“You never really think about it until it happens,” Steve Gibson said about his initial reaction to being inducted into the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame.
This past weekend, Gibson and Tomas Vokoun were inducted into the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame—two excellent players in their careers. Vokoun went on to do great things in the NHL, but Gibson’s career played out closer to here, in Wheeling.
Steve Gibson started his hockey career in one of the major junior hockey leagues, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In 1989, Gibson would be selected by the Windsor Spitfires in the 16th round of the OHL’s Priority Selection draft. Being only in his mid-teens, Gibson played for the Spitfires that same year he was selected by Windsor.
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Slap Shots
Name: Steve Gibson Position: Forward Career games: 473
Total Points: 622 Status: Retired/Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame
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He finished his first season of junior hockey with 14 points in 35 games. Gibson’s junior career would only get better year after year. His second season saw him rise to 33 points in the 1990-1991 regular season while playing 62 regular season games. Gibson and the Spitfires made the playoffs that season, too, but ultimately fell in the second round. Gibson would finish the playoffs with 11 games played while recording four points.
The 1991-1992 season is where Gibson made the big jump. He would play in 63 games but more than doubled his points from the season before. He would finish with 89 points that season, including 49 goals – but Gibson’s rise didn’t stop there.
The next season, he continued to add in the point department. The 1992-1993 season saw Gibson eclipse the 100-point mark with exactly that number while scoring 48 goals. Gibson’s last two seasons proved to NHL teams that he was worthy of an NHL draft selection at 20 years old.
The Edmonton Oilers selected Gibson in the seventh round of the 1992 NHL Entry Level Draft.
Gibson started his professional career in the spring after he finished his junior career. He played in three playoff games for the Johnstown Chiefs. Then, the next fall, Gibson started his first full professional season and the Wheeling Thunderbirds was Gibson’s destination. At the time, Wheeling was the ECHL affiliate for the Edmonton Oilers.
During his rookie season in Wheeling, Gibson accumulated 59 points in 55 games. That performance got him his first American Hockey League call-up with the Cape Brenton Oilers for three games.
Gibson’s first-year pro certainly wasn’t a fluke. In the 1994-1995 season, Gibson increased his point total from the season before but did it in five fewer games. His total would end up being 66 points with 37 goals. He would continue to climb the hockey ladder with 14 more AHL games that season with two different squads (Portland and Cornwall).
Gibson even scored his first AHL goal during his 12-game stint with the Portland Pirates. This season, the Thunderbirds captured the Brabham Cup for the most points in the regular season before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs.
The 1995-1996 season was Gibson’s best season in a Wheeling uniform. Spending the whole season with the Thunderbirds, Gibson played 70 games and his point totals also rose as well. Gibson would finish with a career-high 95 points with 42 goals – a team-high that season. The Thunderbirds made the playoffs but were unfortunately sent packing after a second-round series loss to the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks.
When the next season came around, Wheeling had a brand-new name. No longer the Thunderbirds, but now the Nailers, and Gibson is one of the few players that had played for both iterations of Wheeling hockey. Only playing in 16 games in the 1996-1997 for Wheeling, Gibson still shined with 32 points.
That would conclude Gibson’s magical time in Wheeling, but he certainly left his mark on the record books. He is still in the top 10 in seven different statistical categories. He is second in goals with 126, and his 252 points is third in team history, and to go with all of that, Gibson is the all-time leader in plus/minus with a rating of plus 73.
“I don’t know how dominant I was. We had some great teams; it makes it easier when you have great players beside you,” Gibson said about his performance in Wheeling.
Gibson would play the next seven seasons for the Quad City Mallards in the United Hockey League (UHL). The forward was just as dominant as he was in Wheeling for Quad City, finishing with 359 points in 320 games for the Mallards. He also played in 76 playoff games and finished with 70 playoff points for Quad City.
The postseason success didn’t stop there. The Mallards went on to win the championship not once but twice (1997-1998 and 2000-2001) while Gibson was on the team. The last crowning achievement of Gibson’s hockey career is that his number was retired by the Mallards.
After the 2003-2004 season, Gibson decided to hang up the skates.
“It came to the point it (hockey) wasn’t fun anymore. The bus rides were getting longer, and I was getting older,” Gibson said on why he ultimately decided to retire.
There are still some things Gibson misses about hockey, though.
“You miss the guys. You miss the camaraderie. You don’t miss the bus rides, but you do miss the guys.”
Gibson and his family still reside in Quad City, where he and his wife started and continue to run a construction company. Gibson also is the superintendent of Public Works for the city of Milan.
The Wheeling Nailers are back on home ice this Friday and Sunday, with a short road trip to Cincinnati in the middle. Friday evening vs the Kalamazoo Wings is a “Frosty Friday,” with $2 select beers available. It is also the return of the small business Christmas Village as well. Game time is 7:10 p.m.
Sunday is against the Reading Royals with a 4:10 p.m. start time, and it is Sensory Day. The Nailers invite everyone of all abilities to the game where there will be a stress-puck giveaway. Plus, there will be no goal horn or light show/strobe lights, and the team will have its first post-game skate of the season with all Nailers players will be participating.
Plenty of tickets are still on sale. Get yours at 304-234-GOAL or visit wheelingnailers.com for more information.
The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley.
