NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers Carter Casey stretches out ahead of a 5-2 win Tuesday at Co-op Place against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Brick by brick, Carter Casey is starting to build confidence with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The 17-year-old net minder recorded his first WHL win in his first start, a 7-1 win at Co-op Place over the Calgary Hitmen on Oct. 4.
He made 31 saves, stopping multiple breakaways and out-numbered chances to preserve the win.
“It was awesome to get the first start,” Casey said. “It was a super fortunate game I was put into, we played awesome top to bottom. Offence was great, defence is great and we got the win. So it was good to get the first win out of the way, two points is huge, especially against the divisional team.”
He made his first appearance in the WHL a week prior, stopping seven of 10 shots in relief in a 6-3 loss at Swift Current to the Broncos on Sept. 26. It wasn’t the desired game result but he says it allowed him to get some early motivation and a look at the league.
“Just knowing this league is hard, but that I’m fully able to play in this league, it was good and it helped me settle in a little bit,’ Casey said. “But every night you have to prepare a little bit differently. So it was good to know I played a little and got a bit of experience before.”
Getting into a game comes with early saves and the pre-game work. Casey throws a ball around a lot before the game to sharpen his hand-eye while also staying mentally ready. He doesn’t have specific pre-game meals but follows a lot of structure in getting prepared for each appearance, as well as each period within the game.
“Just staying mentally in it, talking with myself going over things that I want to make sure I’m focused on to keep me in the game,” Casey said. “Just little things that keep me distracted from how the game’s going, whether we’re up big, down big, whatever it is. But just talking with the guys, going over the last period and just relaxing my body so I’m ready to go for the second.”
Casey signed with the Tigers in the offseason, one of seven U.S. players to put pen to paper with the WHL club. He joined from a legacy run through the USHL playoffs with the Waterloo Black Hawks, backstopping them to the league final after his high school season wrapped up.
Getting his first look at the Grand Rapids, Min. product, head coach Willie Desjardins says Casey more than proved he’s a good goaltender who can get stops in the WHL.
“When you come in, you have to prove it in another league, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the other one,” Desjardins said. “So it was good for him to come in and play that way. But he just was so solid, he made some good saves. So it was great to see.”
He broke camp alongside Jordan Switzer, who has started all but one of the Tigers’ games this season, including Friday night at Calgary. Casey also beat out Cruz Chase for the second spot, with the latter traded to the Portland Winterhawks on Sept. 22.
From his first appearance at camp in August to now, Casey says he’s feeling more and more comfortable and he’s looking forward to adding another layer of confidence with his next start.
“We’ve built a good group so far, it’s just every day where we’re kind of in the thick of the regular season here,” Casey said. “We have a big month coming up, a lot of games, I’m just excited to be playing more and more games.
“Obviously games are fun, that’s what we play for. So since August, I’ve been more comfortable here and getting more settled in.”