Connor Carrick was the surprise of Washington Capitals training camp in 2013, making the club’s roster as a teenager. Not only was he just 19, but he had been selected in the fifth round of the previous year’s draft, not the usual story of a prospect, especially a defenseman, starting their professional career so early.
Earlier in that same draft, the Capitals selected Tom Wilson in the first round, and Wilson arrived at MedStar Capitals Iceplex already with three NHL playoff games under his belt. Wilson’s candidacy to make the Caps that fall was a shoo-in, and his Plymouth Whalers teammate, Carrick, cemented his own spot with a huge hit that he admitted was completely accidental.
Carrick told the story to Jeff Marek, who relayed it on the Hockey Lifers Podcast.
“One more thing on Tom Wilson before I leave you today. I referenced in the piece the name Connor Carrick, who is still playing pro hockey in Europe,” Marek said. “I was texting with him on Sunday morning about Tom. Now he played, of course, in the Capitals organization with Tom, Plymouth Whalers in the OHL with Tom. I asked him for a good Tom Wilson story, so here’s what he sent me.”
Carrick wrote to Marek:
I reverse hit him in training camp, thinking he was Stanislav Galiev. They both had white Easton Mako sticks. [Tom] wasn’t happy. Made it very clear that moving forward in training camp, our truce, because we were going to be teammates in Plymouth, was over. Mike Haviland told me that was the moment Caps management decided to keep me at 19 in pro hockey.
At the time, Mike Haviland was the head coach of the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where Carrick would eventually play 13 games that fall. Haviland, along with then-Capitals head coach Adam Oates, assistant coach Calle Johansson, and general manager George McPhee, decided to start Carrick’s pro hockey journey early, despite him still having another year of junior eligibility.
“I really like what I see,” Johansson said then. “He plays like a man, not a kid. Obviously, he’s a young guy, so he needs a little bit of teaching, but you can tell he’s got it all. He has what it takes to be a player. I’m impressed. I can’t tell you where he’s going, but if he gets the right teaching, he’ll be a top-four defenseman in this league.”
While Carrick didn’t necessarily reach those heights, he did carve out a successful pro career that continues today. In his rookie campaign with the Capitals, Carrick got into 34 games and recorded 6 points (1g, 5a). In comparison, Wilson played in all 82 games for the Capitals that year, notching 10 points (3g, 7a).
Carrick told RMNB back then that he was aware of the large shadow Wilson cast over him, both literally and figuratively, but he was not concerned about it. And, if you believe him, that large shadow only helped him earn his NHL debut far sooner than any other defenseman in the 2012 draft class.
“My goal is never to outshine Tom Wilson; my goal is to play in the NHL for the Washington Capitals,” Carrick said then. “I know he was a first-round pick. That doesn’t bother me. That doesn’t set up any competition. I’m fine with where he’s at, and part of the reason for that is I know I’m getting better. I know it because I can feel it, I know it because I’ve been told it.”
During 12 pro seasons in North America, Carrick played 242 NHL games for five different teams, recording 50 points (13g, 37a), and suited up for 413 AHL games across 8 different clubs, posting 234 points (63g, 171a) in the minors.
The 31-year-old rearguard is currently playing his first season abroad, starring for Switzerland’s HC Lugano. He has 23 points (10g, 13a) in 49 games, which leads all of the team’s defensemen.
