Vegas Golden Knights Report Card: William Carrier
William Carrier has become a reliable fourth-line grinder for the Vegas Golden Knights and he carved out a career-year in 2018-19.
William Carrier: Grade C+
Our 2018-19 Vegas Golden Knights Report Cards continue today as we turn the magnifying glass on William Carrier who has developed into a solid role player for this franchise.
His Season
William Carrier knows what he is by this point of his career and while he’s more of a reliable SUV than a top-of-the range Rolls Royce, he’s become an instrumental part of this Vegas Golden Knights team.
Taken by the Knights in the 2017 Expansion Draft after being left exposed by the Buffalo Sabres, Carrier found a role on the bottom line in 2017-18 and tallied one goal and two assists for three points in 37 regular season games. He also featured in 10 postseason contests as Vegas made it to the Stanley Cup Final, although he was held without a point in those games and missed most of the last two rounds with an undisclosed injury.
He came into 2018-19 looking to build on the year before and he certainly achieved that particular mission after putting together a career year in a number of categories both offensively and defensively.
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Logging on average 9:57 minutes of ice time per night, Carrier posted career-highs in games played (54), goals (8), points (9), PIM (29) and shots on goal (85). He had one assist as well but proved that he can provide secondary scoring while playing bottom line minutes.
Perhaps most impressive, however, were Carrier’s stats in the defensive zone. He finished the year with career-highs in blocked shots (13), hits (277) and takeaways (31), while he only coughed up 10 giveaways. It is important to note that the left-wing dished out a gigantic 164 hits more than he did the year before.
Carrier also featured in all seven of the Golden Knights’ postseason games against the San Jose Sharks, being held without a point and posting a plus/minus rating of -1. He was used sparingly in the playoffs having only been given on average 8:52 minutes of ice time per game.
Throughout the year Carrier forged a strong relationship with Ryan Reaves and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, with the trio playing together on a fourth line for 69.24 percent of the season. Although Bellemare is now a member of the Avalanche, expect Carrier and Reaves to form the backbone of that hugely instrumental and effective bottom line next year.
At 6’2″, 212 lb, Carrier is a human battering ram and, along with Reaves, has no hesitation when it comes to laying the body on, hitting like an absolute train and leaving a hell of a mark on the opposition. He brings a bucketload of grit, tenacity and snarl to the table and those are still valuable commodities in today’s NHL.
With just one-year left on his current deal that carries a cap hit of $725,000, Carrier is entering a contract year and he’ll have motivation to put up career numbers for the second consecutive season to either win a new contract in Sin City or elsewhere in the NHL.
Why The Grade
William Carrier is a fourth-line grinder who won’t do anything fancy and he won’t go and get you 20 points every year. But, what he will do is disrupt the opposition’s flow, put his body on the line and he will provide some secondary scoring.
As such, and considering both the stats and the eye test here, Carrier’s C+ grade is fair given that he put up career numbers in both the offensive and defensive zone. In-fact, his offensive production won’t get the attention, but his 277 hits certainly deserve a lot of the plaudits.
You may as well start calling Vegas’ bottom line the ‘Boom Line’ given the fact that Carrier and Reaves combined for a stunning 582 hits in 2018-19, which is quite simply a jaw-dropping stat and sums up both players’ importance to this team.
What Carrier lacks in flair and productivity he more than makes up for in grit and toughness and, at 24-years-old, the rugged forward will only get better and grow into his role more. Plus, he has plenty of time to iron out any kinks in his game, work on other areas and continue to learn his craft.
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And that brings us on to one major positive from last year. After scoring just one goal the year before, Carrier found a scoring touch in 2018-19 after tallying eight tucks to set a new career-high. The Golden Knights will be hoping that there is more to come from the left-shot and he could benefit from having Tomas Nosek as his pivot next year.
The 57th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft showed plenty of signs of improvement in 2018-19 and his role on this team cannot be understated for what he brings to the table. His toughness and willingness to lay bone-crushing hit after bone-crushing hit will continue to be monumental for the Vegas Golden Knights as they enter 2019-20 looking to clinch the Stanley Cup.
The Numbers:
Games: 54
Goals: 8
Assists: 1
Points: 9
Shots On Goal: 85
ATOI: 9:57
PIM: 29
Plus / Minus: -4
Hits: 277
Blocked Shots: 13
Takeaways: 31
CF%: 56.4
oZS%: 57.2
Games (Playoffs): 7
ATOI (Playoffs): 8:52
Hits (Playoffs): 43