Graduation: Carter Savage
Carter Savage was a bit of a late bloomer.
While most player who end up in the WHL are solely dedicated to hockey early on, it wasn’t until Savage was around 11 years old that he found his stride in the game.
“I remember we went to Chicago for a spring hockey tournament and I was so nervous, I was shaking in my boots,” he laughed. “I had always played ever since I was really young, but my skill didn’t come along until much later. Most guys are starting spring hockey at eight or nine, but I was closer to 10 or 11.”
Even when Savage began attending Delta Hockey Academy in 2018, he says his attention towards the WHL didn’t ramp up until the following season.
“I knew what the WHL was but didn’t really know much about it,” he said. “I wasn’t paying attention to the draft at all even though the team a year older than me was going through it. The next season when we were on the U15 Prep team I started to get some more attention, but even then I really didn’t think too much about it.”
Americans fans know Savage was as reliable defensively as they come during his time with the team. Often in minor hockey, all the top players produce offensively before sometimes needing to adjust their roles as they progress up the ladder.
That was never the case for Savage, who seemed destined to be a defensive defenseman from day one.
“My dad always tells me the story about how he put me out at forward and I’d just stand on our blue line and wait for the other team to come down the ice,” he said. “I think it was always just instilled in me from the beginning. I just hated getting scored on.”
Savage’s 2019-20 Delta U15 Prep team was littered with future WHL talent. Eleven members of the team went on to get drafted into the WHL, with three of them also being drafted into the NHL with Lukas Dragicevic, Tomas Mrsic and Terrell Goldsmith.
Savage, as he always has, played his defensive role on the team and finished with 15 points (3-12-15) in 30 games. When draft day came, he was eager to see where he would end up going.
“There’s all those draft rankings that come out around that time and I was projected to go in nearly every round by all these different lists,” he said. “I had no idea where I was going to go. I didn’t know much about Tri-City to be honest, I think I had only talked to a scout of theirs once or twice, but I was happy to go anywhere.”
The Americans drafted Savage with the 113th pick in the sixth round of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft.
Being a mid-round pick is nothing to scoff at as 12 of the sixth rounders from the 2020 draft went on to play WHL games, with four of them reaching over 200 career games.
Savage admits he was more driven than ever after being taken where he was.
“I didn’t really expect to go much higher than I did, but it kind of fueled me going a bit later in the draft,” he said.
Due to the pandemic, Savage wasn’t able to make his first visit to the Tri-Cities until nearly a year and a half after being draft.
That didn’t stop the team from wanting to sign him quickly, however.
“I remember getting a call from my advisor and he told me the team was looking to sign me,” he said. “I just told him let’s lock it in.”
Finally able to come to training camp in the Fall of 2021, Savage admits there a lot of nerves for his first WHL camp, but those nerves were quelled by how welcoming the group was.
“I was definitely pretty nervous heading into it, as kids usually are,” he said. “But there were guys there like Tyson Greenway, Marc Lajoie, Ian Ferguson, lots of older guys that opened their arms and welcomed me in. It was a step up from what I had experienced before, but it was a lot of fun.”
After not cracking the final roster out of training camp, Savage spent his 2021-22 season at Delta Hockey Academy with the U18 program. He was able to get into four games with the Americans however, the first of which came November 5 against the Seattle Thunderbirds.
“I think Delta had a few home games that weekend and I got a call saying the Americans needed a defenseman,” he said. “I hopped on the flight and came down to Tri-City. I got out for morning skate and they told me right away I was going to play. I got pretty nervous thinking about it; I couldn’t get my pre-game nap in.”
The following season Savage became a WHL regular, skating in 61 games with the Americans in 2022-23.
That was one of the more successful teams the Americans had seen in a while, finishing with a 34-26-5-3 record and sitting fifth in the Western Conference heading into the playoffs.
“We played Prince George in the playoffs that year, that was a hike,” he said. “The 20-year-olds were great that season, Reece Belton and I got really tight that season. We had a lot of guys that season who had a lot of experience. It sucks we didn’t make it farther than we did, but I had a lot of fun that year.”
Even though he had a full year in the league under his belt heading into year two, Savage says there were still times his nerves would come to the forefront.
“I’ve always been a bit of a nervous guy,” he said. “I never want to make mistakes or anything like that. Even though I had over 60 games under my belt, each game still got me going and got me a little bit nervous. I think it was the year after that where I really felt comfortable and you’re not worried about making a mistake because you’ve got a longer leash.”
While the Americans were successful in Savage’s first season, that wasn’t the case in year two as the team struggled all season long, ending with a 23-42-2-1 record.
Savage says prolonged struggles can really weigh on a team.
“It wasn’t easy, but I think guys still showed up every day and did what they could to try to contribute,” he said. “Being able to show up and try your best to keep things light in the room is really important.”
A highlight of that season was Savage scoring his first career WHL goal in his 103rd career game.
In true Carter Savage fashion, it was a gritty goal.
“I joined the rush for once in my life and Parker Bell was driving the net,” he recalled. “The puck got stuck under the goalie’s pad and I just whacked at it. I thought Bellzy had scored, I didn’t know if I had touched it. He went into the boards hard and was laying on the ice, so I was worried about him. Then in the intermission, our equipment manager Aaron Hoffmeyer told me they credited the goal to me.”
A disappointing 2023-24 season led into the beginning of the 2024-25 season as the Americans tripped out of the starting gate by going 1-3-1 in their first five games.
The team then rattled off a 12-game winning streak, something Savage says is one of the more memorable times of his WHL career.
“We’d go to the rink every night knowing we were going to win,” he said. “There were a few games we got down pretty big and still came back. There was just no doubt in the room every game that we were going to win, no matter who we were playing or what the situation was.”
That season also reunited Savage with a former Delta teammate of his as Terrell Goldsmith was acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders in the offseason.
“Bringing him over from Prince Albert was awesome,” he said. “He and I are very similar that we just love to work. He shows up every and puts his work boots on, and always with a smile on his face.”
The Americans returned to the post season but were eliminated by the Victoria Royals in the opening round.
Before he knew it, Savage was preparing for his final season in the WHL. With the previous three seasons having flown by as quickly as they had, Savage admits he tried not to think about the fact he was entering his 20-year-old season.
“On the drive down for training camp I just really tried not to think about it,” he admitted. “There were times throughout the year where it would come up, but it was always emotional thinking about the fact it was my last year.”
The team also bestowed an official leadership tag on Savage for this past season as he sported an ‘A’ on his jersey all year long.
He says he’s long believed you don’t need an official title be a leader, however.
“I’ve always thought you don’t need a letter to lead,” he said. “That’s something I’ve always tried to do. It was nice to have that extra belief from the coaching staff to get a letter, knowing they trust you to be a leader. I thought Elick and Garland did a great job as leaders too.”
The Americans were in an excellent position entering the final two months of the season with a record of 22-16-3-1 and sitting fourth in the Western Conference on January 23.
Things unfortunately came crashing down from there as the Americans went 4-20-2-0 the rest of the way, missing the playoffs this past season.
“We had a great first half and everyone was working,” Savage said. “I just wanted to keep that going. The first half was so fun, everyone showed up and worked hard, we were all having fun. I wanted to make the playoffs this year; I hate going home in March. You’re watching your buddies playing on TV and it just hurts.”
After eight losses in row, Savage’s season, and WHL career, came to a screeching halt on February 21 against the Spokane Chiefs.
Chasing down a loose puck along the boards, Savage was cross checked from behind by Cohen Harris and slid feet first into the boards, ultimately breaking his leg.
“I went back to get the puck, and I was on my heels a little bit,” he recalled. “I took a little crosscheck to the back and caught an edge in the ice. I kind of blacked out from there. Next thing I remember was trying to crawl out from under the pile and looking down at my foot, and it wasn’t looking too good.”
Savage credits the emergency crews and Americans athletic therapist Taylor Curry with helping him in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
He says the support from the fans around the Tri-Cities didn’t go unnoticed.
“They’re all so supportive of us and connected to what we’re doing,” he said. “The team and the fans had my back all year and especially in that moment. It meant the world to me.”
When the season was over and Savage was making his way home, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated at an unsatisfying ending to his WHL career.
“It almost felt like it wasn’t over because of the way it ended,” he said. “I felt like I had more to give. Last year you think ‘I’ll be back in a couple months’ but now, I don’t know when I’ll be back here. Junior hockey was some of the best times of my life and I’m so thankful for my time in Tri-City.”
Savage ended his career with 226 career games in an Americans jersey, good for 42nd in franchise history.
Being able to spend his entire career with one team is something he takes a lot of pride in.
“For me it’s just about loyalty,” he said. “They took me with a late pick and had faith in me. I couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else.”
While the NCAA path is now ones WHL players can take, Savage says he plans on staying close to home and attending the University of British Columbia in the fall.
“When I first started playing in the WHL my thought was always I’d do this for four or five years and then head to UBC, since the NCAA wasn’t an option,” he said. “It’s enticing, and there were some options, but after the injury I think heading home for a little bit is the best option. It’s a great school and a great hockey program that has been really strong for the last few years.”
Asked for a final message to the Americans fans who had supported him for the last four years, Savage said the support went far beyond the Toyota Center.
“Thank you for supporting me,” he said. “At all our games, at our community events. Even when we were in our slump they still showed up and they were loud. To me that says everything you need to know about the fans in Tri-City.”
