Realistically, Carter Hart, the teenage goalie whom some view as the Flyers’ future cornerstone, is two years away from making it to the NHL.
By then, he’ll be 21, but perhaps more mature, mentally, than many seasoned veterans.
Hart, you see, has been working with a sports psychologist since he was in grammar school. He stops shots partly because of his great reflexes and athletic ability, but he thinks a sports psychologist has made him more focused, more calm, in the nets.
“I’d probably say about 90 percent of it is mental,” Hart said recently about playing the game’s most important position.