Carter Savoie is Ready to Turn Pro

11 months ago

Carter Savoie signed on the dotted line on Easter Monday, putting an end to his career at the University of Denver and beginning a new chapter with the Edmonton Oilers. He’ll start on an amateur tryout contract with the Bakersfield Condors and join them for their AHL playoff run.

Savoie has established himself as a goalscorer in his four years of junior and college hockey. He scored 120 goals in 176 games combined between the Sherwood Park Crusaders and the University of Denver. It’s an accomplishment that deserves to be recognized.

His ability to score goals should never be undervalued. He is not a complete hockey player, but he knows how to do the most important attribute in the game: put the puck in the net.

While playing with the Sherwood Park Crusaders, just east of Edmonton, Savoie scored 50 goals in 50 games. Incredibly, he finished his last AJHL season with 53 in 54 games. Scoring 50 goals in the AJHL isn’t common, especially for an 18 year old.

Only nine players since 2000 have scored 50 goals. Does anybody want to guess how many of them were 17 years old? You guessed it, only Savoie. Dany Heatley was the last 17 year old before Savoie in 1999 when he scored 70 with the Calgary Canucks.

He didn’t miss a beat after moving from junior to the NCAA.

Savoie scored in his first five games for the University of Denver, letting his presence be known early. He went quiet for a few games for that early run, going pointless in four straight, but finished the year strong with seven goals in the remaining 15 games.

He finished the season atop of the Pioneers goal scoring list with only Ty Smilanic scoring more goals than him (14) as a freshman. Nonetheless, he played six more games than Savoie.

As a sophomore, Savoie did much of the same this time, finishing with 22 goals in 37 games, including the overtime winner against the University of Michigan in the Frozen Four. Ten forwards in the NCAA were selected ahead of Savoie in the 2020 NHL Draft, including first round pick Brendan Brisson. Not one of them scored more goals than him this season.

29th overall

(Golden Knight)

In fact, from the entire 2020 draft class, Savoie is first in goals with 36 in the NCAA.

The news broke that Savoie signed an amateur contract with the Bakersfield Condors; however, not yet his entry level contract. This means that he cannot return to the University of Denver or any NCAA team.

The Condors now have five regular-season games left and the playoffs.

What should we expect from Savoie at the pro level? Probably for him to continue to score goals. At every level, he’s found a way to put the puck in the net. Let’s not underestimate what he has accomplished. He has 120 goals in four seasons, the most goals in one season by a 17-year-old in the AJHL since 1999, and the most goals by a sophomore in the NCAA last season.

He is a big time player who makes big time plays, and it will be intriguing to follow his journey as he begins his professional career with the Condors.

It may not happen immediately, but once he finds his way and spends a little time getting acclimatized, the expectation is for him to excel. Players with the ability to score goals like Savoie always find a way.

	Goals	Games	Goals Per Game	Drafted By
Carter Savoie	23	39	0.590	100th overall (Oilers)
Brendan Brisson	21	37	0.568
Sam Colangelo	12	29	0.414	36th overall (Ducks)
Alex Laferriere	14	35	0.400	83rd overall (Kings)
Dylan Peterson	10	29	0.345	86th overall (Blues)
Thomas Bordeleau	12	37	0.324	38th overall (Sharks)
Ty Smilanic	13	41	0.317	74th overall (Panthers)
Landon Slaggert	12	40	0.300	79th overall (Blackhawks)
Trevor Kuntar	9	36	0.250	89th overall (Bruins)
Luke Tuch	6	26	0.231	47th overall (Canadiens)
Sam Stange	4	37	0.108	97th overall (Red Wings)

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Carter Savoie is Ready to Turn Pro

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