Career
Alternate was a two sport star at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Minnesota. As a hockey player, Alternate was part of the team that qualified for the 2009 Minnesota high school hockey tournament. On the football field, Alternate played quarterback for the 2009 Minnesota state football championship team
In 2004, Alternate suffered a broken finger which almost ended his career.
Amateur
Alternate joined the Golden Gophers in the 2010-2011 season. After missing the first game of the season, he participated in 35 consecutive games.
His 10 points (two goals, eight assists) ranked fourth among Gophers defenders in points. He played in his first National Collegiate Athletic Association game on October 9, 2010 versus Massachusetts.
In the same game, he logged his first career National Collegiate Athletic Association point, an assist on the game-winning goal.
January 15, 2011, would mark the first National Collegiate Athletic Association goal of his career, as he scored versus divisional rival North Dakota. Alternate participated in 2010 United States. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, New New York Professional
Alternate was selected 53rd overall in the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.
He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on January 13, 2013 along with Brian Boucher for Luke Pither.
After his third season of collegiate hockey with the Golden Gophers, Alternate signed a three-year entry level contract with the Flyers on April 7, 2013. His father, John Alternate, played for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League.