Pheonix Copley was born in Fairbanks, but spent his early years in Ohio. He began skating at age four and played as a forward with his brother Navarone. In order for the boys to practice against each other in the basement and back yard, one of them had to agree to play goalie. Older brother Nav won that negotiation and thus was begun the career of one of Fairbanks’ premier goalies in recent years. “I tried it and liked it. My parents got some gear from a youth league. By age eight, I was a full-time goalie,” Copley recalls.

The family returned to Fairbanks when Pheonix was nine. Over the following eight years, he played for both the FAHA and Arctic Lions programs, under coaches Dave Teets, Steve Murphy and Mark Sanford. In alternate years, Pheonix would be on teams with Navi and step-brother Matt Sanford. Copley explains the benefits, “It was always fun to play on teams with my brothers. It made all three of us work harder. In addition, they were very honest with me. If I had a bad game, they would tell me what I did wrong.”

At age 17, Pheonix began playing for the AAA Southern California Titan Midget program, along with Matt, Alec Hajdukovich and Joe Ginley. “That was a learning year for me. I didn’t get to play a lot. I realized that from that point forward, I would have to EARN my ice time,” Phoenix explains.

The next season, the Copley brothers played for the Corpus Christi IceRays in the Junior “A” North (same league as the Ice Dogs). Pheonix shares his memories of that year, “I alternated with an older goalie at the beginning of the season. The team traded him in November, which was a big boost for me. I could tell that the coaches believed in me.”

Copley started the next season with the Tri-City Storm, which was coached by former Ice Dogs mentor Josh Hauge. “I played most of the games at the beginning of the season. I had been contacted by several colleges and committed to Michigan Tech in November. In December, we traded for a really good goalie. I realized that things would change for me. My parents advised me to accept the challenge and consider it a good chance to learn from a goalie who had already been drafted by an NHL team,” Copley says with sincerity. That is a very mature outlook for a young man. Copley was traded to Des Moines at the February deadline and played 25 straight games for the Buccaneers to finish the season.

One of the factors at Michigan Tech that appealed to Pheonix was they had a full-time goalie coach on staff. The guy’s name is Steve Shields. When Copley talks about Shields, you can feel the impact that this coach had on his career, “Steve was very innovative. He was always coming up with new drills and ways to help us get better. I didn’t play a lot my freshman year, but I continued to work hard. That hard work paid off my sophomore year. I played 30 of our 38 games that year and felt like I was improving throughout the season. We played UAF here in Fairbanks at Thanksgiving-time that season. It had been a long time since I had played a meaningful game in Fairbanks. It felt good.”

Obviously, the relationship between these two guys is a real mutual admiration society. Shields shares his thoughts on Copley’s work ethic and future, “From the first time I met Pheonix, I realized that he really wanted to become a goalie. There is a big difference between guys who say they want to do something compared to guys like Pheonix. I could see in his eyes what he aspired to. My role is to help talented players like Pheonix understand that his attitude, work ethic and (most of all) his reaction to setbacks are the things that will allow them to stay on a path for possible success. This guy really wants to be a goalie and it made my role in his life such an honor. I'm very proud to have played a small role in his life. A lot of what might happen in his career is based on timing and luck, but from what I can see he's creating his own luck every day. The sky is the limit for Pheonix.”

The had contacted Pheonix at the beginning of his sophomore campaign. As the season came to a close, they offered a contract and he accepted. “It was very exciting. I went to their Development Camp in D.C. prior to the season. I tried to soak up as much knowledge as possible. I was assigned to their American League affiliate in Hershey, PA. There were several guys with NHL experience and they helped us rookies a lot. The other goalie had played a few games up in ‘the show’ so I knew that he would get the majority of the games. I played 26 games and had a 17-4-3 record,” Pheonix relates.

Pheonix was traded to the St. Louis Blues organization during the summer of 2015. “I was shocked at first. After the initial shock wore off, I was excited to join the Blues organization for the new opportunities ahead,” he recalls. Copley spent the first half of the 2015-16 season with the , before being called up to the Blues in early February.

Pheonix was pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at Tech before he left to pursue a professional hockey career. He took a couple of classes on-line last winter and is committed to finishing that degree.

“I’ve come a long way since those days in youth hockey at the Dipper. I have good memories of playing here in Fairbanks. We had a unique situation for a small town, with so many talented coaches. The guys like Chuck Cartier, Dave Teets, Ron Muir, Steve Murphy and Mark Sanford were excellent coaches. My generation benefitted from those guys who came up to play for the Gold Kings and then decided to stay. I’m grateful to all of them.”