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Photo credit: Garrett James Photography
Story by Alessio Cusano
It has been over five years since Carter King played a regular season game in the BCHL, but he still has strong ties to the league.
Since then, he has completed a highly successful collegiate career at the University of Denver, signed an NHL contract and played his first professional games, but that one year of junior hockey with the Surrey Eagles still stands out to him. He has even maintained a relationship with his former Eagles head coach Cam Keith.
“He’s such a good person,” said King. “That’s what I appreciate about him the most. He he was always looking out for me and he always believed in me. It’s a special thing to have that from a coach and someone who really pushed for me to make it to the next level. Sometimes you need that from someone to be able to develop and get to that next level.”
Prior to his year with the Eagles, King played his youth hockey in his hometown of Calgary, Alta. until he was 18. When it came time to decide where to play his junior hockey, it was important for him to find a high level that would help him reach his goal of getting an NCAA Division I scholarship and then prepare him for that level of hockey.
“I knew that the BCHL was a strong league and it was a good league to play in before the NCAA,” said King. “Having the opportunity to play for Cam was really the biggest thing. I had a lot of faith in him and I was really happy to play there.”
After his rookie year in the BCHL where he put up 18 goals, 15 assists and 33 points in 58 games, he accomplished his Division I hockey goal and signed with the University of Denver, one of the most prestigious programs in college hockey.
He had originally planned on playing one more year in the BCHL, but with COVID interrupting the 2020-21 season and Denver needing to add a player, he joined the Pioneers in January of 2021 and officially started his collegiate career.
He only played in three games in his freshman year, but played a full slate every season after that, significantly increasing his production every year for the next four seasons, culminating in the 2024-25 campaign where he was named team captain and totaled 43 points and 21 goals in 44 contests. He was named to the NCHC’s Third-Team All-Conference at season’s end.
“It wasn’t a very smooth transition or a quick one,” he said. “But being able to work, practice, grow and learn from some really amazing players we had in Denver, it made it such a special place. The culture is amazing, so it just gave me every opportunity to develop”
It wasn’t just individual success that King experienced in college. He and his Pioneers teammates won two national championships in 2022 and 2024, Denver’s ninth and 10th titles, which is the most of any program.
“It was unbelievable,” said King. “One thing you learn is that every team is different and you just have to embrace what’s different about each team. You can’t just sit there the year after a championship and try to expect everything to be the exact same. I think we did a good job of just having really strong connections in the room. Everyone loved being around each other and that was a real strength of our team.”
On April 14 of this year, just four days after his team was eliminated by the eventual 2025 national champion Western Michigan University, King signed his first professional contract with the Calgary Flames, his hometown team.
“It was a dream come true,” he said. “Growing up and playing hockey in Calgary, it was honestly something I never really expected, but being able to play at Denver opens your eyes to the pro game. Knowing that Calgary was interested was truly a surreal thing for me and of course being able to sign with them and go play there and see my family and friends, it was so special. I’m so excited for next year.”
After signing his deal, King managed to get into a pair of regular season games, as well as one postseason contest, with the Flames American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. In just his second professional game, the 23-year-old scored his first goal and added an assist.
“Stepping onto the ice for warmups at the Saddledome was a very cool thing for me,” said King. “It’s a place where I grew up watching the Flames many times in the past.”
Whether it’s with the AHL Wranglers or the NHL Flames, King is happy to be in Calgary and able to continue his promising career in the place he calls home.
