Flyers prospect Carter Hart was a force to be reckoned with in last night’s Sweden vs. Canada World Junior’s semifinal. Carter was called off the bench after starting goaltender for Canada, Connor Ingram, was pulled after just 8 minutes and 3 shots, only 1 of which he saved. Lets just say the goals were..weak. The first one was a shorthanded wrist shot a couple feet from the blue line and the second an embarrassing mishandled puck turned goal. It was at that point Canada Coach Dominque Ducharme decided to put in the Flyers prospect.
Hart was lights out saving all 28 shots that were fired at him. He really seemed to feel comfortable out there and was able to develop a good flow despite not starting the game. He was tested in the very first minute. Pierre-Luc Dubois took an ill advised tripping penalty and sent the Swedes on the power play. In just 4 minutes, Carter would face 6 shots, with several being pretty difficult. He was able to make very good saves without giving up rebounds dialed in from the very minute he hit the ice.
After 2 more periods Carter and Team Canada came out victorious 5-2. The Flyers prospect played hard and with laser focus and that seems like it may carry him into the finals. When asked if he expected to start against the U.S. Carter said:
“If I get the start, I’ll be ready to go, if I don’t get the start I’ll be ready to go.”
Quite the bode of confidence for the young prospect. Carter was selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, the 48th overall pick of the draft and the first goaltender selected in the draft. Currently, he is playing for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League and will most likely be with the Phantoms next season.
It looks like the Flyers who haven’t seen very much talent in the realm of goalie over the past few years are going to be immensely solid between pipes soon enough. Thanks Hextall.
Mandatory Photo credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
