New PWHL Toronto defender Megan Carter discusses the opportunity to return to her home city to begin her professional career. A new class of PWHL rookies will be joining the Toronto Sceptres as training camp begins this November. One of the players making the jump from the college ranks this season is blueliner Megan Carter. After Northeastern fell to UConn in the Hockey East conference championship game, Carter moved her attention to turning pro with the PWHL draft in Minnesota happening just a couple months later. “Hearing my name called by Tessa Bonhomme, one of my heroes, was very special,” said Carter. “It was pretty neat at the draft, I got a text from Joss (Jocelyn Larocque) and Renata (Fast) was there, they were super excited to hear my name called. It was pretty cool to see them that excited, because I was equally excited, if not more excited, to be able to play with them.” The 23-year-old defender was selected with the final pick in the second round by the Sceptres, a moment she won’t forget. Before being drafted the Oakville native played five seasons with the Northeastern University Huskies, appearing in 165 games scoring 86 points, ultimately becoming team captain during her fifth and final season. “Watching her during her time in college I've always been impressed with her,” said Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan. “When you meet her she comes across as very confident, mature, beyond her years as a player.” Carter was also named the best defender in the Hockey East in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 and was recognized as a New England Division 1 All-Star. Carter’s bread and butter as a player is her physicality with a defensive approach to the game, but over her last few seasons in college, she steadily increased her presence on the offensive side of the game. “People put her in a box and say she's just a stay at home D, but she's really got so much more in her repertoire,” said Huskies assistant coach Lindsey Berman. “I think that the Toronto fans are going to be really excited when they see that not only can she be super sound defensively, but she can move pucks up the ice and add to the offensive side as well.” Carter graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology with a 4.0 GPA in May of 2023, during which she did multiple co-ops at hospitals in the Boston area. Her academic excellence was recognized as she earned the NCAA’s Elite 90 award [https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2014/1/2/elite-90-academic-recognition-award-program.aspx] as the top student at three straight Frozen Fours. She went on to complete her master's degree in human movement and rehabilitation science this year and was asked to be a student speaker at Northeastern’s convocation ceremony at Fenway Park this past May. Through all of the accomplishments and seasons with the Huskies, one game in particular from Carter's time stands out to Berman. “The morning of our championship game at UConn last season, she came down with the worst stomach bug. She didn't even come down for breakfast,” said Berman. “She was sweating on the bus on the way there, sat by herself, and somehow got her gear on and logged a ton of minutes. We ended up losing 1-0, but she put the team on her back when she was feeling probably the lowest that she's ever felt.” Carter will play an integral part in Toronto’s defensive core this season, which is led by the two veterans. She will try and bring stability to a second pairing that was in constant flux last season with coach Troy Ryan tinkering to find a second pair that could ease the burden off Fast and Larocque. “We needed someone who could step right into our lineup, log a lot of minutes and play a different game than people are able to play in college,” said Ryan. “With the type of athlete she is and the physicality that she brings, we believe she can play a lot of minutes for us in Toronto next year.”
