TOP 100 OILERS: ANSON CARTER (46)

7 years ago

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

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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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TOP 100 OILERS: ANSON CARTER (46)

BY THE NUMBERS

NOTABLE

THE STORY

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