Curtis Glencross

Curtis Jack Glencross (born December 28, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Glencross was born December 28, 1982, in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, but grew up in Provost, Alberta.

He is the son of Mel and Robin Glencross, and has a younger brother, Matthew, and sister, Kari.

His parents both played hockey and say he inherited an intense competitive nature from them.

His family moved to Red Deer, Alberta, when he was a teenager as his parents began a livestock auction business.

Glencross was small for his age, standing less than five feet tall when he was 15, and as a result was often left off the top teams in minor hockey despite having the talent to play; he played Midget C hockey in Provost.

He experienced a rapid growth spurt, growing a full foot in a period of 17 months, and was recruited to play Junior A hockey for the expansion Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) in 2000.

The Bandits were a last-place team both years Glencross played, but he was among the AJHL's leading goalscorers in 2001–02 with 42 goals.

He went undrafted by an NHL team, but received interest from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools and was considering returning to Brooks for a third season of junior.

Jack Kowal, assistant coach of the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves, had scouted Glencross during the season.

Impressed with his ability and intensity on the ice, offered Glencross a full scholarship to play for his school.

Glencross played two seasons at Alaska-Anchorage between 2002 and 2004, scoring 32 goals and 57 points in 72 games.

He led the Seawolves in goals (21) and points (34) in 2002–03.

He was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association offensive player of the week for December 15, 2003, after scoring a hat trick against the Colorado College Tigers in a 5–2 win.

He was assigned to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, to complete the 2003–04 season.

He scored two goals in seven regular season games, and one more in nine playoff games.

An undrafted player, he signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as a free agent in 2004 and made his NHL debut with the team in 2007.

He has also played in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals.

Glencross chose to forgo his final two years of college eligibility, signing a professional contract with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on March 25, 2004.

He remained with Cincinnati in 2004–05, appearing in 51 games and scoring nine points.

He was moved to the Portland Pirates, also of the AHL, in 2005–06 and improved to 15 goals and 25 points in 41 games while also appearing in 19 post-season games.

Glencross' 2006–07 season was split between four teams.

Glencross began with the Pirates, but at mid-season earned his first call-up and made his NHL debut on January 13, 2007.

He scored his first goal on his first NHL shot that night, against Peter Budaj, in a 3–2 loss against the Colorado Avalanche.

He played two games with Anaheim before he was traded (along with Zenon Konopka and a seventh-round draft pick) to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Mark Hartigan, Joe Motzko and a fourth-round pick on January 26.

Glencross appeared in seven games with the Blue Jackets but finished the season in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch.

Glencross established himself as an NHL regular in 2007–08.

He appeared in 36 games for the Blue Jackets before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Dick Tärnström on February 1, 2008.

Glencross appeared in 26 games for the Oilers, scoring 15 goals and 25 points in 61 games combined between Columbus and Edmonton.

Though he played well with Edmonton, the Oilers did not make a contract offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Glencross hoped to remain in Edmonton as it was close to his Red Deer home.

But after the Oilers made little effort to negotiate with him, he chose to sign a three-year, $3.6 million deal with Edmonton's provincial rival, the Calgary Flames.

In his first year with the Flames, Glencross set new personal highs in games played (74), goals (13) and points (40).

He missed six games in December 2008 with a knee injury, and three more early in the 2009–10 season after he was suspended for a blind-side hit on Chris Drury of the New York Rangers.

He set a new personal best with 15 goals on the season that included his first NHL hat-trick in a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

He went on to become the first Bandit alumnus to play in the NHL, and his number 17 was retired by the team in 2011.

Glencross was an effective goalscorer and active within the community during his time in Calgary, which led to the team naming him its recipient of the Ralph T. Scurfield Humanitarian Award in 2012.

After splitting the 2014–15 season between Calgary and Washington, Glencross was unable to reach a contract deal with any NHL team (despite pre-season attempts with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche) and opted to retire as a player.

During his playing career, Glencross was a spokesman for the Special Olympics.

He has also participated with Rae Croteau Jr.'s chuckwagon racing team in the summer.