Chris Mast

Carter Hart and Everett gearing up for the playoff push

The proverbial trophy case in the Hart household has to be getting ready for an expansion. Hart continues to add to his legacy in Everett and beyond, seemingly every single week. The Silvertips netminder was named Goaltender of the Month in January and was also named as such in November and December.

Considering he was out with mononucleosis in October (the only other available month for the award), that is quite the accomplishment.

It certainly seems like the 19-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alberta is a shoo-in for the WHL’s Goalie of the Year award for the third straight season. His goals against average sits at an astounding 1.53 and his save percentage is an equally amazing 0.952. Those are the best numbers of his WHL career yet and that is saying something.

But the number that matters the most to the Philadelphia Flyers second round draft pick in 2016, is team wins, of which he has been in net for 29 of 36 this year.

“It’s always an honor to win that but at the same time it shows the kind of hockey we have been playing recently here in Everett. I know our GM made a couple moves at the deadline to bolster the lineup and we were already playing good hockey before that. To add some of those guys to our lineup has definitely helped as they have contributed a lot. Our team has really gelled together with these new guys and we are playing good hockey,” Hart said.

Even Hart, who seems to want to shy away from talking about his many accomplishments, is aware that he is just one shutout short of setting the WHL record for clean sheets in a career. Hart has 26.

Hart after tying the WHL’s shutout record (Photo by Christopher Mast/Everett Silvertips)

“I’m not putting pressure on myself. My billet is though (laughs). He’s always reminding me. I think it would be cool if I got the record and it’s something I’m working towards. At the same time though, I just want to win games. That is what I’m focused on during the games – giving my team enough of a chance to win every night.”

Winning is not an easy thing to do this time of year and Hart is aware of that. Many of Everett’s remaining games come against fellow U.S. Division teams. Hart is quick to point out how talented all four of those other teams are.

“I think this division is really tight. Every year it seems it is tight. It’s probably one of the best in the WHL. It’s always a tight finish and this year is no different. Tri-City has a good team as do Portland, Spokane and Seattle. All those teams are above 0.500 so it’s going to be a good battle to the finish. That is good for us because it will give us a lot of really good competition down the road.”

The goal this year for Hart and Everett has to be to advance past the second round. Hart has been between the pipes for each of the last three playoff runs, all of which ended with Everett bowing out in the second round.

Hart knows a little something about falling short and coming back to achieve a goal the next year. He was the goalie in net for Hockey Canada hen they lost in the shootout to USA Hockey in 2017 at the World Junior Championships. This past January, Hart and Canada took the gold. Hart was a big reason why they took home one of junior hockey’s biggest prizes.

When asked if he has a rivalry with Portland Winterhawks and Team USA forward Kieffer Bellows, Hart is noncommittal. Despite only playing each other a handful of times in the WHL, Bellows was a big reason the U.S. took gold away from him in 2017. Bellows solved him again this year in the outdoor showdown between the two rivals and again in the shootout. Despite being rivals in the WHL and WJCs, Bellows and Hart appreciate the others accomplishments.

“He congratulated me on winning gold which was nice of him. I don’t really know him that well so we don’t talk too much.”

Hart is now in a position where his WHL career is winding down as it is unlikely he will be back for as an overage during the 2018-19 season. Looking back on the many different elite players he has faced shots from, one specific player stands out above the rest.

“The hardest guy I think I ever faced was Oliver Bjorkstrand from Portland back in the day. I would have been 16 at the time. I think he’s in Columbus now and he had one of the most deceptive releases. he could get the puck off anywhere and had a real quick snap to it. He was one of the toughest guys to face.”

Hart is assuredly the most challenging goalie that many WHL skaters have faced in his own right.

While Hart will long be remembered in Everett and in the WHL for his many individual accomplishments and records, he is more interested in getting his name on the Ed Chynoweth trophy and winning it for a franchise that has never had the honor.