Carter Savoie is Ready to Turn Pro

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.
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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