By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

It didn’t take long for Alex Simms to fall in love with hockey.

“The moment I stepped onto the ice for the first time, I knew right away that I wanted to play,” the Kent Roosevelt senior forward said.

At the time of that memory, Simms was just 5 years old.

He was living in Fairbanks, Alaska, where his family had been stationed because his father, David, was in the Army as an Armor Officer.

“I went from not knowing that the sport of hockey even existed to wanting to play all the time,” Simms said.

And that is exactly what he has done.

Though, it took him a little bit of time before he got to Kent.

After being born in Fort Stewart, Ga., Simms and his family moved to Fort Knox, Ky., then to Maxwell, Ala., then to Fairbanks, then to Fort Bragg, N.C., before eventually settling longterm in Kent.

Simms was a fifth-grader when they arrived in Northeast Ohio, and he quickly realized that Kent had a longstanding hockey community.

He began playing for the Tri-County Cyclones, which began a bond with players who are still his teammates today, including Alex Geist, Dominic France and Brooke Binder.

“We grew up playing hockey together, and we have put in a lot of work together,” Simms said. “We know how each other plays on the ice, and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

When it comes to Simms’ game, there are plenty of strengths to list.

His name is already amongst the top players in Roosevelt history, with games still remaining for him to ascend higher in the record books — all while leading the Rough Riders to some of the highest level of play the program has experienced in the last decade.

In 99 career games, Simms has 72 goals and 71 assists for 143 career points. Those totals rank 10th, eighth and 10th, respectively, in school history, and he is on track to become just the  10th player in program history to reach the 150-point milestone.

Additionally, he ranks 11th with 13 power-play goals, 10th with three short-handed goals and fifth with seven hat tricks.

In 15 games this season, Simms has 17 goals and 12 assists (29 points).

The numbers verify what head coach Brad Edwards began to see in Simms as an underclassmen.

“I think I recognized that Alex was going to be a game-changing player when he was a sophomore,” Edwards said. “He has great ice vision, speed and tenacity.

“He is also a very coachable player,” Edwards added. “He works hard, leads by example and helps to coach up his teammates.”

The numbers fall next to Simms’ name in the record books, and he has absolutely put in the work to receive the deserving credit, but he refuses the idea that he should stand in the spotlight alone.

Kent Roosevelt ice hockey senior Alex Simms stands in front of Room 114, which was where he had his freshman English class with Mrs. Karynn Barlow, who died unexpectedly in 2022 at the age of 44.
Tom Nader/Portage Sports

“I look back at my development as a player, and I have had some really special people around me to help me. It has never just been me. I have had great coaches, great teammates and great support. On the ice, it starts with the goalkeeper, and the defenders and the wingers, then me. We play together as one unit.”

The results have followed, with Kent Roosevelt owning a sparkling 11-4 record (3-1 in Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League White South Division) and recent winners of the Karynn Barlow Memorial Tournament.

A title that held extra meaning for the entire team, especially Simms.

“Mrs. Barlow was my freshman English teacher. All weekend, at that tournament, I was pushing to play hard for her, I wanted to win for her. When we won the championship, it was the best feeling in the world.”

Almost like when he was experiencing the game for the first time in Alaska as a 5-year-old, but different, with more emotional layers that hit his heart in a heavier way.

“When we won, we didn’t just win the tournament, we honored her with the way that we played.”

A time for a new memory, and once again, he knew it right away.