George ultimately wants to become ‘number 1’ for Kings

EL SEGUNDO, California — Carter George is as versatile as a young goalie can be, excelling in his positioning and understanding of the game. It was that breadth of attributes that led the Los Angeles Kings to select the 18-year-old in the second round (No. 57) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

“I think what attracted us was the structure of his game, his hockey sense, just his natural instincts for the game,” said Bill Ranford, the Kings’ director of goaltending.

George credits an unconventional approach to learning the position for developing some of those key traits. His father, Mike George, emphasized skating when Carter first stepped onto the ice rather than facing shots. That, in turn, helped him refine his expectations of where he needed to be to make saves.

“The first two or three years of being a goalie, I didn’t really see a puck in goalie practice,” George said. “It was always just skate, skate, skate, and I think that definitely helped me get good edges, it definitely allowed me to be a lot more efficient in the crease at a young age, and I’ve built on that.”

Ranford, who played goalie for five NHL teams and won the Conn Smythe Trophy when he helped the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup in 1990, said situational processing stood out in George’s assessment.

“He has a really good understanding of what’s going on in front of him, and for a young goalkeeper that’s impressive,” Ranford said.

George put it into practice over the past year, winning gold medals with Canada at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship. He went 23-21-6-3 with a 3.30 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 56 games with Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League, despite facing a league-high 1,923 shots in 2023-24.

George also received the Bobby Smith Trophy, awarded annually to the OHL Scholastic Player of the Year, and the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award, awarded annually to the best high school player in the Ontario Hockey League.

“I went through juniors as well,” Ranford said. “Going to school is tough, but it also gives you something else to focus on so you’re not focused on hockey 24/7. He’s an intelligent kid. He’s very self-driven and that’s what we like about him.”

The only downside to George is his limited height. He is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 200 pounds, while NHL players prefer taller goalies.

Erik Portillo, the top goalie prospect in the Kings organization, is 6-foot-6 and weighs 218 pounds. The 23-year-old went 24-11-3 with a 2.50 GAA and .918 save percentage for Ontario of the American Hockey League last season.

However, George, who signed his entry-level contract with the Kings on July 25, is not concerned about any physical differences.

“I want to be No. 1 and I want to come here and show that I can be a starter in this league,” George said. “I want to be able to show that I have the skills and the talent to be where I am and I’m looking forward to it. I know it’s just going to take a lot of hard work and we’re just getting started here.”