Sceptres' Megan Carter just getting started
Sitting out the first month and a half of your first year in professional sports is nobody’s idea of a good situation. But there is something to be said about a delayed start when it means you get to share that first month and a half pretty much uninterrupted with one of the best players in your sport. That was the good and the bad of Megan Carter’s first six weeks in the PHWL, delayed because of a lower body injury but tied at the hip for that time with reigning league MVP Natalie Spooner, herself requiring an extended rehab before she could get back in action. Carter and Spooner would hit the ice regularly soon after the Sceptres regularly scheduled practice ended. They would be accompanied by one of Troy Ryan’s assistant coaches – either Rachel Flanagan or Jim Midgley — and practise their skills to the limit their respective injuries would allow. Carter, the Toronto Sceptres’ second round pick, 12th overall out of Northeastern where she was a two-time Hockey East defender of the year, obviously wasn’t thrilled with the timing of her injury but if there was a silver lining it came in the ultra-positive and thoroughly experienced Spooner right there with her. Beyond just having someone to rehab with, which alone is no small thing, in Spooner, Carter got the kind of one-on-one veteran presence and veteran intel that most rookies can only dream. “Not just from a physical standpoint on the ice which is an obvious huge advantage, just playing against one of the best players in the world, but also being able to pick her brain about the league and what her path has been through the National Team and the league last year and college and everything like that. I have learned a lot from her.” Perhaps the biggest advantage was hearing from someone who has already been there and done that, that she was ready for what lay ahead. “I think she just gave me the confidence that I would be ready by the time I was back from my injury and would be able step in right away,” Carter said. “I don’t think that would have been totally possible without her help along the way.” And just as Spooner predicted, the latter has proven ready for the league as she stepped right in or that Battle on Bay Street game at Scotiabank against the New York Sirens and looked right at home. In the handful of games since, Carter’s role and minutes have continued to grow. In the game vs. Montreal at Place Bell, head coach Troy Ryan even had Carter out on the penalty kill against a Montreal unit that has been red-hot through the past few weeks. “It’s a huge confidence boost,” Carter said. “Playing on the PK is a big deal and especially with the new rules there’s a lot of offensive talent being stacked up against you so you have to be ready. “But to be put out there in that situation by Troy made me feel good and made me realize that he has trust in me and I think that kind of boosted by confidence,” Carter said. “I love to play the PK and be physical, block shots and things like that and that just elevates my game even more when I can get those minutes.” For the most part, though not exclusively, since her return to the lineup four games ago, Carter has been paired with rookie defender Rylind MacKinnon. The two are like-minded players in that both are huge proponents and eager participants in the physical portion of the game. The two have some history having crossed paths at a handful of National Team camps so none of that is a surprise to the other. But their shared philosophy of the way the game should be played goes beyond the physicality. “It’s awesome for us to just chat on the bench between shifts and we are thinking exactly the same thing every single time. Like, ‘Oh let’s support each other this way next time’ or little things like that. But it’s nice that she can anticipate what I’m going to do based on her tendencies would be and vice versa so it’s worked out well.” Carter knew even before she stepped on the ice for her first PWHL game, the biggest adjustment from college to the pros, besides the obvious physicality, was going to be the speed of the game. “Any time you make a jump from any level speed is typically the biggest factor,” Carter said. “Watching all last season, you could tell. Thannkfully, being at some national team camps I have had a taste of what the compete level and speed would be like. Maybe I had a bit of an advantage there.” The one element of her game that has yet to really show itself is her shot. She possesses a heavy slap shot and while she’s got a few away, the feeling among her coaches is there is much more to come in that department. Really, Carter is only just getting started. mganter@postmedia.com Edey comes home to face Raptors Arbuckle re-signs with Argonauts Hulk Hogan breaks silence after being booed at Netflix debut
