Carter Hart

Carter Hart (born August 13, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Carter Hart
Hart in 2018
Born (1998-08-13) August 13, 1998
Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team Philadelphia Flyers
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 48th overall, 2016
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2018–present

Growing up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Hart played minor hockey with the Sherwood Park Squires AAA team before being drafted by the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the eighth round, 158th overall, in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. Following his sophomore season in the Silvertips, Hart was drafted in the second round, 48th overall, by the Flyers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Internationally, Hart has represented Canada at several tournaments, including the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, IIHF World U20 Championship, and Ice Hockey World Championships.

Early life

Hart was born on August 13, 1998 in Sherwood Park, Alberta to Shauna and John Hart.[1] He originally wanted to be a forward like his father, who played for the NAIT Ooks, but found that he enjoyed making saves more than scoring goals.[2] When Hart was ten years old, his parents hired sport psychologist John Stevenson, best known for working with NHL goaltender Braden Holtby, as a goaltender coach.[3] His favorite goaltender growing up was Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.[4]

Playing career

Junior

Growing up in Alberta, Hart played minor hockey with the Sherwood Park Squires of the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.[5] He took home MVP and Top Goaltender honors at the end of the 2013–14 AMMHL season,[5] boasting a 1.92 goals against average (GAA) and .937 save percentage (SV%).[6] After being selected in the eighth round, 158th overall, in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, Hart signed with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL) on February 12, 2014.[7] He made his career start at the age of 16 in the 2014–15 WHL season opener, recording a 26-save shutout against the Seattle Thunderbirds.[8] After displacing starting goaltender Austin Lotz, Hart finished his rookie season with an 18–5–2–3 record, as well as the lowest GAA (2.29) and second-highest save percentage (.915) in the WHL.[9] He started every game in the Silvertips playoff series, including their triple overtime win against the Spokane Chiefs in the first round,[8] and finished the series with a 2.28 GAA and .929 SV%.[9]

Hart continued to excel in his sophomore season with the Silvertips, recording six shutouts in 21 games and finishing the season with the most wins in the WHL, boasting a 35–23–1–3 record and 2.14 GAA.[10] He received a series of honors for the season, including the CHL Goaltender of the Year award,[11] the Del Wilson Trophy for the top goaltender in the WHL,[12] and Most Valuable Player for the Silvertips organization.[13] He was also named a WHL West First Team All-Star for the 2015–16 season.[14]

Going into the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Hart was considered a top goaltender prospect. The NHL Central Scouting Bureau named him the top available North American goaltender in their 2016 midterm rankings,[15] and second in their final ratings.[16] He also made an appearance at the 2016 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, playing for Team Orr.[17] Hart was drafted in the second round, 48th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League NHL, the first goaltender selected in 2016, and signed an entry-level contract with the organization on October 2, 2016.[18] Hart returned to the Silvertips for the 2016–17 WHL season, winning back-to-back CHL Goaltender of the Week awards in November 2016. He finished the season with a 32–11–6–2 record, and led the WHL in goals against average (1.99), save percentage (.927), and shutouts (9).[19] Once again, he was awarded the Silvertips Most Valuable Player award[13] and the Del Wilson Trophy.[19]

Hart missed the first month of his 2017–18 WHL season after contracting mononucleosis, which caused him to lose 20 pounds and suffer from fatigue.[20] At the time of his diagnosis, he had played only two games, a win against the Kelowna Rockets on September 29 and a loss against the Tri-City Americans on September 30.[21] He returned in November and soon recorded his 21st career shutout against the Prince Albert Raiders, tying Leland Irving for most shutout games in Silvertips history.[22] On February 11, 2018, Hart recorded his 26th career shutout in a match against the Vancouver Giants, tying with Tyson Sexsmith for most career shutouts in the WHL.[23] Hart finished the season with a 31–6–1–3 record, 1.60 GAA, 0.947 SV%, and seven shutouts.[24] In addition to winning Silvertips MVP and the Del Wilson Trophy for the third year in a row, Hart was named CHL Goaltender of the Year for the 2017–18 season, the first goaltender in Canadian Hockey League (CHL) history to win the award twice.[25] Additionally, he was awarded the Everett Silvertips Community Relations Award[13] and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, awarded to the WHL Player of the Year.[26] Hart ended his WHL career with an overall 116–46–19 record, 2.01 GAA, .927 save percentage, and 26 shutouts.[27]

Professional

Hart began the 2018–19 season with the Flyers American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was recalled on December 17, 2018, after goaltender Anthony Stolarz was placed on injured reserve.[28] Hart made his NHL debut the following day in a 3–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings and was named first star of the game.[29] He became the youngest goaltender since Carey Price to win in his NHL debut and the youngest ever in Flyers history.[30] After recording his fourth straight win as an NHL starter against the Winnipeg Jets on January 28, Hart became the first goaltender since Steve Mason to record four straight wins as a starter before the age of 21.[31] Hart was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January 2019,[32] going 6–2–1 with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. He was later named the NHL Second Star of the Week for the week of February 4 after going 3–0–0 and extending his win streak to six.[33] Hart was also one of eight goaltenders Philadelphia used during the season, setting a new record for the NHL.[34]

Hart attended the Flyers training camp prior to the 2019–20 season. He entered the preseason weighing 191 pounds, nearly 10 more than the previous season.[35] On October 9, after defeating the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4–0 in Philadelphia's home opener, Hart became the youngest goaltender in Flyers franchise history to record a shutout, doing so at the age of 21 years, 57 days.[36] After suffering a lower right abdominal muscle strain during practice on January 15, 2020, Hart missed nine consecutive games before returning on February 10 in a 4–1 win over the Florida Panthers.[37] Hart made his postseason debut on August 2 winning a round robin game against the Presidents' Trophy winning Boston Bruins 4–1. Hart made 34 saves in the win and became the youngest Flyers goaltender to win a game in the postseason.[38] On August 16 and 18, Hart posted consecutive shutouts, making him the youngest Flyers goaltender to record a shutout and the second-youngest in NHL history to consecutive back-to-back playoff shutouts.[39]

Hart struggled out of the gate in the 2020–21 season, allowing four or more goals in three consecutive starts for the first time in his career.[40] Following a 6–1 loss against the Boston Bruins on January 23, Hart was seen breaking his stick against the net before storming off the ice.[41] He later apologized, deeming the outburst "unprofessional" and done in "the heat of the moment."[41]

Playing style

In a 2016 scouting report, NHL Central Scouting praised Hart's "focused and consistent technique with positioning and crease management," as well as his "strong lateral movement while keeping his body controlled."[42] In his own words, Hart chooses to emphasize reactive-blocking technique rather than the strict butterfly style that he believes many goalies employ. He told NBC, "I'm not a guy who just drops right down, squats and hopes it hits you."[43]

Much attention has been levied at the mental aspect of Hart's performance. Part of his work with Stevenson has involved improving his focus and optimism before a game,[44] and he has received praise for his "calm, cool and collected" demeanor on the ice.[45] Flyers teammate James van Riemsdyk has said that Hart's temperament on the ice is "the best quality I think he has."[20] Hart practices vision training to increase his visual acuity and perception and better process an approaching puck.[46] He also juggles and uses concentration grids—a technique which involves crossing off a randomized grid of numbers in order from 1 to 100—to improve his focus.[47] Hart admits to having perfectionist tendencies,[48] and has expressed a desire to be the best goaltender in the NHL.[49]

International play
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Championships
2019 Slovakia
World Junior Championships
2017 Canada
2018 New York
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
2015 Czech Republic/Slovakia

Hart was chosen, along with Peterborough Petes player Dylan Wells, to tend goal for Hockey Canada at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[50] Hart started the tournament with 15 saves against the Czech Republic, resulting in a 3–1 victory.[51] In his next starting appearance, Hart made 13 saves in a 9–2 win over Switzerland to take Canada to the semifinals.[52] Canada went on to beat Sweden in the gold medal match.[53]

Hart was next selected to represent Canada at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[54] Brought in as the starter, Hart ended up sidelined after allowing three goals on 17 shots by Russia, and was only called up again when Connor Ingram gave up two goals on three shots by Sweden.[20] Despite making 31 saves in the gold medal game against the United States,[55] Hart gave up a shootout goal to Troy Terry, earning Canada a silver medal.[56] Hart was once again chosen for the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, this time alongside Michael DiPietro.[57] After recording a 23-save shutout against the Czech Republic in pre-tournament play, Hart was named Canada's starter.[48] Canada defeated Sweden in the gold-medal match,[58] and Hart finished the tournament with a 5-0-1 record, tying the Canadian World Junior career record with an overall 8-0-2.[59]

Hart, along with fellow Flyer Sean Couturier, was named to Canada's roster for the 2019 IIHF World Championship, coached by recently-appointed Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault.[60] He served as backup goaltender to Matt Murray.[61] In Hart's first game of the championships, he recorded 22 saves in 50 minutes against Denmark in the Group A preliminary rounds, combining with Mackenzie Blackwood for the shutout.[62] Canada advanced to the gold medal game, but took silver in a 3–1 loss against Finland.[63]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPWLOTLMINGASOGAASV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2013–14Everett SilvertipsWHL 2011103603.49.893 ————————
2014–15Everett SilvertipsWHL 30185516486342.29.915 11567102702.28.929
2015–16Everett SilvertipsWHL 6335234369313262.14.918 6243521412.39.929
2016–17Everett SilvertipsWHL 5432118307810291.99.927 10466912812.43.908
2017–18Everett SilvertipsWHL 41316124376571.60.947 2214813255322.40.921
2018–19Lehigh Valley PhantomsAHL 1896110055113.05.902 ————————
2018–19Philadelphia FlyersNHL 311613117178102.83.917 ————————
2019–20Philadelphia FlyersNHL 432413323569512.42.914 14958603222.23.926
NHL totals 74 40 26 4 4,073 176 1 2.59 .915 14 9 5 860 32 2 2.23 .926

International
Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2015 Canada IH18 2 2 0 0 120 3 0 1.50 .903
2017 Canada WJC 4 3 1 0 252 10 0 2.38 .906
2018 Canada WJC 6 5 1 0 365 11 1 1.81 .930
2019 Canada WC 3 3 0 0 171 2 1 0.70 .964
Junior totals 12 10 2 0 737 24 1 1.95 .919
Senior totals 3 3 0 0 171 2 1 0.70 .964

Awards and honours
Award Year Ref
WHL
Everett Silvertips Rookie of the Year 2014–15 [13]
Everett Silvertips MVP 2015–16 [13]
2016–17 [13]
2017–18 [13]
Del Wilson Trophy 2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
CHL Goaltender of the Year 2015–16
2017–18
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy 2017–18
Everett Silvertips Community Relations Award 2017–18 [13]
NHL
Rookie of the Month 2018–19
Second Star of the Week 2018–19

References
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  2. Matheson, Jim (16 October 2019). "Carter Hart is certainly in the hearts of Flyers fans". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  3. Kaplan, Emily (21 August 2020). "2020 NHL playoffs: Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart is leveling up right before our eyes". 6abc. ESPN. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
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