Appleton was born and raised in
Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he attended
Ashwaubenon High School and
Notre Dame Academy. During his freshman year at Ashwaubenon, he was the third-leading scorer with 15 goals with 23 assists. Appleton left for Notre Dame Academy (NDA) in 2011 where he played alongside his cousin Collin for the Tritons. During that season, he helped the Tritons win their first state championship after scoring the goal during the second overtime to beat Wausau West The following year, Appleton helped the NDA Tritons dominate Wisconsin high school hockey by winning their first 20 games before tying Green Bay United. During the season, he scored 20 goals and recorded 25 assists in 28 games. As a result of his play, he attended USA Hockey’s Select 17 Camp, recording 1 assist in five games during tournament play. In May, Appleton was drafted third overall by the
Tri-City Storm of the
United States Hockey League (USHL), the highest a member of NDA had ever been drafted. At the time of his selection, he stood at 6-foot-2 and weighed 185-pound. Appleton finished his high school career with 66 goals and 110 assists. He played one season of
junior ice hockey with the Tri-City Storm before joining the
Michigan State Spartans in 2015. Following this, he became the first Spartan since 2009 to pick up a point in his first three collegiate contests. During the summer before his sophomore season, Appleton was drafted in the sixth round, 168th overall by the
Winnipeg Jets in the
2015 NHL entry draft. After being drafted, Appleton said, "for me, I kind of don't look at myself as a 6th round pick...I look at myself as the type of hockey player that I am. I'm a confident player, I'm a confident guy. There is still more to prove. There is room to get better. My goal is to play in the NHL and I haven't achieved that yet." When Appleton returned to the Spartans for his sophomore season, he earned praise from the coach and teammates for his offseason training. He played on a line with Patrick Khodorenko and Taro Hirose, who accounted for 23 points within the teams' first nine games. By late November, Appleton reached his goal total of five and added 11 points to lead the team. Following his sophomore season, Appleton was named the 72nd captain in program history alongside assistant captains Carson Gatt, Brennan Sanford, and Sam Saliba.
Professional in 2022. After two seasons with the Spartans, Appleton left college to sign a three-year
entry level contract with the Jets with an average annual value of $758,333. He attended their training camp prior to the
2017–18 season and was reassigned to their
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Manitoba Moose, for the season. Appleton started the season centering the Moose's fourth line but quickly moved up the depth chart as a left winger on the team’s top line. On October 21, he recorded his first career AHL goal on the power-play as the Moose beat the
Iowa Wild 4–2. As a result of his play, Appleton was selected as CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the week of November 20 after recording six points in three games, which also included two game-winning goals. By April 2018, Appleton led the Moose with 61 points in 71 games and set a new franchise records in assists and points by a rookie. He also led all AHL rookies in scoring and placed fourth in the league’s overall points race. He was subsequently named to AHL All-Rookie Team and represented the Moose at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic. He also won the
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as AHL Rookie of the Year and was named to the AHL's First All-Star. However, as the Moose qualified for the
2018 Calder Cup playoffs, Appleton suffered a concussion and was forced to sit out for their first round matchup with the
Grand Rapids Griffins. Appleton made his NHL debut on December 1, 2018 against the
New Jersey Devils. He recorded an assist on
Andrew Copp's goal in the third period. On December 20, Appleton scored his first NHL goal against
Martin Jones in a 5–3 win over the
San Jose Sharks. On July 21, 2021, Appleton was selected from the Jets at the
2021 NHL expansion draft by the
Seattle Kraken. On March 20, 2022, one day before the trade deadline, Appleton was traded back to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a
2023 fourth round draft pick. On July 2, 2025, Appleton signed a two-year, $2.9 million contract with the
Detroit Red Wings. ==Career statistics==