Connect with us

Golden Knights Analysis

VHN’s Golden Knights November Player of the Month: Will Carrier

Published

on

Will Carrier, Vegas Golden Knights (Photo- Vegas Golden Knights via Twitter)
Will Carrier, Vegas Golden Knights (Photo- Vegas Golden Knights via Twitter)

The month with the worst holiday in it (Thanksgiving) is over, and the true Holiday season is upon us. The Vegas Golden Knights had their struggles in the month of November but still finished the month with a winning 9-4-1 record. They remain atop the Pacific Division standings with 35 points.

Their next game will not be until December 1st against the Pittsburgh Penguins. So with that in mind, let’s shave our “Movember” facial hair and analyze which player stood out the most for the VGK in November. We’ll be doing this all season. Our October player of the month was Chandler Stephenson.

Like with all months, our player pick could go one of many different ways. Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and Alex Pietrangelo all had strong months but have seen their play die down the last few games.

I’m also holding off on selecting these star players because I think there will come a month when they will undisputedly be the best player on the team. With that being said, here is our pick for November.

Will Carrier

The stats speak for themselves for grit-grinder Will Carrier. In the month of November, he played in 14 games, scored seven goals and two assists for nine points, and had three game-winning goals.

Carrier currently has eight goals on the season, which is more than Andre Burakovsky, Fillip Forsberg, Kevin Fiala, Mitch Marner, Alex DeBrincat, Cale Makar, and Nathan Mackinnon.

The story of Carrier is a great but simple one. As a typical fourth-liner, his scoring has been an extraordinary surprise for the Golden Knights.

“I’ve been hot right now, the confidence is pretty high, and our line has been playing really well,” said Carrier after he scored a highlight-reel goal against the Ottawa Senators.

The line in reference is the Golden Knight’s fourth line which has consisted of Carrier, Keegan Kolesar, and a rotation of centers that has featured Nicolas Roy, Brett Howden, and now Jake Leschyshyn.

“We’ve been known to try and carry momentum and try and get it back. It used to be with hits and a good forecheck. Now we are trying to get the big goals after they score to get the team going again,” said Carrier.

As an original Misfit, Carrier’s big-body presence on the Golden Knights is not a new thing. But the fact that pucks are going in for him is new. His career high in goals came last season when he scored nine goals and had a total of 20 points. At his current pace, he should surpass these stats by 2023.

“He plays with so much speed and power. There are not many guys in the league that can contain him. The key right now is to give him the puck because it keeps going in for him,” said linemate Kolesar.

For Carrier, his play can only improve the Golden Knight’s depth. He’s currently on the team’s second powerplay unit, and as the team looks to find a consistent third line, his play has not been the problem.

Carrier is 27 years old and has two more years left on his $1.4 million deal with the Golden Knights.

Nov. Stat Read: 14 GP 7-2-9 pts +5, 2 PIMS, 7 ESG, 3 GWG, 32 SOG, 21.9 shooting%, ATOI 12:31.

Highlight of the Month: Carrier’s goal against the Ottawa Senators on Hockey Fights Cancer Knight.