OWEN SOUND—As the Sports Network sportscaster Gord Miller said about Team Canada goaltender Carter George after his team was defeated in the quarter-finals of the World Junior Hockey Championship (a 4-3 defeat to Czechia), Carter George ‘was the one consistent for Canada.’
While Team Canada did not get as far as they wanted, Carter George played well enough to be named as one of the top three players for Canada over the tournament.
Carter posted shutouts in his first two games of the preliminary round in Team Canada’s division. He made 31 saves, 20 alone in the third period as Canada defeated Finland 4-0 in their opening game of the tournament and was named his teams’ player of the game award. He also garnered a shutout in Canada’s third game against Germany (the team lost their second game against Latvia, a game that Carter did not play in), making 25 saves, and again being named player of the game for Canada.
He did allow three goals in the final game in the preliminary round, in a 4-1 loss to the US, with all the US goals scored on the power-play (along with an empty-net goal), but Carter again played well.
CBC reported after the US game that Carter, “has been a rock between the pipes and has kept them (Canada) in games. Allowing zero non-power-play goals against the two best teams in Group A (US and Finland) says everything about George, a second-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Kings in 2024. Without his exceptional play in the net, it would be somewhat difficult to go into the quarter-final versus Czechia without any confidence. However, he is a glimmer of hope in what has otherwise been an underwhelming four contests for the Canadians.”
In that final game, Carter again played well, stopping 22 of 26 shots.
Carter is a native of Thunder Bay while his father, Mike George, and his grandparents are all from Little Current. Carter plays for the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Carter has previous international hockey experience. 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. 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 the 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.
