Sometimes in life, dreams really do come true.
Just ask goaltender Carter George, he continues to sprint through a 12-month span that sounds much more like random childhood fantasies than actual real experiences.
Growing up, the Thunder Bay native was a huge Kings fan — and it’s for one of those reasons that makes perfect sense when you’re a kid.
“It started out with me liking Jeff Carter because he had the same name as me,” George proudly boasted, not shying away from the humorous notion one bit. “When you’re young, you just find someone you have a connection to. So, of course, I liked Carter in Philadelphia. Then, when he was traded here, the Kings won the Cups and I just jumped on the bandwagon. I fell in love with the team, and I fell in love with [Jonathan] Quick because he was always making these ridiculous saves.”
When George first strapped on the goalie pads and began playing in his local area, he didn’t get a chance to honor the 2012 Conn Smythe winner right off the bat — but that would change once he made it too OHL.
“My whole room was decked out with Kings stuff, including a big Fathead of Johnny Quick on the wall,” George continued. “In minor hockey, I was either No. 1 or 30, you never really had a choice. Then, once I got to pick my number in Owen Sound, I went with 32 because of Quick.”
After his first full year of major junior action in 2023-24, it was time for the NHL Draft in Las Vegas last June. And George claims he tried not to overthink the situation too much, striking a balance between what his head vs. his heart may have been hoping for.
“I had spoken with [Kings amateur scout] Bryan Denney, and he told me, ‘We don’t have a second-round pick, but we never know what will end up happening on Draft day.’ So, I ended up doing an interview with them, but I didn’t really think anything of it. Then, when I saw them trade back in the first round [from No. 21 to 26] and add a second-round pick, I started thinking it was a possibility,” said George.
With the second round of the Draft not coming until the next day, we’re still not quite sure how restless he was that night when trying to fall asleep — partially because George continues to play it off rather cool.
“I knew Nashville had two picks ahead of LA, and I kind of thought that might be a possibility,” he explained. “I really wasn’t too sure what to expect; you never really know if you’re going to fall in the Draft. You could go early; you could go later. I was just kind of sitting there like, ‘I’ll be happy wherever I go.’ Then, sure enough, when the pick came around and I heard my name, it was just that surreal feeling. Fortunately, I was taken by the team that I really wanted to go to, so it’s kind of all worked out.”
A quick trip to Los Angeles for Development Camp followed the next week, and then in late July George signed his entry level contract with the Kings. To show how highly the Kings thought of their newly acquired goaltending prospect, he was the first player from their 2024 Draft class to sign an ELC, and it happened about a month after being selected. Not too shabby.
It was back to LA in September, where he tended goal for the Kings at the Rookie Faceoff event and participated in Rookie Camp before packing up and returning to Owen Sound for the real start of his 2024-25 season.
Coming into his second full year of OHL action, George would be backstopping a rebuilding Attack team; in other words, a situation that didn’t necessarily come with many expectations. That all changed a few months later when he served as Team Canada’s No. 1 goalie at the World Junior Championship — where he opened hockey’s best tournament with a pair of shutouts.
Partially fueled by that success, he never really looked back. His second-half performance in Owen Sound was off the charts, as he essentially put the team on his back and surprisingly carried them into the OHL playoffs. Following their recent exit in the first round, George now finds himself on the potential brink of making his AHL debut in a few days. Has he even had time to catch his breath?
“What, two days off, I couldn’t catch my breath in that?” quipped the young netminder.
If ‘can’t stop, won’t stop’ is the theory he’s currently subscribing too, George is certainly living the motto. His OHL team was eliminated from the playoffs last Thursday. He then arrived in LA on Sunday and 24 hours later he was sitting inside Crypto.com Arena attending his first ever Kings game in person.
“It’s been a lot this year, but I just try to take it day by day and step by step because I’m enjoying the process and the journey of it all,” he said, while perhaps trying to sandwich in as many hockey cliches as possible [ed note: it was something George had a good chuckle about when it was pointed out to him]. “Seriously, it was always my childhood dream to go to that arena and watch a Kings game, so it was pretty cool. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the win though.”
He’ll need to talk to the PR staff and come out to another game soon. The way the Kings have been playing on home ice this season, getting him to see a win there shouldn’t be too tall of a task. He just can’t go this Thursday vs. the Ducks, because he’ll be on a plane to San Jose. With the Reign and Barracuda playing a back-to-back set on Friday and Saturday, George is currently projected to make his AHL debut in one of those games. And he’ll be doing it wearing what jersey number?
“I feel like I probably shouldn’t be wearing No. 32 here,” he said, circling back to the earlier thoughts on Quick. “So, I went with No. 70. I liked how [Joonas] Korpisalo looked in it when he was here, and I liked how good it looked on Braden Holtby. So I figured that’d be a good number because every other number seems like it was taken.”
Wait… what about 77, like Carter used to wear in LA?
“I never really thought of that,” he said with a slow pause, almost as if he was reflecting on the lost opportunity. “I did look into 72, though, because I liked [Sergei] Bobrovsky, but Bailey the mascot has 72. I had to go a third option at that point, but I never figured picking a number would be so hard.”
After a few good-natured laughs about the entire process, it was time to circle back to what still lies ahead for Georgie — that’s the nickname he goes by. No, his teammates don’t call him Carts.
“We’ll see how it goes,” he said, in reference to his potential Reign debut. “For me, it’s just kind of getting up here, getting the pro experience, getting a taste of it. I think it’s a great opportunity, and I’m just trying to soak it all in and take as much in as I can.”
There’s also one guy he’s thankful to not be facing again any time soon — fellow Kings prospect Jared Woolley, who plays for London (the team that eliminated Owen Sound last week). The 6-foot-6 defenseman had been logging heavy minutes this season, after being selected by LA in the sixth round last June.
“I was a bit ticked off because he scored two goals on me in that [playoff] series, and I wasn’t too happy about it afterward,” George had to first get off his chest before putting on his scouting hat. “He’s a great player and he fought some tough guys this year, showing that tough presence he brings. He’s tough to play against and all of our forwards were pretty pissed off when they had to match up against him. I think he has a lot of potential, and he works at it. He’s a super special kid and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do. We’ve been texting back and forth a lot, so I’m really happy to see him succeed the way he has this year and was really happy to see him sign a contract.”
Well, they can reconnect at Dev Camp. For now, it will be another AHL practice or two for George this week, and then he could be playing in an important game for Ontario. With less than two weeks to go in the regular season, the Reign are still trying to lock down first or second place in the Pacific Division.
“I’ll just kind of try to go out and play well, have fun,” he remarked at one point.
Why not, right? Thus far, he’s just living the dream.
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