Carter Hart

Growing up in Alberta, Hart played minor hockey with the Sherwood Park Squires of the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.[5] He took home MVP and Top Goaltender honors at the end of the 2013–14 AMMHL season,[5] boasting a 1.92 goals against average (GAA) and .937 save percentage (SV%).[6] After being selected in the eighth round, 158th overall, in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, Hart signed with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL) on February 12, 2014.[7] He made his career start at the age of 16 in the 2014–15 WHL season opener, recording a 26-save shutout against the Seattle Thunderbirds.[8] After displacing starting goaltender Austin Lotz, Hart finished his rookie season with an 18–5–2–3 record, as well as the lowest GAA (2.29) and second-highest save percentage (.915) in the WHL.[9] He started every game in the Silvertips playoff series, including their triple overtime win against the Spokane Chiefs in the first round,[8] and finished the series with a 2.28 GAA and .929 SV%.[9]

Hart continued to excel in his sophomore season with the Silvertips, recording six shutouts in 21 games and finishing the season with the most wins in the WHL, boasting a 35–23–1–3 record and 2.14 GAA.[10] He received a series of honors for the season, including the CHL Goaltender of the Year award,[11] the Del Wilson Trophy for the top goaltender in the WHL,[12] and Most Valuable Player for the Silvertips organization.[13] He was also named a WHL West First Team All-Star for the 2015–16 season.[14]

Going into the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Hart was considered a top goaltender prospect. The NHL Central Scouting Bureau named him the top available North American goaltender in their 2016 midterm rankings,[15] and second in their final ratings.[16] He also made an appearance at the 2016 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, playing for Team Orr.[17] Hart was drafted in the second round, 48th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League NHL, the first goaltender selected in 2016, and signed an entry-level contract with the organization on October 2, 2016.[18] Hart returned to the Silvertips for the 2016–17 WHL season, winning back-to-back CHL Goaltender of the Week awards in November 2016. He finished the season with a 32–11–6–2 record, and led the WHL in goals against average (1.99), save percentage (.927), and shutouts (9).[19] Once again, he was awarded the Silvertips Most Valuable Player award[13] and the Del Wilson Trophy.[19]

Hart missed the first month of his 2017–18 WHL season after contracting mononucleosis, which caused him to lose 20 pounds and suffer from fatigue.[20] At the time of his diagnosis, he had played only two games, a win against the Kelowna Rockets on September 29 and a loss against the Tri-City Americans on September 30.[21] He returned in November and soon recorded his 21st career shutout against the Prince Albert Raiders, tying Leland Irving for most shutout games in Silvertips history.[22] On February 11, 2018, Hart recorded his 26th career shutout in a match against the Vancouver Giants, tying with Tyson Sexsmith for most career shutouts in the WHL.[23] Hart finished the season with a 31–6–1–3 record, 1.60 GAA, 0.947 SV%, and seven shutouts.[24] In addition to winning Silvertips MVP and the Del Wilson Trophy for the third year in a row, Hart was named CHL Goaltender of the Year for the 2017–18 season, the first goaltender in Canadian Hockey League (CHL) history to win the award twice.[25] Additionally, he was awarded the Everett Silvertips Community Relations Award[13] and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, awarded to the WHL Player of the Year.[26] Hart ended his WHL career with an overall 116–46–19 record, 2.01 GAA, .927 save percentage, and 26 shutouts.[27]

Hart began the 2018–19 season with the Flyers American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was recalled on December 17, 2018, after goaltender Anthony Stolarz was placed on injured reserve.[28] Hart made his NHL debut the following day in a 3–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings and was named first star of the game.[29] He became the youngest goaltender since Carey Price to win in his NHL debut and the youngest ever in Flyers history.[30] After recording his fourth straight win as an NHL starter against the Winnipeg Jets on January 28, Hart became the first goaltender since Steve Mason to record four straight wins as a starter before the age of 21.[31] Hart was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January 2019,[32] going 6–2–1 with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. He was later named the NHL Second Star of the Week for the week of February 4 after going 3–0–0 and extending his win streak to six.[33] Hart was also one of eight goaltenders Philadelphia used during the season, setting a new record for the NHL.[34]

Hart attended the Flyers training camp prior to the 2019–20 season. He entered the preseason weighing 191 pounds, nearly 10 more than the previous season.[35] On October 9, after defeating the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4–0 in Philadelphia's home opener, Hart became the youngest goaltender in Flyers franchise history to record a shutout, doing so at the age of 21 years, 57 days.[36] After suffering a lower right abdominal muscle strain during practice on January 15, 2020, Hart missed nine consecutive games before returning on February 10 in a 4–1 win over the Florida Panthers.[37] Hart made his postseason debut on August 2 winning a round robin game against the Presidents' Trophy winning Boston Bruins 4–1. Hart made 34 saves in the win and became the youngest Flyers goaltender to win a game in the postseason.[38] On August 16 and 18, Hart posted consecutive shutouts, making him the youngest Flyers goaltender to record a shutout and the second-youngest in NHL history to consecutive back-to-back playoff shutouts.[39]

Hart struggled out of the gate in the 2020–21 season, allowing four or more goals in three consecutive starts for the first time in his career.[40] Following a 6–1 loss against the Boston Bruins on January 23, Hart was seen breaking his stick against the net before storming off the ice.[41] He later apologized, deeming the outburst "unprofessional" and done in "the heat of the moment."[41]