John Gibson (born July 14, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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Playing career
Amateur
On June 24, 2011, Gibson was drafted in the second round, 39th overall, at the 2011 NHL entry draft by the Anaheim Ducks. Prior to his selection, while still playing with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, he committed himself to playing college ice hockey at the University of Michigan, for the upcoming 2011–12 season. However, on July 27, he opted out of his agreement with Michigan to instead play major junior ice hockey for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Gibson, who attended Baldwin High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was cut from their hockey team and still went on to make the NHL.
During the following season, 2012–13, Gibson was selected to represent the United States at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He was the team's primary goaltender throughout the championship, registering a .955 save percentage and a 1.36 goals against average (GAA) in seven games for the eventual gold medal winners. His save percentage led all goaltenders in the tournament and he was named as the tournament's best goaltender. He was also named to the tournament All-Star Team, as well as named the tournament's most valuable player.
Gibson also won a bronze medal at the 2013 IIHF World Championships with Team USA's senior squad, posting a 1.56 GAA and .951 save percentage in the tournament.
Professional
Gibson made his professional debut with the Norfolk Admirals, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, on April 19, 2013, playing 40 minutes in relief.
On April 7, 2014, aged 20 years and 297 days, Gibson made his first NHL start for the Ducks following an injury to goaltender Frederik Andersen. Making 18 saves for a shutout, Gibson earned his first NHL win, a 3–0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. In doing so, Gibson became the youngest NHL goaltender to record a shutout in his NHL debut since the Buffalo Sabres' Daren Puppa (20 years, 223 days) performed the feat in the 1985–86 season. Gibson made his Stanley Cup playoff debut with the Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinal against the Los Angeles Kings. He registered a shutout on 28 shots and was named first star of the game on May 10, 2014. Jonas Hiller, whom Gibson started over, was the last goaltender prior to Gibson to record a shutout in his Stanley Cup playoff debut. The Ducks would win Game 5 at home 4–3 but would lose Games 6 and 7 by scores of 2–1 and 6–2, respectively, with Gibson being pulled in Game 7 after allowing 4 goals on 18 shots.
With the departure of Jonas Hiller via free agency, the Ducks announced that both Frederik Andersen and John Gibson would compete for the number one starting job for the 2014–15 NHL season. Gibson seemed to have performed well enough in the preseason to start opening night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, his hometown team, in which Gibson stopped 33 of 39 shots en route to a 6–4 loss. With Andersen starting off the season strong, Gibson was sent to Norfolk for a weekend to gain some playing time. Afterwards, he was recalled by the Ducks. Upon his return Gibson won his next two starts and lost one, which included a shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks. Gibson then injured his groin while warming up before a game against the Colorado Avalanche. He was estimated to miss six to eight weeks, thus giving Andersen total control of the number one job and the Ducks signed Ilya Bryzgalov as a backup to Andersen in Gibson's absence. After coming off injured reserve, Gibson spent time off with Norfolk. When Andersen went down with an injury, Gibson was recalled. When Andersen returned, the two goalies would rotate in and out of the crease with Gibson at one point being considered as the starter down the stretch with Andersen struggling a bit. Overall, Gibson would post up a record of 13–8 with a 2.60 goals against average and a save percentage of .914%. He did not see a single minute of play during the Ducks postseason run, missing the entire first round due to an upper-body injury. The Ducks went all the way to the Western Conference Finals but fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in seven games.
International play
Gibson represented Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.