LA Kings select Carter George No. 57 overall in 2024 NHL Draft

On Saturday at The Sphere in Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Kings took goaltender Carter George in the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft, No. 57 overall.

George has become the X goaltender selected in the 2024 Draft so far. The Thunder Bay, Ontario product spent the 2023-24 season with the Owen Sound Attack in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) where he compiled a 23-21-6 record, a 3.30 goals against average and a .907 save percentage through 56 starts. The Attack were swept in the first round of the OHL Playoffs.

The 18-year-old is one of the smoothest puckhandling goalies to come through the pipeline in recent years according to many scouts in the industry. 

George also represented Canada at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship where he put on a stellar performance backstopping Canada 6-0 through the tournament and capturing a gold medal. George held a 2.33 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. 

Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis, rated George as the No. 79 best-ranked prospect.

“George’s game is built around just keeping things steady and relaxed in the crease. At 6-foot-1, George is also on the smaller side, but he’s as confident as they come in this year’s class. Let in a bad goal? He’s going to rob you on your next chance. Nothing seems to bother him, and he also sees through traffic well for a smaller keeper. I thought George was great at the U-18s, especially in the medal round, even if the stats might not fully reflect it. From a skill perspective, he’s clean, but can scouts look past the smaller frame?”

LA finished the 2023-24 NHL season in 12h place. They are slated to pick next with the No. 118 pick.