Carter Hart has done all the work. Now all he can do is wait.
The Everett Silvertips star goaltender is expected to hear his name called relatively early in this weekend’s NHL Draft in Buffalo. While it’s possible he could slip into the back end of Friday’s first round, most projections have him going early in the second round on Saturday.
“I’m definitely excited for this week,” Hart said Monday.
The first round will be televised on NBC Sports Network beginning at 4 p.m. Friday. The second through seventh rounds will be televised on NHL Network beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday.
Hart is the No. 2-ranked North American goalie available according to NHL Central Scouting, trailing only Evan Fitzpatrick of the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The draft concludes what is essentially a year-long tryout for 17- and 18-year-old draft hopefuls. In addition to being the Tips’ No. 1 goalie, Hart participated in several high-profile Hockey Canada events, including the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, the CHL Canada-Russia Series, and the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game held in Vancouver in January. Hart also competed at the NHL Draft Combine held last month in Buffalo. He spoke with 23 different teams at the combine in what is essentially the final opportunity to impress NHL organizations prior to the draft.
“I thought I did well in the tests and had some good interviews and meetings,” he said of the combine. “It was a lot of the same questions. Some had different twists on things, but overall it wasn’t bad at all. I just went in there and tried to be myself and I thought it went pretty well.”
That the Tips’ top net-minder generated so much interest and is commanding so much attention isn’t a surprise to Everett goal-tending coach Shane Clifford.
“Yeah, I expected it just because he’s very good technically, and when you get around him and you get to know him as a person, you know this is what he’s about,” Clifford said. “In his mind he’s going to go there, he’s going to get drafted, he’s going to have two good years (in Everett), he’s going to play in the (American Hockey League), he’s going to do well there and his goal is the National Hockey League.”
The accolades poured in for Hart all season long. He was named the WHL Goaltender of the week four times, CHL Goaltender of the Week in December and the WHL Goaltender of the Month in November. He won the WHL and CHL Goaltender of the Year awards following the conclusion of the season.
Hart could become the highest-drafted Silvertips goalie in team history. Leland Irving currently holds that distinction after he went No. 26 overall to Calgary in 2006.
Hart’s family, along with Clifford and billet Parker Fowlds, will join the young goalie for the weekend activities.
“I’m excited to share the day with all of them,” Hart said. “They’re the reason that I’ve gotten this far, and without them I wouldn’t be where I am. I love them to death and I’m very grateful that they support me as much as they do.”
Though Hart is a lock to be drafted, it likely will be some time before Everett fans see him playing in an NHL game. Goalies generally take the longest to develop of all hockey players.
However, Clifford suggests Hart might be on a faster track than most. It’s possible, he said, that Hart could follow in the footsteps of elite goaltenders such as Matt Murray, the 22-year-old Ontario native who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a victory in the Stanley Cup Finals earlier this month.
“If you go by what he’s done, I think he could play in his early 20s,” Clifford said. “We’ve really never seen the kid fail. He’s had a few bad games like every goalie does, but when it comes to big games and we needed big saves, he’s been nails for us.”
Hart is not the only Silvertip listed by NHL Central Scouting. Patrick Bajkov, a 6-foot, 175-pound right winger from Nanaimo, British Columbia, checks in at No. 113 among North American skaters and is projected in some mock drafts as a sixth- or seventh-round pick.
The second-line forward tallied 18 goals and 28 assists for the Silvertips during the regular season and added two goals and two assists in the postseason.
For the latest Silvertips news, follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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