Hart seeking redemption at world juniors
Losing goalie in last year’s final hopes to wear Team Canada sweater once again
The 2017 world junior hockey tournament came to an agonizing end for Canada, something Carter Hart was reminded of frequently.
Canada’s starting goaltender in its 5-4 shootout loss to the United States in last year’s goldmedal game, Hart would see assistant coaches Brennan Sonne and Mitch Love wearing Team USA tracksuits as he practised with his junior team, the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips.
The two Canadian coaches had to wear the offending garments every day for a week after losing a bet on the gold-medal game to then-head coach Kevin Constantine and goalie coach Shane Clifford, who are American.
“I thought it was pretty funny, there was always stuff going on between the coaches like that,” said Hart, one of eight players likely to return to Canada’s world junior roster this December.
Hart’s not sure if there will be more wagers this year. The annual tournament will be in Buffalo, N.Y., this year with Canada and the U.S. meeting in the preliminary round Dec. 29 in an outdoor game at New Era Field, home of the NFL’s Bills.
Hart’s hoping his goalie coach has switched allegiances in the past year. And, of course, that Canada comes home with the gold.
“(Clifford) is actually going to be coming to a couple of games in Buffalo,” Hart said Tuesday.
“He’s definitely looking forward to that and I’m looking forward to having him there this year. He’s going to be coming to the game with my family.”
Added Hart with a laugh: “I hope he’s cheering for Canada and not the U.S.”
Clifford, who also works as a goaltending development coordinator for USA Hockey, admits it’s a unique situation.
“For me, it’s just one of those things where they’re going to go play and the kids are going to decide that,” Clifford said.
“At the end of the day, my relationship with Carter is my relationship with Carter. It’s just one of those things where I hope it goes to a nothing-nothing shootout and they play so long that they just give them both gold medals.
“Now, that’s not going to happen, but you can have wishful thinking.”
Hart is looking forward to playing for his country again, and Hockey Canada will likely be glad to have him back given his improved form since the 2017 world junior championship.
He led the WHL last season with 32 wins, a 1.99 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. His impressive play took the Silvertips to the Western Conference semifinals and earned him WHL goaltender of the year honours.
Hart is off to an even better start this campaign with a 1.63 GAA and a .951 save percentage. The only thing that has slowed him down is a bout of mononucleosis that has limited him to 12 games.
Although fatigue made for some low-energy practices upon his return, the 19-year-old native of Sherwood Park, Alta., says he’s better now.
“At the start there when I came back I was still feeling a little bit tired,” said Hart, who returned to action Nov. 3. “They said that’s probably going to happen for a couple of months but I’m definitely feeling a lot better and I got my weight back up so that’s really good.”
A carefully planned regime helped Hart recover quickly.
He’s watched his diet, sleep and workout routines closely.
Clifford says Hart’s presence is similar to Marc-Andre Fleury, who he coached with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005-06.
“He reminds me of Marc because he’s laughing and smiling the whole time, having a good time,” Clifford said. “When it’s game day and it’s time to go in, he’s ready to go win a game.”