We begin this one with a story from September of 2017, told courtesy of the Everett Herald’s Jesse Geleynse:
On the eve of the 2016-17 Western Hockey League season, Philadelphia Flyers general manager and former NHL goaltender Ron Hextall sent Carter Hart back to the Everett Silvertips with the charge to once again be “the best goaltender in junior hockey.”
This year?
“It was kind of the exact same message,” Hart said Tuesday.
But this time there was a caveat: the Philadelphia brass didn’t just challenge him to be the best goaltender in junior hockey — they challenged him to be the best player in junior hockey regardless of position.