USA Hockey Magazine

JUNE 2022 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 33 NED OFF NO MATTER WHAT Alex Nedeljkovic accomplishes in hockey, no matter where the sport takes him, the Detroit Red Wings goaltender can always take pride in a distinction few in his profession can claim, or likely will ever match: he is one of the rare netminders ever to score a goal not once but twice in professional-league play. The Parma, Ohio, native did it the first time on Dec. 30, 2016, playing for the Florida Everblades in the ECHL. Behind 39 saves by Nedeljkovic, the Blades held a 4-3 lead over the Atlanta Gladiators with 30 seconds remaining. After winning a cen- ter-ice face off, the Gladiators, rather than rim- ming the puck around the boards, fired it right at Nedeljkovic. Big mistake. "Their goalie broke right for the bench, so I knew I had an opening," Nedeljkovic recalled after a late-season Wings practice at Little Caesars Arena. "I just caught the puck, dropped it and fired it back down the other end. I had tried it in juniors a cou- ple times but my aim was always off." The kid—he was 19 at the time—was so stunned he stood motionless in his crease. A year later, Nedeljkovic was playing for the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League, at home against the Hartford Wolfpack, with a 6-3 lead and the far net empty. The puck came to the left of his goal and he fired it, going down to one knee to give the shot extra zip. And zip it had, sailing high in the air over the heads of the Hartford skaters before touching down at the top of the far slot before hitting the goal—dead center. This time Nedeljkovic raced to the bench, glid- ing on his right skate, his left leg and arms raised in the air, before hopping up into the arms of his overjoyed teammates. "That's something I'll never forget," he said. In the NHL, Nedeljkovic, now 26, has his sights set on a loftier goal: helping the storied Original Six franchise return to prominence. He and his mates wrapped up a season that showed some promise. In the middle of February, the Wings were a game over .500 and in the hunt for a playoff Red Wings Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic Reflects On First Season In Motor City OFF BY N EA L B O U D ET T E

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