Carter George – Stopping Pucks, Scoring Goals & Getting the National Recognition He’s Earned

If your social media algorithm is anything like mine and filled with hockey highlights, you saw a Carter George goalie goal all over Twitter and Instagram a couple of weeks back. Garnering international attention across all platforms, George’s ability to play the puck was put on full display, fulfilling the prophecy his OHL General Manager set out over the summer.

Now a goal-stopper and goalscorer, George finally feels like he’s settled into life back in the OHL.

Having achieved the dream being drafted into the NHL over the summer, then partaking in the Kings development camp, rookie showcase, training camp and even a pair of preseason games, George was living in a state of euphoria. When the Kings moved back in the first round from the 21st pick to the 26th pick in this past summer’s draft, they did so to accumulate more draft capital. By moving back five places, the Kings acquired a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick, helping fill the vacancies of not having their own second or third round pick due to previous trades. With the acquisition of that second-round pick, the Kings selected George, from the Owen Sound Attack, with the 57th overall selection.

At 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, George has dazzled in his showings since joining the Kings organization. With his play across all of the various Kings events he took part in, George earned himself playing time in the Kings’ first preseason game of the season in Utah. George would stop six of the seven shots faced in the third period and overtime. It was the highest of high’s George could’ve imagined at the time, followed perhaps only by playing the third period in Vegas two nights later, this time shutting the door in the third period to secure a win on the road, stopping 11 of the 12 shots he faced.

The Kings ultimately loaned George back later that week. When George returned to Owen Sound, admittedly, he struggled to re-find his game after the inevitable demotion.

“Obviously, there’s big adjustment that had to be made and it definitely took me a while to figure it out,” he admitted. “Now that I’ve kind of got my feet underneath me, I’m starting to run with it and feel more confident in my game. There’s a big difference between the NHL and OHL, just in breakdowns and structure, so, it was definitely a different jump that I haven’t done before in my life. It was a big learning experience for me and something that’ll definitely keep with me going into next year and the future. I think for me, the biggest thing was just kind of sticking with it and keep working hard, because I knew I’d get back to my old self eventually.”

Having also spoken to Owen Sound General Manager Dale DeGray about George’s return to Owen Sound, the former NHL’er was never concerned about George and pointed to many reasons outside of the goalie’s hands that led to his slow start.

Most were given due to circumstances outside of George’s performance.

“Well, first off, I’ll tell you that I believe we’re the youngest team in the league and I have three new coaches to the league,” DeGray said. “We’re learning, we’re playing the right way and we’re doing all this on the fly, so I’m good with that. Regarding Carter, I think at the start of the year he might not have been his expected Carter self. I’ve actually had a conversation with him about that and that’s all his own doing. I say that because Carter has sort of raised the bar so high on expectations that just a good game is not really good enough for him anymore. For most goalies it is but for Carter’s expectations, I don’t think he was where he wanted to be, but in the last probably 5-8 games, he’s been lights out. He’s been the Carter George that we know and it’s a good thing because he’s pushing himself to on Team Canada’s World Junior Championship team. I hope he gets to achieve that, because he’s really putting his best foot forward on the youngest team in the league. He’s been that guy.”

Playing in front of a undermanned and young roster, George rattled off two or less goals against in four of five games at the time of the interview, stopping 179 of 189 shots, equaling a .947 save percentage. It was during that stretch that George called his own number and scored his goalie goal to not only solidify a win, but also made history.

Holding a multi-goal lead the time, George caught a Peterborough Petes dump in attempt, dropped the puck, quickly gathered and rifled the puck 200 feet down the ice into the empty net. With the goal, George became just the 11th goalie in OHL history to score a goal.

“It was amazing,” George said of scoring a gaol. “It happened so quick and it felt so surreal. It was just perfect situation and perfect scenario. We were up by two goals, I had time to get the shot off, and I was able to look up and find a lane. I hit the mark. It was pretty cool to finally get one of those. I’ve been trying a long time, and to finally get it, it felt really cool.”

Adding to the story, George did so against his teammate’s advice too.

“It’s actually funny. The defenseman in front of me when I took the shot was Elliot Arnett. He lives with me and he was yelling at me to cover the puck when I started to play it. When I when I shot it down and scored, I told him ‘you got to shut your mouth.’”

Probably for the best he didn’t listen.

Not surprised in the least was DeGray, who made the bold prediction and said over the summer on the All The Kings Men podcast he thought George would score a goalie goal.

“He’s such a good puck handler, I really felt that it was just a matter of time,” he said. “It really was. I don’t want you to hold me to it again but don’t be shocked if he gets another one at some point because he really is that good at controlling the puck when he has it, plus, he’s willing to take a little risk.”

When asked about where his puck playing skills come from, surprisingly it wasn’t a situation where George’s pre-goaltending days carried over into a life of stopping the puck, but rather a commitment and want at a young age to have that extra tool in his bag.

“It’s lots of hard work and dedication,” he said. “I was never a player. I was pretty much a goalie since day one when I was younger. At seven or eight years old my coach taught me to play the puck and just mess around with it and that’s kind of how I learned that I just would get better from there. I was also fortunate enough that I had that same coach for four or five years in a row. So, he just kept believing me and knew I could play the puck. He gave me the confidence at a young age to play it, and from there, I just kind of built off it and worked hard at getting better at it.”

No longer the seven or eight-year-old kid, the dedication to staying ready and putting in the extra time into the details of the game as a puck-mover and sometimes shooter is still there. Working on his game with puck every time he steps on the ice, George knows how valuable his unique skillset can be if he stays sharp and ready.

“It takes a lot of practice, every practice I’m fooling around with the puck, shooting pucks, just working on things line handling the puck,” George said. “In the offseason, I shoot pucks and just kind of work on my shot. So, if I do get the chance that I’m able to capitalize on it and after practices when no one’s on ice, I’ll attempt a couple of real game scenarios like popping out from behind the net and shooting them down the ice. I do that so I know when the time comes, I’m able to able to score.”

It’s no secret that the Kings goalies of the past haven’t necessarily been the best at playing the puck outside of the crease. With the addition of George, a goalie as sure-handed as they get, DeGray explained the way he has seen his team evolve in the defensive zone with an extra puck-handler.

“I think almost all defenseman would welcome a puck a moving goaltender, just because he begins and becomes an extension of them as a unit,” he explained. “With [Carter], you don’t have to go back to the goal line. You can go to the hash marks, you can go to the top of the circles if he’s reading the play properly, which he’s very good at, and if the other team is changing, he can grab the puck and you better be aware because he can send it to the far blue line and catch the other team napping. That’s what he does sometimes. Not to mention when you’re killing a penalty, if he goes out to get it, he has a great presence of self-awareness when guys are coming from on one side and not another. He can elude them with a dip of the shoulder and then fire it around the boards, or up the middle and get the icing when you’re killing a penalty. He gets the game that way.”

When it comes to goaltending, undoubtedly stopping the puck is the most important trait a goalie has to have but being able to play the puck at the elite level George can, can definitely separate you from the pack.

One other area that George was hoping he could separate himself from the rest of his Canadian goalie counterparts was the by making the all-important 2025 Team Canada World Junior Championships roster. At the time of the interview, no announcement had been made as to who would be representing the red, black and white maple leaf at the annual under-20 showcase, but George knew exactly what it would mean to him to get that call.

“To make the World Juniors roster for Canada would mean the world to me, the World Juniors is something I’ve watched since I was five, ever since I started watching hockey, I’d watch it every Christmas, it was kind of our family thing, we’d always watch World Juniors,” he said. “To be able to make the team, it would just be a dream come true to be on that team and represent the country and the maple leaf crest.”

Since our conversation, George has been named to Team Canada’s preliminary 2025 World Junior roster. George is one of four goaltenders on the roster with one cut expected to be made between now and December 26th, the beginning of the tournament. Team Canada’s selection camp will take play in Ottawa from December 10-13 with the World Juniors taking place less than two weeks later in Ottawa and Ontario.