed the 2020-21 season due to myocarditis after complications from COVID. He returned to play with the Sharks in the 2021-22 season, then started for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2022-23 season.
