Carter Hart

Carter Hart grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, collecting hockey magazines and storing them at his parents' house — among them, issues featuring a young Carey Price in his first NHL season. Hart was nine years old when Price debuted in the league, and by the time Hart was twelve, he was telling his father they had to arrive early to games so he could watch Price warm up. He wore a Price jersey that day.

"He was my idol and I watched everything he did," Hart told InGoal Goalie Day: Reflecting on Carey Price’s Legacy. "There was just something about his game, the way he made it look so effortless and smooth."

That admiration shaped how Hart thought about the position. He followed Price's progression through the Western Hockey League, won the CHL Goalie of the Year award, earned a World Junior gold medal, and entered the NHL himself as a 20-year-old — a timeline that mirrored his idol's. But the admiration occasionally created complications. Hart recalled conversations with his mental coach, John Stevenson, in which he had to remind himself not to get consumed by the comparison. "I remember talking with him like 'hey you're not Carey Price, you're Carter Hart. Just be the best Carter Hart you can be,'" Hart said Goalie Day: Reflecting on Carey Price’s Legacy.

The first time Hart actually faced Price in an NHL game, the weight of the moment caught up with him. Warming up beside Price at the red line, Price tapped him on the pad and wished him luck. "And then I got lit up," Hart recalled. "I let in three goals in like eight shots, and I just remember looking down and seeing Carey Price at the other end and I couldn't believe it. I got so caught up in the fact that I was playing against my childhood idol that I wasn't focused on stopping the puck" Goalie Day: Reflecting on Carey Price’s Legacy.

A later meeting produced a different memory. After Hart and the Flyers eliminated Price and the Canadiens in the 2020 playoff bubble, Price asked to speak with him after the game. Hart crossed to the opposing side of the hallway, and Price gave him a stick he had used in the game, signed it, and the two talked about the series and about life. Hart called it one of his best moments ever Goalie Day: Reflecting on Carey Price’s Legacy.

InGoal Magazine has covered Carter Hart in one InGoal article.

Hart was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, 48th overall, of the 2016 NHL Draft. Over 243 career NHL games, he has posted 105 wins, 96 losses, 32 overtime losses, a career goals-against average of 2.94, a save percentage of .905, and 6 shutouts. He is now 27 years old and plays for the Vegas Golden Knights, wearing number 79. Through 16 games of the 2025-26 season, he carries a record of 9-3-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average.