Carter Hart received the call of a lifetime on Monday.
The former Silvertips goaltender was called up to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, culminating a meteoric rise that took root in Everett.
Hart’s callup coincides with Philadelphia backup netminder Anthony Stolarz landing on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He’s expected to miss 2-4 weeks, according to the Flyers.
Hart, 20, told Philadelphia media that he was attending the team Christmas party for the American Hockey League Lehigh Valley Phantoms when he recieved a call from his head coach, Scott Gordon, that he was being called up.
Gordon also got a call himself, as he was named the Flyers’ interim head coach after Dave Hakstol was fired Monday, so goaltender and coach are arriving in Philadelphia together.
Hart is 9-5-2 with a 3.05 goals against average and a .901 save percentage for the Phantoms this year. He’s been particularly stingy lately, posting a 1.82 goals allowed average and a .939 save percentage in his last four starts, including a shutout against Hershey.
Hart joins a Flyers team searching for answers in net. The Flyers have used five different goaltenders — Brian Elliott, Calvin Pickard, Stolarz, Alex Lyon and Michal Neuvirth — and own the National Hockey League’s worst team save percentage at .874. Philadelphia sits in the basement of the Eastern Conference standings with just 28 points.
The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native was one of the most decorated goaltenders in the Canadian Hockey League over his four-year career in Everett (2014-2018). Hart won the Del Wilson Trophy (WHL goaltender of the year) in three consecutive seasons and is the only goaltender to win the CHL goaltender of the year twice (2015-2016 and 2017-2018). Hart was selected in the second round (No. 48 overall) by the Flyers and was the first goaltender selected.
Hart could make his debut in Philadelphia against the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday as the Flyers’ only other active goaltender, Neuvirth, is on paternity leave.
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