Goalie with Island roots top N. American netminder drafted
LITTLE CURRENT AND BARRIE—While the family of Carter George, including his father and grandparents, who are all from Little Current are excited, no one is as excited as the young Owen Sound Attack goalie who was not only selected 57th overall (second round) in the National Hockey League entry draft but will, in future, be able to ply his trade with his favourite hockey team.
“Everybody is very excited for Carter,” stated Lianne Masson of Little Current, his grandmother. “But I don’t think anyone is as excited as Carter is. He is absolutely thrilled. In his journey to reach this point, as a child, about 12 years old he had the opportunity to play in the Los Angeles Kings practice facility as a member of the Thunder Bay Kings. He has always followed (goaltender) Jonathan Quick, who was his idol. He always wanted to play for Los Angeles.”
“Carter has been an LA Kings team fan from the time he was a kid,” said Mike George, who is originally from Little Current and now lives in Barrie with his wife, their daughter Mykaila and Carter. “Oh yes, we are very proud of him. It is pretty amazing to go through and see all of this taking place. Carter has worked very hard for everything he has accomplished so far.”
Ms. Masson pointed out Carter was the first North American goalie drafted.
The TB Newswatch.com quoted the 18-year-old netminder on June 29 as saying “It was a pretty cool experience. To hear your name called, especially by a great organization, it’s pretty surreal.”
George admitted that there may have been a few tears shed after he was picked by the Kings, who were his favourite team growing up. “This was a dream of mine since I was a little kid,” Carter said. “It just means the world to me.”
A Hockey News story headline read, ‘Los Angeles May Have Found a Future No. 1 Goaltender in Carter George. Owen Sound Attacks’ Carter George is the third goaltender selected in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The Thunder Bay native is now a member of the Los Angeles Kings. He becomes the highest drafted goalie from Owen Sound. The Attack organization has produced a Stanley Cup winning goaltender in Jordan Binnington, who was drafted 88th overall in 2011.”
Carter, who had been projected to be drafted in the second or third round by several scouting services, was the first Canadian goaltender to be selected in the draft.
In his first full campaign with the Attack this season, George posted a 23-21-6 record with a 3.30 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and four shutouts. He also won gold medals with Canada at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship.
Michael Ostrower of The Hockey Writers, in grading the Los Angeles Kings 2024 draft picks wrote, in part, “Carter George, Goaltender, B. The Kings acquired the 57th pick when they moved back in the first round with (a trade with) the Montreal Canadiens, and they should be thrilled with the results. Not only would they have likely taken Liam Greentree at pick 21, but they now get Carter George, the top-ranked goaltender, according to NHL Central Scouting (North American goalies). George is on the smaller side, standing just 6-foot-1, but it is a nice contrast to current Kings goaltending prospect, Erk Portillo, who stands 6-foot-6. George plays for the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League and has decent numbers. The scoresheet does not do him justice since the OHL is an historically high-scoring league. George is best at cutting down angles and moving side to side. He is likely four seasons away from reaching the NHL, maybe five or six.”
The Hockey News reported that no goaltender faced more shots in the regular season than the Owen Sound netminder. George faced 1,923 shots and finished with the league’s second-best save percentage (.907 percent). He played 56 games going 23-21-6-3 and tied for the most shutouts with four.
Ms. Masson said, “Owen Sound was not a strong team this year, although individually they were. Carter faced the most shots of any goalie in the league. But as Carter says, ‘I am just trying to give my team a chance to win.’”
The Attack was swept in the first round of the playoffs against Saginaw, ending Carter’s OHL year, but allowing him to once again put on the Canadian jersey and play at the U18s World Championship. Canada won the gold medal game against the US and Carter was named the tournament’s best goaltender, posting a flawless 6-0 record with a 2.33 goals-against average, and a .915 save percentage.
The Hockey News reported, “The 6’1” 194-pound goalie is controlled and tactical in his movements in the crease. He rarely gets caught out of position overplaying his angles. His puck tracking and ability to fight through traffic are terrific. He plays with that level of poise that allows his teammates to play calmer in front of him and trust that he’s always in position to make the save.”
“It is pretty exciting, it was his dream, although he was expecting to not get picked by the Kings but had hoped they would,” said Ms. Masson. “The Kings had a first-round pick, but when they didn’t pick him, and they originally did not have a pick in the second round he didn’t expect he would be going to LA. But they traded picks to get the 57th pick in the draft.”
Mr. George’s proud grandmother pointed out he was at the Kings development training camp last week, with seven goaltenders attending, those previously drafted and invitees. He did very well, he played in a game on Tuesday, and he and the other team’s goalie both got one of the three stars of the game.”
“Mike was born and raised in Little Current and his wife Tara’s maiden name is Coulterman. She was a curler and played in the Scotties,” said Ms. Masson. “Tara and Mike were both living in Thunder Bay when they met. They both curled and got married and started a family.” The family now lives in Barrie.
“Mike (a former goaltender himself) put a lot of effort into Carter’s training as a youngster,” said Ms. Masson noting the family moved to Southern Ontario to allow Carter to play in the OHL. “Mike and Tara also have a daughter (Mykaila) who is two years older than Carter and who was a goalie as well.”
“Carter has worked very hard for everything he has achieved,” said Mike George. “We moved to southern Ontario two years ago, after he had been drafted by Owen Sound. Mykaila is attending the University of Waterloo in a five-year program in Chemical Engineering. So, with Carter in the OHL and Mykaila in university we felt it would be the best thing to do was move the family to southern Ontario to provide the best resources for both of them and provide every opportunity for both to reach their goals and have success in life.”
“Carter is doing well at the Kings development camp,” said Mike George. “And then he will come back and continue to work, working out in the gym here and he works with two goalie coaches in the Cambridge-London area.”
Elite Prospects said of Carter George, “The immediate thing that will jump out to anyone that watches George is his puck handling ability. He is as confident as they come and will consistently send his team on breakouts with stretch passes. He doesn’t panic when pressured, and makes smart, quick plays when his options are limited. This isn’t a skill that is going to make or break his value as a prospect, but it’s a nice one to have on top of an already very exciting goaltender. It can’t be understated how good he is. He would be one of the better puck handling goaltenders in the NHL if he was plunked into a lineup today. He’s that good.”
During the 2023-2024 season Carter was on the Hlinka Gretzky Cup gold medal team, made the OLH first all-rookie team, was OHL Scholastic Player of the Year (Bobby Smith trophy), made the OHL third all-star team, was OHL Top Academic high school player (Ivan Tennant Award) was on the U18 JC all-star team, U18 WJC best goaltender, won the gold and was named a top three player on the team.
“Carter will play in Owen Sound this year, after the Kings rookie camp in September, and then will have to go through a few more years of development in the Kings farm system,” said Mike George. “When he was young, I put him in net and I saw really good things in him even when he was really young. Every time we put him in net he kept getting better. He has a good head on his shoulders and has a very calm demeanor. He works very hard and knows what he wants.”
While Carter had been hoping to get drafted by L.A. his father was hoping he would instead be selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs, his favourite team. “The next pick in the draft (58) was the Leafs pick. I told him if L.A. didn’t select him he could get picked by the Leafs. But Carter got his wish. I’m used to losing, being a Leafs fan,” he quipped.
