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 even after a tough 2020-21 season:
“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 trained, trained, trained, and trained again this off season according to Hart. He might have worked on getting bigger in the net, after the first pre-season game last night he was much bigger than that, as opposed to last season. I’m sure he’s worked very hard with goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh in this particular area, and it paid off at least last night. This should give him confidence moving forward
“It was nice to get back into a game and just get into that game mentality,” Hart said following the game. “It’s been awhile, I think like 5 months since the last game so it was nice to just get back out there. It was nice to see the fans here cheering us on. Obviously, not the result we wanted but we made some strides in our home game here.”
Last night, Hart saved 17 out of 18 shots faced, which was good enough for a .944 Save Percentage. It’s about getting into a rhythm for goaltenders in pre-season games, which will help Carter’s confidence. This is what the pre-season games are for, and at least after the first one he excelled in this area.
One area of his game that stood out to me last night was he was much bigger in the net. He took up a lot of space, and really forced some of the New York Islanders players to overthink their shots at times. As mentioned above, at times last season Hart seemed to be much smaller in the net, so he’s off to a good start early in the preseason
“I like his face right now and his demeanor,” Alain Vigneault set a camp. “He’s smiling. He does look bigger with his shirt on and real fit. The fact that he was able to have a normal summer of training with other players and his goaltending coach. I think it was a real good summer for him and for the rest of our group. I believe that is going to help moving forward.”
“It was a good summer back home, my family and friends,” Hart said. “Had a lot of good weather which was nice. Just worked on all parts of my game. Just wanted to get bigger, stronger, and faster. I feel good and ready to go.”
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 this season.
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, and he appreciates all the fans support, “Yeah, I mean I am not sure how many people were here maybe like 8,000 or so but it was just nice to see the fans here,” Hart said. “We were playing in front of 2,500 at the end last year but 8,000 feels like a lot more so it was great to see the support from them tonight.”
