Connor Carrick Makes Return to Chocolate Town in Eastern Conference Finals
HERSHEY, PA – Former Hershey Bear Connor Carrick will make his return to Giant Center Friday night for Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals. (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
It wasn’t difficult for Connor Carrick to walk past his old locker room on Thursday before the Toronto Marlies practiced at Giant Center. “I just kept going. Got the memo awhile ago.”
After spending parts of three seasons in a Chocolate and White sweater, the 22-year-old defenseman was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs right before the trade deadline in February. “A lot of confusion,” Carrick said about when he first learned of the trade. “A lot of trying to figure out the logistics of where am I going, when [I am going], where am I playing, who am I playing, and that kind of thing.
“You kind of going into a survival mode. You try and figure out ‘Alright, what time is my flight, what time should I eat, what can I eat at the airport?’ And try not to forget anything important in the move. You try and roll with the punches and just try and figure out one thing at a time.”
The answer to one of the Illinois native’s questions, where am I playing, was answered with three simple words: The Maple Leafs. Immediately, Carrick was called up to join the big club in Toronto, getting a chance to play 16 games with a rebuilding club. “Management talked about it right when we got there; ‘Hey, we got a lot of really talented young guys here with the Leafs and currently playing with the Marlies.’
“I just try and take the responsibility of getting to know these guys who have been coming to development camps. Just trying to build those relationships right away. A lot of these players have been drafted together, come up together, and I just wanted to blend right in and try and add what I could.”
Despite Hershey and Carrick now being on opposite sides, there’s still some camaraderie between the two. “I haven’t talked to him,” Bears captain Garrett Mitchell said. “I think my wife has talked to his girlfriend more,” said Mitchell a laugh. “It’s one of those things; the best thing about hockey is the friendships you make throughout it. Looking back on, I’m going to say my short career so far, the friendships I’ve made across the world is amazing. On the ice, it’s a battle. That’s the best thing about our game – we’re able to look past your friendship for two or three hours and after those two or three hours you can have dinner with them.”
Carrick played his last two seasons in Hershey under the Barry Trotz system imposed by the Capitals. But knowing the Bears system more intimately than some of his teammates isn’t necessarily an advantage for the d-man. “I think it goes both ways. They’re familiar with who I am as a player, too. And by the end of the series, I don’t think that it will be a necessary strength for myself or them. Both teams will be so familiar with each other, playing each other as many times as we will.
“With that said, I definitely know a lot of their cues – five-on-five, power play, PK – I was in those meetings. But at the same time, I’m going to bet they added a wrinkle or two in the past two months as I know I’ve been a part of here.”
“Connor was a big part of our team for a year and a bit, put up some good numbers here and was having a heck of a year before the trade,” head coach Troy Mann said. “He’s playing on the best offensive team in the league right now so naturally your points are going to go up. I watched a number of games here [of Toronto] against Albany and for me, he’s the same hockey player that left here in February.
“Like any defenseman, when you put pressure on them and play physical and do the right things, it doesn’t matter if you’re Connor Carrick, T.J Brennan, or their sixth or seventh or eighth-D, they’re going to turn some pucks over and have to make plays under pressure, and that’s what we’re going to attempt to do here.”
The Bears will have to deal with a high tempo Toronto team who was first in the league in scoring this regular season. The series gets underway Friday night at Giant Center. Puck drop at 7 pm.