Carter Verhaeghe is a completely different player from his OHL days. The Florida Panthers forward is now a borderline elite goal-scorer with his own twist.

At first glance, Carter Verhaeghe doesn’t fit the profile of an elite NHL goal-scorer.

In many ways, the Florida Panthers forward doesn’t jump off the page to the naked eye. He’s not going to ‘wow’ you like other snipers do, and Verhaeghe doesn’t display jaw-dropped stickhandling like most elite shooters. But boy, can he ever shoot the puck.

“Some of the goals he scores, it just makes you laugh because he’s got no meat to him, but he can really shoot the puck like no other,” said Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour.

The 27-year-old winger has a world-class release — registering a career-high 41 goals and 71 points with Florida this season.

“It comes off his stick before you think it should, or differently than you think it should,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “Goaltenders set on the shot, and it either comes before, or there’s almost a cadence that he releases it after. And he can get it bar down real quick.”

While Verhaeghe has never come close to reaching the 40-goal plateau before, his breakout campaign was a long time coming. Since Verhaeghe’s first season with Florida in 2020-21, only Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen and Kyle Connor have scored more 5-on-5 goals than the 62 he’s tallied.

Before those three years, Verhaeghe played just 52 career NHL games. Those came during the 2019-20 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he averaged 9:22 per game in ice time as a rookie. 

Once he went across the state to Sunrise, Verhaeghe saw an increase in his usage and production, playing 17:44 minutes a night and finishing that year with 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games. 

From afar, that season would appear to be the turning point for Verhaeghe, although he doesn’t see it that way.

“Anytime you go from playing seven to 10 minutes a night to playing close to 18 minutes a night – it’s a huge difference,” Verhaeghe told The Hockey News. “But I honestly don’t think there was ever like one turning point for me.  

“I just kept on trying to evolve my game. I used to be a pass-first centerman in the OHL. Now, I’m a completely different player.”

Verhaeghe’s evolution as a player doesn’t just pertain to his uptick in goals. He brings more to the table than just scoring ability.

Early in his pro career, Verhaeghe learned in the midst of what was a zig-zagged path to the NHL that he had to add more tools to his toolbox if he wanted to make the big leagues.

Verhaeghe, a third-round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013, was traded to the New York Islanders organization ahead of the 2015-16 season. He split his time between the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the ECHL Mavericks through his first two pro seasons. 

He was then traded to the Lightning ahead of 2017-18. The following two seasons with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch is where things really started to click for him. He asserted himself as one of the AHL’s best scorers, combining for 130 points in 134 AHL games and leading the league in scoring in 2018-19. But he also evolved into an effective forechecker, which ultimately played a big part in earning a spot on the Lightning roster the following year. The 6-foot-2 forward credits Crunch coach Benoit Groulx for much of the latter.

“It was all about being hard to play against on the forecheck,” Verhaeghe said. “In Syracuse and Tampa Bay, they want you to play a certain way — like being hard on the puck — and it definitely really helped my game. Stuff like, if you can’t get your body on the defender, you use your stick to pressure. A lot of the Lightning that played in Syracuse — like (Anthony Cirelli) and (Yanni Gourde) — are really good at that, too.”

Verhaeghe ranked first in the NHL in even-strength loose puck recoveries per 20 minutes during the 2019-20 season, according to SportLogiq data cited by Mike Kelly of NHL Network.

Even as he’s evolved into a bona fide top-six forward, Verhaeghe hasn’t strayed away from what helped him punch his meal ticket to the NHL in the first place. Instead, he’s weaponized it.

“He’s a slight built man, but he’s got a heavy stick in a puck battle,” Maurice explained. “It’s unusual; I don’t think he’s throwing his hips into guys. He’s not knocking guys down, but he’s got a wiry strength that allows him to win those (battles).”

The things that help him score goals aside from his release — his anticipation, sound positioning and solid stick work — carry over to the forecheck.

“Some goal-scorers are hard to convince to do the other things — he’s willing to work hard,” Maurice told reporters after Verhaeghe potted four goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 1.

The crux of Verhaeghe’s increase in goal scoring this year (he scored 24 goals last year) is rooted in that hunger that shines best on the forecheck. He’s become a more assertive shooter this season.

“Sometimes in the past, I’d pass up on opportunities,” Verhaeghe said. “But this year, I’ve been shooting the puck more and finding different ways to score.”

Verhaeghe has generated a higher volume of 5-on-5 shots per 60 minutes during the 2022-23 season (10.74, 10th) than he did last year (8.30, 103rd), according to naturalstattrick.com.

Equally as dangerous off the rush as he is in the slot, Verhaeghe’s goal-scoring prowess is no fluke. He’s been an efficient 5-on-5 scorer for three seasons now, with his goal total continuing to rise each season.

“He can score goals from anywhere, and I think the league’s caught wind,” Montour said.

Whether the Florida Panthers sneak into the playoffs this season or head back to the drawing board for next year, Verhaeghe’s becoming a force to be reckoned with in the NHL. If anything, he is just getting started.