Carter Ashton

Basics

Carter Ashton.jpg [2]

Type:

Out of Organization

Position:

Right Wing

Simple Position:

Forward

Shoots/Catches:

Left

Height:

6.03

Weight:

206

Born:

April 1, 1991

Age:

Hometown:

Winnipeg, MAN

Acquired:

2009 Draft (R1/#29)

Last Team:

Norfolk (AHL)

Projects As:

Scoring liner

Prospect Ranking:

Depth Chart Weight:

Draft Info

Draft Status:

Drafted

Draft Year:

2009

Draft Type:

NHL Entry Draft

Drafted By:

Tampa Bay Lightning

Round:

Pick No.:

Draft Team:

Lethbridge (WHL)

Contract

Contract Status:

Signed

Waiver Status:

Waiver Exempt

Signing Date:

10/02/2009

Contract Type:

Two-way

Contract Length:

3 years

Cap Number:

$1100000

Contract Start Year:

2011

Contract End Year:

2014

Contract End Status:

RFA

Salary:

$900000

Salary:

$900000

Salary:

$900000

Bio

History:

Ashton is the son of former NHL left winger Brent Ashton, who played 998 NHL games split between nine NHL clubs. Carter grew up in several cities, but played his minor hockey in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

2006

Selected in the 1st round, 7th overall, of the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft by the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He appeared in two games for the Hurricanes in the 2006-2007 season, going scoreless and minus-1.

2007-2008

Ashton got off to a slow start his rookie year, going scoreless in his first eight games. His first WHL goal was scored December 12, 2007, vs. Calgary. He had two goals and three points against Prince George January 26. For the year, he would score five goals and nine points in 40 games. He missed three months with a broken collarbone. Ashton played in 19 playoff games that spring as the Hurricanes advanced to the WHL finals vs. Dustin Tokarski and Spokane. The Chiefs swept the Hurricanes 4-0. Ashton had one assist in his 19 playoff games.

2008-2009

Had a breakout season for the Hurricanes, scoring 30 goals (team leader) and 50 points in 70 games to go along with 93 penalty minutes. His season started off slow again as he scored just two goals in his first 13 games. He earned his first career hat trick November 16 against Edmonton. During the playoffs, Ashton had one goal and three points in 11 games. Lethbridge was swept by Calgary in the second round. Ashton failed to earn a point in the sweep.

Ranked the 12th best North American skater prospect by NHL Central Scouting and the 22nd best overall prospect by Red Line Report at season's end.

Selected with the 29th overall pick by the Lightning after the club engineered a draft night trade with the Detroit Red Wings to gain a 2nd 1st round pick for the 1st time in team history.

2009-2010

Ashton had an impressive training camp with the Lightning following the draft, and rumors were he may end up staying with the Lightning. As it was, the Bolts signed Ashton and re-assigned him to Lethbridge after playing in an exhibition game.

Showed modest statistical improvement in the 2009-2010 campaign scoring 24 goals and 51 points in 65 games split between Lethbridge and Regina after a midseason trade sent him to the Pats. He started the year slow yet again, going minus-9 in his first four games (1 goal). He then went on a four game goal scoring streak. He had a nine game point streak when he scored 14 points (five goals), also. The February trade that sent him to Regina was supposed to help Pats star Jordan Eberle, but Ashton and Eberle never could seem to click to the level that was expected. The Pats missed the playoffs.

Signed to an amateur tryout contract (ATO) by the Norfolk Admirals at the end of his junior season, scoring 1 goal and showing surprising burst and strength, despite being the youngest player on the team.

2010-2011

Played well in Lightning camp and in the exhibition season (two goals in two games) before being returned to his junior team. Even though he was close to making the team the previous year, new GM Steve Yzerman emphasizes playing time for prospects so Ashton was sent to the WHL.

Once again, he got off to a slow first month of the season with Regina, but eventually gained momentum, finishing with 16 goals and 27 points in 29 games until being traded to the Tri-City Americans where he had 17 goals and 44 points in 33 games. His final regular season totals were 33 goals and 71 points in 62 games. He had 23 multi-point games during the year, including two four-point nights. During a nine game point streak he accumulated 19 points (seven goals). He was acquired by the Americans to give the team scoring depth for a playoff run.

Appeared for Team Canada's Silver Medal winning team at the U20 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, scoring one goal and three points in seven games, primarily on Canada's second line.

Had 3 goals and 8 points in 10 playoff games for the Americans, who were eliminated in the second round by Tyler Johnson and the Spokane Chiefs.

Signed an ATO contract with Norfolk and appeared in 2 playoff games going scoreless in each contest as the Admirals were eliminated from the postseason by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Scouting Report

Scouting Comments:

"Carter is a solid prototypical power forward; he knows the game and really is astute at the power-play and penalty kill, offensive and defensive parts of his game." - NHL CSS Director EJ McGuire

Strengths:

Ashton plays a meat and potatoes pro style game that should translate well to the NHL. He plays a solid north-south game and will go into the high traffic areas to score goals and make plays. He has a long frame that is just beginning to fill out and is exceptional at protecting the puck down low in the offensive zone. He is deadly as a finisher from anywhere below the dots in the offensive zone. In terms of intangibles, Ashton is a very hard worker who had the best VO2 max rating at the Scouting Combine in 2009.

Weaknesses:

His offensive game is still in its infancy and he's just learning how to use his linemates to create scoring chances. As a consequence, he needs a playmaking centerman to truly be effective offensively.

Projection:

Carter in still a work in progress, but the foundation is there for him to develop into an NHL power forward who will have a long and successful career. He may need one season in the AHL with Norfolk before that happens. His father, Brent, was a solid 25 goal, 50-55 point a year man in the NHL and the apple doesn't appear to fall that far from the tree. Carter projects to be a solid second line winger who will do the dirty work for his linemates and bang home 20-30 goals a season like NHLers Ryan Malone or Dustin Penner.

Statistics

Player statistics powered by www.eliteprospects.com [3]

Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	TP	PIM		Playoffs	GP	G	A	TP	PIM
2006-2007	Saskatoon Contacts	SMHL	41	28	38	66	99	\|	Playoffs	3	3	5	8	6
	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL	2	0	0	0	0	\|
2007-2008	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL	40	5	4	9	21	\|	Playoffs	19	0	1	1	12
	Canada Western U17	WHC-17	6	1	5	6	2	\|
2008-2009	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL	70	30	20	50	93	\|	Playoffs	11	1	2	3	15
2009-2010	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL	28	13	13	26	52	\|
	Regina Pats	WHL	37	11	14	25	57	\|
	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	11	1	0	1	6	\|
2010-2011	Regina Pats	WHL	29	16	11	27	44	\|
	Tri-City Americans	WHL	33	17	27	44	62	\|	Playoffs	10	3	5	8	4
	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	0	0	0	0	0	\|	Playoffs	2	0	0	0	0
	Canada U20	WJC-20	7	1	2	3	6	\|
2011-2012	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	56	19	16	35	58	\|
	Toronto Marlies	AHL	7	2	1	3	8	\|	Playoffs	6	1	2	3	8
	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	15	0	0	0	13	\|
2012-2013	Toronto Marlies	AHL	53	11	8	19	67	\|	Playoffs	8	2	2	4	4