While compiling this list of Top 100 Oilers, I’ve been trying to think of a more complex character than Anson Carter, the soft-spoken winger who was much more than a damn good hockey player during the 211 games he played over parts of three seasons with Edmonton. I can’t come up with another name. Not one. Equal parts substance and style was Carter.
Carter makes my list because of what he did on the ice, but there’s so much more to him. He defied the odds just to make it to the NHL after being drafted 220th overall in 1992. Carter’s work ethic was impeccable. His talent undeniable. Off the ice, his interests were many – he loved exotic cars and took great interest in the entertainment industry, fashion and hip-hop in particular. Carter was the best dressed player I’ve ever seen – no matter what anybody else wore, it looked like they were clad in potato sacks compared to Ace. Carter had it going on. And he could play.
Anson Carter
Center — shoots R
Born Jun 6 1974 — Toronto, ONT  
Height 6.01 — Weight 190 [185 cm/86 kg]
Drafted by Quebec Nordiques
Round 10 #220 overall 1992 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season
Age
Tm
GP
G
A
PTS
+/-
PIM
S
S%
ATOI
1996-97
22
TOT
38
11
7
18
-7
9
79
13.9
1996-97
22
WSH
19
3
2
5
0
7
28
10.7
1996-97
22
BOS
19
8
5
13
-7
2
51
15.7
1997-98
23
BOS
78
16
27
43
7
31
179
8.9
1998-99
24
BOS
55
24
16
40
7
22
123
19.5
18:44
1999-00
25
BOS
59
22
25
47
8
14
144
15.3
20:31
2000-01
26
EDM
61
16
26
42
1
23
102
15.7
18:13
2001-02
27
EDM
82
28
32
60
3
25
181
15.5
19:18
2002-03
28
TOT
79
26
34
60
-11
26
193
13.5
19:23
2002-03
28
EDM
68
25
30
55
-11
20
176
14.2
19:39
2002-03
28
NYR
11
1
4
5
0
6
17
5.9
17:49
2003-04
29
TOT
77
15
13
28
-15
20
114
13.2
16:47
2003-04
29
NYR
43
10
7
17
-12
14
63
15.9
15:35
2003-04
29
WSH
19
5
5
10
2
6
33
15.2
19:33
2003-04
29
LAK
15
0
1
1
-5
0
18
0.0
16:43
2005-06
31
VAN
81
33
22
55
-1
41
146
22.6
14:34
2006-07
32
TOT
64
11
17
28
-4
18
70
15.7
14:05
2006-07
32
CBJ
54
10
17
27
-1
16
62
16.1
14:49
2006-07
32
CAR
10
1
0
1
-3
2
8
12.5
10:03
4 yrs
BOS
211
70
73
143
15
69
497
14.1
19:40
3 yrs
EDM
211
69
88
157
-7
68
459
15.0
19:06
2 yrs
NYR
54
11
11
22
-12
20
80
13.8
16:02
2 yrs
WSH
38
8
7
15
2
13
61
13.1
19:33
1 yr
CAR
10
1
0
1
-3
2
8
12.5
10:03
1 yr
CBJ
54
10
17
27
-1
16
62
16.1
14:49
1 yr
LAK
15
0
1
1
-5
0
18
0.0
16:43
1 yr
VAN
81
33
22
55
-1
41
146
22.6
14:34
Career
674
202
219
421
-12
229
1331
15.2
17:38
PLAYOFFS
Season
Age
Tm
GP
G
A
PTS
+/-
PIM
S
S%
ATOI
1997-98
23
BOS
6
1
1
2
-3
0
19
5.3
1998-99
24
BOS
12
4
3
7
-3
0
27
14.8
21:31
2000-01
26
EDM
6
3
1
4
1
4
13
23.1
19:42
Career
24
8
5
13
-5
4
59
13.6
20:54

NOTABLE

Raised in Toronto, history tells us that Carter was a longshot to have any kind of NHL career as a 10th-round draft pick when he finally hit the pros after four seasons with the Michigan State Spartans. Play he did, with his best years coming with the Oilers after being acquired in a November 2000 trade that sent popular and prolific Bill Guerin to the Boston Bruins (the trade also landed the Oilers a first-round pick that turned into Ales Hemsky).
Carter had big skates to fill on the wing alongside Doug Weight and Ryan Smyth as the replacement for Guerin, who was big, tough and could skate like the wind. Guerin was also Weight’s best friend, so Carter had some convincing to do – not only with the Oiler captain, but with fans and inside the dressing room on a team that was up against the budget wall under the ownership of the EIG.
Carter and Weight spent just one season as teammates before Edmonton’s best player was sent packing to St. Louis because the Oilers could no longer afford him. It was a good year, not a great one, as Carter produced 16-26-42 in 61 games. Carter wasn’t done. In 2001-02, Carter scored 28-32-60, tying him for the team scoring lead with 21-year-old Mike Comrie, his new centre. In 2002-03, Carter had 25-30-55 in 68 games before he was dealt to the New York Rangers with Ales Pisa for Radek Dvorak and Cory Cross.

THE STORY

I always thought that Carter was a little bit underrated during his time in Edmonton. As a player, he was more subtle and silky smooth than Guerin, who wowed fans with flash, dash and bash, not to mention a sense of humour that endeared him to teammates and fans. Interestingly enough, Carter and Guerin would both play 211 games with the Oilers. Guerin produced 79-82-161, while Carter was right with him at 69-88-157.
Down the hockey road, Carter made news with the Vancouver Canucks in 2005-06 after signing as an unrestricted free agent. He scored a career-high 33 goals while playing with Daniel and Henrik Sedin – they were dubbed the Brothers Line. It seemed like a perfect fit for Carter, but rather than return to Vancouver, he turned down a one-year, $1.7 million contract and ended his NHL career with stops in Columbus and Carolina.
Released from a PTO in pre-season by the Oilers in 2007, Carter, who donned skates again for the Battle of the Blades with Shae-Lynn Bourne, is these days living in Atlanta. He started his own record label, Big Up Entertainment, has produced a couple of TV features, is co-founder of a clothing line, Shirt Off My Back, and has done hockey commentary for Fox Sports West and the NHL on NBC. Ace has still got it going on.
This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up. 
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
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