EVERETT — The NHL Central Scouting North American rankings are divided between goaltenders and skaters.
Yet Everett Silvertips goaltending coach Shane Clifford considers skating ability to be one of the best attributes of the top-ranked North American goaltender on the list.
That goalie, of course, is 17-year-old Tips netminder Carter Hart, who occupied the No. 1 spot among North American goalies when the NHL announced its midseason rankings Tuesday.
“A key factor is that he’s a great skater as a goalie,” Clifford said Tuesday. “He’s as mobile down as he is up, and he’s a good athlete, too.”
The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native is the first Silvertips goaltender to be ranked No. 1 among North American goaltenders. Former Tip goalie Leland Irving was ranked No. 2 a decade ago behind Jonathan Bernier and was eventually selected by the Calgary Flames in the first round of the 2006 NHL draft at No. 26 overall.
Former Everett defenseman and current Columbus Blue Jacket Ryan Murray was No. 2 among North American skaters in the 2012 draft.
Clifford and Hart each acknowledged the role the Silvertips team plays in showcasing Hart’s abilities. His teammates consistently use their bodies and sticks to prevent pucks from getting through to the net. As a result the Tips average a league-low 26.21 shots faced per game.
Hart downplayed the honor as is his custom.
“It’s recognition of how the team is doing to be honest — the team is having a lot of success,” Hart said. “The draft isn’t for a while yet. It’s early in the year and we have a lot of hockey left.”
Hart was one of three WHL goalies ranked in the top 10. He is joined by Moose Jaw’s Zach Sawchenko (No. 3) and Tri-City’s Evan Sarthou (No. 9).
Both Hart and Sawchenko are playing in next week’s CHL Top Prospects Game in Vancouver, B.C. It’s yet another honor in a season full of them for Hart, who played in the CHL Canada-Russia Series, and has been named WHL Goaltender of the Week three times, CHL Goaltender of the Week once and the WHL Goaltender of the Month once.
“I guess it’s cool (to be recognized), but you’ve got to live in the present moment,” Hart said. “You can’t live in the past — you have to live in the present.”
Clifford, who runs a goaltending academy in Pittsburgh, flies to Everett to work with Hart for several days each month.
“He’s been unreal ever since he’s been a Silvertip,” Clifford said. “Since Day One he and I just click. He comes out and spends time with me in the summer, and I work with him all winter with the Tips. He’s just special.”
A baseball outfielder in his youth before giving it up to focus on hockey, Hart has developed the technical skill to match his athleticism.
In addition to Clifford, Hart has also worked with former WHL goaltender and current Edmonton Oilers goaltending coach Dustin Schwartz, and last summer attended Hockey Canada’s 10th annual Program of Excellence goaltending camp, which took place June 12-14 in Toronto, Ontario.
At tad undersized when he fell to the Tips in the eighth round of the 2013 bantam draft, the extra work with goaltending coaches made Hart already ‘technically sound’ when debuted with Everett for two games during the 2013-14 season, Clifford said.
“He was only 5-6 and I told (Everett head coach) Kevin (Constantine), ‘that kid could be really good if he grows,’” Clifford said. “Then he comes back and he’s 5-10 and that was it.”
Hart is now a shade under 6-foot-1. That’s not unusually big for a goalie, but not too small, either.
He burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old last season with a shutout in the season opener at Seattle and eventually supplanted fan favorite Austin Lotz as the starter by the end of the season.
Hart finished his rookie campaign 18-5-2-3 with a league-leading 2.29 goals-against average, while his .915 save percentage was tied for the top spot. This year has been a continuation of the same as Hart leads the league in wins (26), shutouts (6), GAA (1.92) and is second in save percentage (.927).
His sophomore performance hasn’t shocked Clifford.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but yeah I did (expect it) — look at what he did for us as a 16-year-old,” Clifford said. “Who does that?”
Apparently just a goalie who is pretty good on skates.
Notes
Silvertip forward Patrick Bajkov is ranked No. 71 among North American skaters in the list released Tuesday. Bajkov has 10 goals and 19 assists to go along with a plus-12 rating this season. … The U.S. Division-leading Tips (27-12-2-2, 58 points) play at Kamloops (22-15-4-3, 51 points) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Everett beat the Blazers 4-3 in overtime with Noah Juulsen netting the game-winner on Jan. 2. Collin Shirley (27 goals, 24 assists), Matt Needham (14 goals, 28 assists), Gage Quinney (15 goals, 24 assists), Deven Sideroff (13 goals, 22 assists) and Matt Revel (13 goals, 20 assists) are the top performers for Kamloops. … Everett forward/defenseman Mackenzie Dwyer will have an MRI Wednesday and will not travel on the road trip after suffering a knee injury during Monday’s matinee victory over Saskatoon.
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