Alex Nedeljkovic

Alexander Nedeljkovic (born January 7, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the San Jose Sharks in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Carolina Hurricanes picked him in the second round, 37th overall, of the 2014 NHL entry draft.

Nedeljkovic’s family background is Serbian; his grandparents come from a village near Ljubovija, Serbia. His goalie mask features a Serbian cross on the back plate, honoring both his heritage and his Orthodox Christian faith. He is the oldest of four kids—one younger brother and two younger sisters. His mother works as a nurse, and he has said he is not sure what his father does for a living.

Growing up in Cleveland, he played bantam AAA hockey for the Cleveland Junior Barons and took part in the 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. He began his major junior career in 2012 with the Plymouth Whalers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). As a rookie, he posted a 2.28 goals-against average, winning the F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy, and earned a spot on the 2012–13 OHL First All-Rookie Team. The next season, he was chosen for the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game and the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

After the 2014–15 season with the Whalers, Nedeljkovic signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Hurricanes on March 27, 2015. He was sent to the ECHL’s Florida Everblades for his professional debut in the final regular-season games. During his last junior season (2015–16), the Flint Firebirds traded him and fellow Hurricanes draft pick Josh Wesley to the Niagara IceDogs for goaltender Brent Moran in November 2015.

In his first professional season (2016–17), while with the Florida Everblades on December 30, 2016, he became the 12th ECHL goaltender to score a goal. On January 17, 2017, he played his first NHL game, relieving starter Cam Ward against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The following season, on March 10, 2018, while playing for the Charlotte Checkers against the Hartford Wolf Pack, he became the 13th goaltender in American Hockey League (AHL) history to score a goal.

After starting the 2018–19 season with the Checkers, he was called up to the NHL on January 17, 2019. On January 23, he made his first NHL start against the Vancouver Canucks, stopping 24 of 26 shots to earn his first win. On June 28, 2019, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Hurricanes.

During the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Nedeljkovic stayed with the Hurricanes on an expanded roster and broke out. On February 20, 2021, he recorded his first NHL shutout in a 4–0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. On April 1, he was named NHL Rookie of the Month for March. In 23 regular-season games, he went 15–5–3 for the division-leading Hurricanes, tied for the NHL rookie lead in shutouts (three) with Ilya Sorokin, and led all NHL goaltenders with at least 20 games in goals-against average (1.90) and save percentage (.932).

On May 17, he got his first Stanley Cup playoffs win, a 5–2 victory over the Nashville Predators, and on May 19, he recorded his first playoff shutout, a 3–0 win over the same team. He collected four wins in nine postseason games but could not push the Hurricanes past the second round. In June 2021, he was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year), finishing third behind Kirill Kaprizov and Jason Robertson, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

As a restricted free agent unable to agree on a new contract with the Hurricanes, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings on July 22, 2021, in exchange for Jonathan Bernier and a third-round pick in 2021. He immediately signed a two-year, $6 million deal with Detroit. He recorded his first shutout as a Red Wing on January 15, 2022, against the Buffalo Sabres, with family members watching at Little Caesars Arena. After a strong start to the season, he struggled in the new year, going 2–5–1 with a 4.64 goals-against average and .849 save percentage in his previous nine appearances by early March. On March 10, he accidentally scored an own goal by sweeping a puck into his own net, described by the Detroit Free Press as a "gaffe for the ages."

On July 1, 2023, he signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. During a rehab stint with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on November 17, he scored his second AHL goal in a 4–2 road win over the Providence Bruins, becoming the first goaltender in AHL history with two or more career goals. On June 20, 2024, the Penguins re-signed him to a two-year, $5 million extension ($2.5 million annual average). On January 17, 2025, he scored his first NHL goal in a 5–2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, becoming the 16th NHL goaltender to do so. He also became the first goaltender in NHL history to score a goal and record an assist in the same game, and the only goaltender to score a goal in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL.

On July 1, 2025, Nedeljkovic was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2028 third-round draft pick.