The Flyers’ Carter Hart strives to be the NHL’s best goaltender | On the Fly

The Flyers’ Carter Hart is leaner, has made some minor adjustments to his goaltending repertoire, and is ready to build off an impressive season.

In the offseason, he rested and recovered for a while in his home near Edmonton, then started an ambitious training schedule with his personal goalie coach, Dustin Schwartz, and his trainer, Phil Daly.

So the shortened training camp — which began Monday and will last only six days — shouldn’t be a problem. He will be his sharp self when the season starts Jan. 13.

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When the Flyers’ playoff run ended with a 4-0 Game 7 loss to the New York Islanders on Sept. 5, it was time for Hart to take a rest from a long, pandemic-interrupted season, his first full year in the NHL.

“We knew it was going to be a condensed schedule this year,” He said after Day 1 of training camp Monday in Voorhees. ”That’s why I didn’t touch the ice until November 3rd. So, I took about almost two months off the ice. I made a decision with my goalie coach here (Kim Dillabaugh) that it was best I take a little bit more time off the ice to get my body some more rest.”

He now feels mentally and physically ready to handle the majority of the workload during a 2021 season in which the Flyers will play 56 games in 116 days.

“Obviously, it is always important, but I think now more than ever, taking care of your body off the ice is going to be more crucial in a shortened season,” said Hart, who had a 2.42 goals-against average (sixth-best among goalies with at least 30 games) and .914 save percentage last season and was even better in the playoffs.

Hart’s offseason included a lot of on- and off-ice workouts until COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta caused him to travel to the Philadelphia area.

“But for the most part, we were able to get done what we wanted to accomplish. I thought it was a really good offseason,” he said. “I was with [goalie] Tristan Jarry, with the Penguins, I know he’s a rival and we’ll be seeing him [in the Jan. 13 opener] here. Seeing a lot of them this year. But me and him got a lot of work done this year and I feel good and I feel ready.”

While working with Schwartz, Hart said, the two of them looked at some things they wanted to “tidy up a little bit. The one thing for me was just playing with different depths in the crease and seeing if I can manage different depths in the crease in different scenarios. … Just working on a lot of different scenarios and situations that maybe I can gain a little bit of ice here. It’s something we played with a little bit this offseason and something I will continue to play with.”

Like a lot of players, Hart is cognizant of his diet, and he made some changes over the last several months. “I hate cooking,” he said, smiling. “I’m not really a good cook. So, I got a meal service back home. It’s all organic, it’s all fresh. Straight from the butcher. I got my seven meals delivered at the start of each week. Me and my mom would make dinner most nights. So, I would get those meals delivered at the start of each week, and it was awesome. I feel really good. I feel a lot better. I feel leaner. I think it was really good.”

Hart is excited about the season and the new-look East Division.

“I know we have a good division with good competition, but we are in the Metro every year, and we always have good competition,” Hart said. “It is nothing that we’re not used to or familiar with. I think with the scheduling and how we are playing each team eight times, it is going to create some competition and maybe some bitterness between teams. It is going to be fun.”

Asked if he had set any personal goals, Hart said he wants to “be the best I can be. I want to be able to give our team a chance to win every night. I don’t want to just be another NHL player; I want to be the best and I want to be the best NHL goaltender. That is something that I strive for every day. For me, for myself and our team, we have a really good group again this year and I think we have to buy in and compete and we will have some success.”

Two Flyers prospects — defenseman Cam York and right winger Bobby Orr Brink — will try to help Team USA beat Canada in the IIHF World Junior title game Tuesday night in Edmonton. The game will be played at 9:30 p.m. and will be shown on the NHL Network.

“This,” USA coach Nate Leaman said after Monday’s thrilling 4-3 semifinal win over Finland, “is what we’ve worked for.”

York and Brink have had a very good tournament for the Americans (5-1), who have won five straight since opening with a 5-3 loss to Russia. In six games, Brink has six points (two goals, four assists) and is plus-8, and York has six points (one goal, five assists) and is plus-4.

Brink and York are two of eight players to return from last year’s team, which finished sixth in the tourney.

Defending champion Canada (6-0), a 5-0 winner over Russia in the semifinals, has outscored its opponents, 41-4, and has not allowed a five-on-five goal in the tournament.

“We have to have our best game,” Leaman said.

In the last three times these teams have met in the championship game, the Americans have won each time.

Tuesday through Sunday: The Flyers’ abbreviated training camp is held, with an off day Thursday.

Tuesday: USA vs. Canada in World Junior title game at 9:30 p.m. (NHL Network).

Jan. 13: Flyers host Penguins in season opener at 5:30 p.m. (NBCSN).

Question: Who do you expect to be the breakout player on this year’s team? — by Brian Chapman (@OrangeLAPA) via Twitter

Answer: If healthy, I think Nolan Patrick, 22, will have a breakthrough season. The No. 2 overall pick in 2017, he is entering his third season, which is when a lot of players make major strides (see Claude Giroux, Mark Scheifele, and David Pastrnak, among countless others). As a third-liner, the center will get better matchups than when he was on the second unit two years ago.

Also, keep an eye on Joel Farabee, 20, who could be Patrick’s right winger on the third line. He showed flashes of brilliance last season and should keep improving.

Send questions by email (scarchidi@inquirer.com) or on Twitter (@broadstbull), and they could be answered in a future edition.