Two weeks after Draft, Silvertips’ Bear still can’t believe it

When the Detroit Red Wings selected Carter Bear with the 13th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles on June 27, the Everett Silvertips forward was speechless.

Nearly two weeks later, after getting a chance to check out Detroit’s facility, Bear still has not found the words to describe the feeling. More than hearing his name called, or putting on the iconic winged wheel jersey for the first time, one moment in particular stands out for the 18-year-old, who led the Silvertips in scoring this past season (82 points in 56 games) and was named Team MVP.

“I think it was just seeing my parents’ faces,” Bear told The Herald over the phone on Tuesday. “I think that’s just gonna stick out for a long time in our lifetime, obviously a lifetime memory for all of our family here. It’s unbelievable, like hard to explain that. I can’t really tell you how I felt that night.”

For Bear and his parents, Conrad and Misty, there was an overwhelming sense of pride, gratitude and even some shock. Bear said he had “no clue” that he was on Detroit’s radar, so he was legitimately surprised to hear his name called at No. 13.

His interactions with the Red Wings at the draft combine weren’t out of the ordinary, and even though he was never tipped off that they had interest in selecting him, the allure of potentially joining the Original Six franchise remained in the back of his mind.

“I think, during the draft process, it never really stuck up (in) my mind, it was just like, ‘What if?’” Bear said. “‘What if’ kind of thing, mindset, you know? So honestly, when they called my name I was pretty surprised, and I’m pretty grateful at first, too.”

Bear estimates 16-17 family members made the trip out to Los Angeles with him. They arrived a day before the first round kicked off and spent some time walking around the area, taking in the sights and keeping things relaxed as Bear tried to stay calm.

Silvertips general manager Mike Fraser called him that afternoon to wish him luck.

“I just told him not to be nervous and just enjoy the day and the experience with his friends and family,” Fraser told The Herald on June 26, the day before the draft. “He’s earned that, and I think he’s a pretty level-headed kid, so I think he’ll be fine.”

A lot has changed since the last time Bear was a draft prospect, when the Silvertips selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. Over the next four years, Bear turned himself into an NHL lottery pick.

Fraser, who was Director of Player Personnel at the time, partially attributed Bear’s slip under the radar to the state of the league coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, when staffs were in flux due to layoffs and the sample size of games scouts had to work with was smaller than usual.

Add that to the typical crapshoot that comes with evaluating and projecting 14-15-year-olds, and it makes a little more sense why Bear slipped through the cracks. Fraser credits the team’s Manitoba scout, Doug Sinclair, for determining Bear, who is from West St. Paul, MB, was a worthy fit for the Silvertips’ draft board.

“I think there is a lot of guys around the league (that) still joke with each other sometimes on that December draft we had that year, which is when we picked Carter, because some teams were a little more prepared than others,” Fraser said. “Just because of the situation … That next year, when he was coming in as a 16-year-old and trying to make our team, he had taken such a jump in his game, especially in his skating.”

Meanwhile, Bear believes his game hasn’t changed all that much, but that he started to focus on the “dirty areas,” winning puck battles and focusing on the small details. It turned him into a more complete player and a highly rated prospect.

Fraser said he spoke to nearly every NHL team about Bear, but he didn’t feel like he got a sense of which teams had the most interest, citing that organizations may operate in different ways when researching prospects.

Ultimately, it was Detroit. After enjoying the rest of the night with his family, Bear was off to the Motor City the next day to meet members of the front office and gear up for the Red Wings Development Camp from June 30-July 3.

Checking out the facility and meeting members of the hockey operations staff, Bear was blown away by the organization’s rich history.

“It’s pretty cool walking around there and seeing the guys that came out of the Detroit (organization),” Bear said. “All the staff that won a Stanley Cup with them in those 2000-years (2002 and 2008). It’s pretty special and (I’m) definitely going to learn from them through the years.”

Despite lacerating his Achilles in March, Bear recovered enough to participate in on-ice activities during development camp. He said his recovery is “going really well,” and he credited Detroit’s “unbelievable” training staff for helping him along the way as he builds back up to full strength.

However, Bear’s biggest takeaway from the camp was learning how to be a professional player and how to take care of yourself, which is a lesson Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan gave to the prospects when he stopped by the camp.

Before Bear can put those lessons into practice, he will return to Everett this season looking to finish what he wasn’t able to in April. He said it was “always the plan,” to be back with the Silvertips this year, and he’s sticking to it.

Everett won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for having the best regular-season record, but lost in seven games to the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL Western Conference semifinals. Bear had to watch from the stands due to his injury, which occurred in Portland on March 9.

Now with his NHL future officially laid out in front of him, Bear is focused on the present. He welcomes the high expectations, which are clear within the organization.

“We’re going to be pretty good again, and don’t want last year to happen again,” Bear said. “We want to change out this season, and change the history and become a championship (team), because Everett deserves it. The fans deserve it, and the organization and staff deserve it, for sure, so it’s definitely a big goal.”