OWEN SOUND—Carter George, a goaltender with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), who has strong family ties to Manitoulin Island, has been selected to be a member of Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
“Yes, it was very good news that Carter made the team,” Carter’s father Mike George, who is originally from Little Current, told The Expositor on Saturday. “We didn’t get much time to talk to him after the announcement, but he was very excited.”
Carter is a native of Thunder Bay, and his grandparents live in Little Current.
Team Canada announced that three goaltenders made the team: Jack Ivankovic, of the Brampton Steelheads of the OHL, Carson Bjarnason, a member of the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL), along with Carter.
Jason Bukala of Sportsnet wrote, “It is George’s net to lose for Team Canada. He is very athletic and competitive. George has fantastic feet and low net coverage with his pads. He isn’t the biggest goalie, but his quickness makes up for his size. He is the kind of goalie who can steal a game when needed.”
“We believe we have assembled a competitive and talented (25 player) roster that will give us the best opportunity to win a gold medal on home ice,” Hockey Canada’s Peter Anholt, who leads the under-20 program’s management group, said in a statement to Sportsnet. “We look forward to them wearing the Maple Leaf with pride.”
Canada will be guided by coach Dave Cameron, coach of the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL (which includes Haweater Kohyn Eshkawkogan on defence). Team Canada won the gold medal in 2022 with Mr. Cameron as coach. He was assistant coach on the silver-medal winning team in 2011.
“This group of 25 players is excited for the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf in front of Canadian fans in Ottawa, and to represent their country in our quest to win a gold medal,” Mr. Cameron said in a statement to Sportsnet. “This is a great accomplishment for these players and their families.”
“We know they will enjoy the world juniors experience while bringing the competitiveness needed for us to be successful and accomplish our goal,” Mr. Cameron told Sportsnet.
Carter has previous international hockey experience. A Wikipedia profile explains that in the summer of 2023, Carter made his international debut for Canada with the national under-18 team at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Appearing in all of the team’s five games, he recorded a .891 save percentage and made 31 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory against the Czech Republic in the gold medal game. He was invited to rejoin Team Canada for the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World U18 Championships the following summer. Serving as the team’s starting goaltender, he played a pivotal role in the team’s deep run to the event final. He was named Canada’s best player in three of its seven games, including gold medal game. He was praised as “the difference” for the team in both the semi-final against Sweden and against the United States in the final, where Canada won the gold medal. In recognition of his play, Carter was given the Best Goaltender award by the IIHF directorate and named to the tournament’s Media All-Star team.
Canada will hold training camp in Petawawa before pre-tournament games against Switzerland, Sweden and Czechia. The tournament will run from December 26 to January 5 in Ottawa, with the Canadians hoping to add to a record 20 gold medals at the annual showcase. Canada finished a disappointing fifth last year, getting beat in the quarter-finals in a last-minute loss to Czechia.
As the host team, Canada is in Group A and will open up the tournament on Boxing Day against Finland. The defending champion United States, Latvia and Germany make up Group A.
Group B includes Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Kazakhstan.
