EDMONTON — Carter Savoie discovered a steep learning curve when he made the jump to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League from the University of Denver.
The 21-year-old forward, who was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round (No. 100) of the 2020 NHL Draft, had 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 44 AHL games last season after he had 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists) in 39 games with Denver in 2021-22.
“Last year was up and down. I had a couple of injuries and didn’t play as many games as I would have liked to,” Savoie said at Oilers development camp last month. “It’s a good learning step for me, getting my first pro season under my belt, and I’m looking forward to building on it this year.
“You’re playing against men. I’m only 21 years old, so you’re playing against older guys. They’re a lot stronger than what I was used to playing at school, so it was just about making that adjustment and making my way there.”
One of those setbacks Savoie referenced was a lower-body injury that he sustained at the Young Stars Classic in September, which caused him to miss the first two weeks of last season. He returned in late October and scored two goals in his fourth game, but after scoring a hat trick against San Diego on Jan. 18, he didn’t have a point in his final 17 games.
“He had a glimpse where he went into hard areas, he took hits to make plays,” Bakersfield coach Colin Chaulk said. “I think for him he needed to try and do that more consistently. The other part was him trying to stay healthy. He was injured in Penticton (at the Young Stars Classic), he was injured a few times, and then coming back from his injuries, it took a long time, it took multiple games, almost in the double digits for him to get back to where he was.
“In today’s world, it needs to get back up to speed a little bit quicker. Does that mean he’s not going to be an NHL player? He’s shown a certain level, and now we’ve seen what he’s capable of, and then there’s a setback. That’s a conversation management and our staff have had with him. He is in great shape, he’s in great health and it showed on his fitness score.”
As training camp quickly approaches, Savoie is looking to take the lessons from last season and show the Oilers what kind of player he knows he can be.
“I can score goals, I just have to be confident, get to open ice and bury my chances when I get them,” Savoie said. “My body is feeling really good. I feel like I’m in really good shape, so I’m just trying to build off last year and hopefully go into (the Oilers) main camp feeling strong.”
Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oilers