Paul Carey Returns To AHL, Reunited With His Former AHL Coach
Edited by: Allie Foster and Alyssa Hertel
BELLEVILLE, ONT - The Ottawa Senators acquired Paul Carey this past off-season in a bid to add more organizational depth. They agreed to a one year, two-way pact on July 1 following a season in New York where he suited up in 60 NHL games with the Rangers, tallying seven goals and seven assists on the year.
The veteran winger cleared waivers on September 24, spending eleven days in the Friendly City before earning a recall on October 5. He started the season and his Senators career at the NHL-level, suiting up in five games for Ottawa before being re-assigned to American Hockey League on October 24.
An AHL-Veteran, Carey has appeared 290 career American Hockey League games between Belleville, Hershey, Providence and Lake Erie, tallying 79 goals and 105 assists for 184 points.
The Weymouth, Massachusetts native and Boston College alumnus has also appeared in 97 career NHL games with Ottawa, New York, Washington and Colorado, scoring 18 points in his career.
Asked to describe his role, Carey said: “[I’m a] depth guy, whether that be fourth line up top [Ottawa] and slowly move my way up the lineup, or a guy that had to work for it through the season and earn call-ups or be here, be a leader and also be ready if they need me up top.” He added: “When I'm here, I'm definitely looked on to produce [and] put up numbers.”
Carey, 30, has also reconnected with Belleville Senators head coach Troy Mann after playing for him previously in Hershey. Under Mann’s leadership with the Bears, Carey scored 31 points in 44 games during the 2015-16 season and 55 points in 55 games the following season.
“During the signing period, when I'm looking at my teams, my focus is on the NHL,” said Carey. “I try to look at the best situation in the NHL. I just happened to luck out and be comfortable with an organization that had Troy in it and know having the experience with him before and the history there definitely put a smile on my face.”
Carey continued his praise of Mann and his system in Belleville. “It's fast, a quick pace which suits my game well. We got a lot of good players on the team that buy into the system and when we're clicking as a unit everyone gets a chance, everyone playing well we usually have a good chance of winning.”
Mann seems as content to have Carey back on his roster as he is to be there. “Paul Carey's a proven point-per-game player. [He’s] been in the NHL for over a year now…you can tell he's a dominant player,” said the coach.
“I love [him] because he a 200-foot player that can kill penalties, can be on the ice at the end of the game with the goalie out and he can play on the power play,” he continued. “Those types of players don't come along quite often, and I think he's giving us a chance to be a good hockey club here.”
NHL.com's AHL correspondent, Patrick Williams, echoed Mann's assessment of the skilled forward, calling him “a top-end sniper, capable of 30-35 goals over a full AHL season.”
While the home ice at CAA Arena may still be unfamiliar to Carey, he is certainly finding his footing in the new city. In six games with Belleville, Carey has posted five assists.
“It's a good atmosphere, good American Hockey League city,” said Carey. “Everyone in town is friendly, the crowd gets pretty rowdy, which always makes playing here fun, good rink, good ice, great facilities. Everything here is set up to help everyone develop.”
