Binkley Happy with his Alaska to Moncton Move
Published on October 14, 2025 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Moncton Wildcats News Release
The Moncton Wildcats may have struck gold when they acquired forward Simon Binkley last year. For sure, they got a future captain.
The 19-year-old left winger is a native of Fairbanks, Alaska, where gold mining, while not as prosperous or prolific as it once was, is still a thing. The Wildcats may have found a nugget. While the Cats are struggling out of the gate after a pair of weekend losses at home, Binkley has averaged a point per game, with a goal and five assists through the Cats first six games, a shorthanded marker in a 4-3 win over Cape Breton September 27. He was the game's second star that night. Last Friday, he scored both Wildcat goals and was named the first star in the ats 2-1 victory over the Rimouski Oceanic.
Coach Gardiner MacDougall likes his "speed...tenacity. He's got a little bit of Alaska roots in him. He likes to work hard."
He learned to skate on the outdoor rinks of Fairbanks, a city of about 40,000 in the Alaska interior.
"I think I started around two with my mom and my grandma," Binkley said. "My grandpa would build outdoor rinks at his cottage. It's hard not to get into hockey in Fairbanks. There are three junior teams in Alaska and two Division 1 college teams, so it's pretty much everywhere."
Binkley went to prep school in Pittsburgh and played for the junior Penguins program - incidentally he's not related to Les Binkley, the former goaltender with the original NHL Penguins - and from there to Vernon before the Wildcats came calling.
Binkley's calls the move to Moncton "probably one of the greatest decisions of my life to come here. It's changed my life for sure."
When the hockey dream is over, he'll return to Fairbanks and join the family tourism business, which includes the Riverboat Discovery, an authentic paddlewheel boat tour with a capacity of 900 passengers, running tours up and down the Chena River. The Binkley family has run the company for five generations. This past tourist season was the company's 75th anniversary. Simon, currently a deckhand on one of the boats, is training to become a captain. He's driven for the past two summers while being accompanied either by his dad, his uncle, aunt, cousin or a great uncle.
"It's been my summer job since... before I could walk my dad was taking me on the boat," Simon said.
The family holdings also include a gold mining tour, a partnership with a flight seeing company in Girdwood andJuneau, and a cruise port in Ketchikan. His grandfather is a former state senator and his dad is the publisher of Alaska's largest newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News.
"My cousin and I hope to run the companies when we're older," he said.
His immediate focus, though, is on hockey and the Wildcats. He began last season playing Tier 2 junior hockey with the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL, hoping to preserve his eligibility to play NCAA hockey. When the NCAA changed rules to allow players from the major junior ranks eligible for NCAA scholarships, Wildcats general manager and director of hockey operations Taylor MacDougall reached out.
Binkley had never heard of Moncton, couldn't find it on a map.
"I didn't know what it was like or where it was," he said. "It took a lot of conversations with GMac (coach Gardiner MacDougall) and Taylor for us to make the decision, especially because it was so far away (4,653 miles from Fairbanks, a mere 3,148.5 from Vernon, B.C.). But they informed us about the organization, both on ice and off ice and it was the best opportunity for me."
"We had a good scouting report on him," said Gardiner Macdougall. "He's really a team first guy. He battled his way into the lineup and in the last game of the regular season last year he played on the first line. He played a role in the playoffs, but I knew this year there would be a big upside for him."
Macdougall calls him "a good, solid two-way forward. He's got lots of speed, a great work ethic, and he's aggressive on the puck. He's everything we hoped for. He'll play a key role on our team this year."
"I think we're on a really good pace this year," said Binkley. "We're still learning the systems, and with the young guys around here, myself included, how things are run here. I think we're on a really good track and have a good chance to get back to the Memorial Cup. Obviously, we want to play one more day than last year. That's our goal."
Next season, he's committed to return home to play for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks. He'll enroll in business courses to prepare for his role in the burgeoning Binkley business empire.
"The winters are cold and the summers are hot, and the winters are dark and the summers are light. But it's really beautiful there. I really like it there. I want to live there when I'm older, once I'm done with hockey."
But he hopes he's not done with hockey for a while. He'll play "as long as I can," he said. "That's my goal. I want to make the NHL just like everyone else."
Article by Bill Hunt
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from October 14, 2025
- Cats Tangle with Val-d'Or Wednesday Night - Moncton Wildcats
- FloHockey Team of the Week Named for Week 4 - QMJHL
- Binkley Happy with his Alaska to Moncton Move - Moncton Wildcats
- Émile Beaunoyer Named Vidéotron Player of the Week - QMJHL
- Islanders Fall in Overtime, Split Weekend Series with Regiment - Charlottetown Islanders
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