Steven Fogarty is very much at peace with his decision.
Fogarty, one of the AHL’s most-respected players of the past decade, announced his retirement last month, wrapping up a career that saw him play 464 AHL games over eight pro seasons. He wore a letter in each of his four AHL stops – Hartford, Rochester, Providence and Iowa – and captained both the Wolf Pack and the Americans.
The durable, dependable forward was certainly still productive, too, having posted 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists) in 69 games this past season with the Wild.
Selected in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, Fogarty saw time in the NHL in all four organizations he was a part of, totaling 31 games with the Rangers, Sabres, Bruins and Wild.
But all of those shifts, games and road trips take their toll. So does crisscrossing the hockey map in search of that next opportunity.
Steven and his wife Ali were married in 2023 and are expecting twins this summer.
“When you first start, you’re single and moving around the country,” Fogarty said. “It is hard, but there’s a lot less you’ve got to take into account. I think maybe this last year and the year before, the dream of getting back to the NHL was feeling a little bit further away. That’s what’s always fueled me to play.
“I just felt it in my heart, and as soon as I made the decision I was happy where I was at.”
It was time. Every player has to make that decision eventually.
“I think in any sport the dream is to kind of walk on your own terms,” Fogarty admitted.
Born in Pennsylvania, Fogarty moved to Edina, Minn., when he was 3 years old. He would play for the storied Edina High School boys’ hockey program, where he was a captain and state champion. He wore the “C” at the University of Notre Dame as well, and after his senior season he made his pro debut with Hartford.
Fogarty spent a lot of time on the fourth line with the Wolf Pack, but it was an opportunity and he took it. Soon he realized that he could hold his own at the AHL level. So did his coaches. Above all else, he provided reliability, something that coaches crave.
“Just as long as you play the right way and be a good teammate,” Fogarty realized, “you can make a career out of this.”
By the end of his second full pro season, Fogarty had progressed enough to impress the Rangers. On Apr. 7, 2018, Fogarty was in the lineup for his NHL debut as New York visited Philadelphia. He played 12:16 that game, though he acknowledges that the emotions of the afternoon have blurred much of the memory of the game itself.
Other promotions followed. He played 10 games with the Rangers in 2018-19, and made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut against Carolina in 2020. On Mar. 31, 2021, he scored his only NHL goal with the Sabres. And in 2022, he got to play for his hometown Wild at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
“Once you get that first call to play in the NHL, it changes everything,” Fogarty said. “You get that taste, and it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a reachable goal, and I’m so close. I just want to do everything I can to get there.’”
Fogarty’s NHL time amounted to a few cups of coffee, but it fueled him for the rest of his career.
“I’m so grateful for all the places I have played, all of that people I have met,” he said. “Deep down, you have this goal of getting back to the NHL, so it makes it worth it.”
Now comes the next step. Fogarty, who studied marketing at Notre Dame, feels well-equipped wherever he will eventually land. He knows how to work hard, set goals and execute a plan.
“I’ve started to have conversations with people in different industries, trying to see what might be of interest to me and what I could be good at, too,” he said. “I know there’s a lot out there. I’m not totally sure what that will be quite yet, but I’ll be excited to find out.”
Work ethic has always been instilled in Fogarty. His late dad, Bill, was a commanding officer in the U.S. Navy, and his older brother Charles is a retired Navy SEAL.
“Any company or industry loves the aspect of: first things first, you know how to work,” Fogarty said. “You’ve had to work your whole life to get where you are, so you know hard work, discipline.
“And then most importantly is the team aspect. You work well in teams. You work well with the team to achieve a greater goal.”
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and was most recently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.