By Warren Kozireski —
Carey Terrance comes from Akwesasne, NY, a small town across the river from Cornwall, Ontario on the St. Lawrence, but he is having a big impact as he was invited to participate in the 2023 NHL Combine in Buffalo June 4-10 as one of the top 100 prospects for the NHL Draft in Nashville at the end of the month.
He was among the leaders in both the Vertical Jump and Chin-Ups with 112” and 12 respectively. That and his coming out season with the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League helps explain his rise from 50th at midterm to 38th in the final rankings among North American skaters.
“I was really prepared (for the Combine)—after I got back from Switzerland, I didn’t have the most time, but made the best of it and the NHL did a great job scheduling everything and it went by smooth,” Terrance said after his session.
“I met with 20 (teams) and everything went pretty smooth, and I was grateful to meet with that many teams, but glad to get it down now and move on.”
Terrance, who turned 18 years old in May, netted 30 goals in 67 games in his second season with Erie—triple what he scored in his first year. That, his skating ability and his Combine numbers could push the 6’1”, 174 lb. center in the latter stages of the first round.
“I was kind of fast my whole life and I think it’s kind of natural, but my mom takes credit saying she made me take my roller blades every day when I was younger, so that’s where my stride came from. She made me roller blade up my road every day to catch the bus and then back down, so credit to her for pushing me my whole life to not sit in my room.”
“It’s confidence; coming into your second year you know what to expect in the “O” and coming in I knew I was going to have a big role in Erie, so I just took the bull by the horns. We didn’t have the season we wanted, but personally I had a pretty good year so I’m excited going into next year.”
And either June 28th or 29th in Nashville he will have an NHL logo next to his name on the line charts for every game.
(Photo by Koz, NY Hockey OnLine)
