WHL Draft Day Steals: Carter Hart

Looking back at Jake DeBrusk, who was drafted by the Everett Silvertips in the eighth round.

Welcome to this edition of WHL Draft Day Steals. In this recurring column, we look at some of the best steals in the history of the WHL Draft. This week's steal is Carter Hart, who was drafted by the Everett Silvertips 158th overall in 2013. 

Drafting goaltenders at the WHL level is never easy, but Everett hit a home run when they selected Hart in the eighth round back in 2013. Listed at 5'8" and 135 pounds, the Sherwood Park Flyers U15 AAA goaltender posted an 11-5-4 record and helped his team win the Alberta Cup before being drafted. While he spent most of the 2013-14 season in the AMMHL, where he was named Goaltender of the Year and league MVP, he earned a call-up to the WHL, going 0-1-1 in two starts. 

Hart made the jump to the WHL full-time in 2014-15, where he became a star for the Silvertips. He was named the WHL's Goaltender of the Year for three straight seasons and won CHL Goaltender of the Year in 2016 and 2018. During the 2017-18 season, he also became the tenth Goaltender since 1967 to win WHL MVP, joining such names as Mike Vernon, Cam Ward, and Darcy Kuemper.

A second-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2016, Hart has had an extraordinary career. He has won a medal for Canada at the World Juniors and World Championship while posting 93 wins at the NHL level. One of the best players to come out of the WHL in the last decade, he is currently one of the favourites to represent Canada at the next Olympics.