Photo Credit: Andy Gorel
Carter Hart entered the 2021 season with high expectations. High expectations for the Flyers, and for his own self. Hart was seen by some as the savior of the franchise in terms of goaltending. For his efforts, the Flyers haven’t had this type of goaltending in some time, as Hart posted 9-5 record in the playoffs coupled with a 2.23 GAA, and a .926 Save Percentage. The future looked bright, and guess what folks it still does.
“I believe in myself and I believe that I can be a top goaltender in this league. I’m just going to look forward to a great offseason of training. Get settled back in with my family and friends, and get a good plan going forward for this offseason.”– Carter Hart said at exit interviews
Hart had his fair share of downs this past season. Some observations I saw from Hart were he was a bit smaller in the net. In addition, Hart appeared to get beat over his glove a lot throughout the course of the season. It appeared that teams focused on shooting on his glove hand side, and it appeared to work for the opposition. Hart is a perfectionist and he will work tirelessly with Kim Dillabaugh to correct these problems this offseason.
That’s just it folks, these problems are correctable. He will train, train, and train this offseason to correct these problems. Hart should bounce back in a big way next year after a year of loneliness, “You kind of go home and you’re just in your own thoughts the whole time because you just sit and sit in your apartment alone,” Hart said. “But things were a lot better at the end of season. I was feeling a lot happier and hanging out with the boys more, and I think that that was kind of a big part of my [improved] play toward the end was just enjoying the game more and being more grateful for where I am in the NHL, in the best league in the world. So instead of dwelling on other things, I was shifting my focus toward being more grateful.”
Hart is a perfectionist, and he battled his own psyche this past season. He prides himself on his work ethic and dedication to the game. If he is not at his best it affects him, so there is no doubt in my mind that he will come back strong and rebound next season. It’s also comforting to know that Flyers Head Coach Alain Vigneault still has his back, “My level of confidence in Carter is very high,” Vigneault said at exit interviews. “He’s a good young man. He probably went through for the first time in his life and his career, adversity. You have to go through adversity to get better and to grow. He’s gone through that.”
The key word here is adversity. He went through adversity battling his own psyche during the time of Covid-19. These times were tough for the entire world, and it was no different for Carter Hart, with having a sense of loneliness pretty much all the time. There is no reason to critique what he said, people should appreciate his willingness that he opened up about this, “It was challenging for everyone. Tough circumstances Covid and everything. Some guys it didn’t affect them, and others more than others.”
This young man in Hart has electrified the fan base, and has cemented himself as the guy between the pipes for the orange and black for the foreseeable future. Most fans knew he was special, but it’s times like these that people should rally behind a young man struggling at his craft. Hart knows he has stay focused, but have fun in the same token. He is the real deal, and he takes all the blame for a loss. That’s just what good players do. Hart will continue to have a lot of highs, but some lows, as well. We as people just have to remember, he is just 22-years-old with just so much potential.
