Former Chaska goaltender stands tall in the NAHL, commits to Colgate University

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — "I didn't anticipate a few years ago that my senior season would be spent playing junior hockey," Carter Wishart says.

Wishart, originally from Chaska, Minnesota, started playing varsity high school hockey as a ninth grader.

During his junior season, the goaltender was called on by the Chippewa Steel of the NAHL to be an 'extra back-up goalie' for a couple of games. Even though most 'EBUGs' don't typically see playing time, Wishart actually got to play a good chunk of minutes during his call-up.

Later on that year, Wishart was then offered a tender with the team to compete with them for the 2022-23 season.

The 6-foot-2 goalie didn't originally think he would leave high school to play junior hockey but after receiving the offer and thinking about it, he decided that it would be the best route for his career.

"To get a chance to play at a higher level and a chance to work towards a scholarship, that was in mind when I made the decision," he said.

Wishart started out with a .884 save percentage his freshman season in high school but finished his junior season with a .908. Now, the Minnesota native is standing strong around the .907 mark so far in the NAHL with a 2.67 goals-against-average.

Even though the netminder isn't physically in high school anymore, he still is taking online classes to be able to walk at graduation in Chaska. In fact, Wishart is enrolled in Post-Secondary-Enrollment-Option (PSEO) classes through Normandale Community College and is earning dual-credits that count towards both high school and college classes.

After proving that he can adapt and perform at the junior hockey level, Wishart announced his commitment to play Division I hockey at Colgate University.

The Minnesota native originally started talks with Colgate at a USHL camp a while back. Wishart then started talking to the school more and more and went on a visit to the campus, which is in Hamilton, New York, a city about an hour southeast of Syracuse.

"The campus was amazing. It's a smaller school, about 3,000 students, which is something I will enjoy," said Wishart. "The whole program seemed awesome, there's a great coaching staff there and just great people."

The 17-year-old says that one of his strengths in goal is his relaxed mindset, his work ethic, and his willingness to do anything in his power to help the team win.

Since Wishart is still a young prospect, he will likely play another season of junior hockey before heading to college tentatively in the fall of 2024.

Growing up in Chaska, the 17-year-old actually didn't start playing hockey until around the age of 6 or 7 as he was more of a baseball player back then. Wishart's father played Division III hockey at Hamline University though, so the sport has some roots in the family.

The goaltender wasn't too thrilled about rotating in to try the position as a young skater but after his first game between the pipes he started to like the job more and more.

Now, many years later, Wishart is a Division I prospect playing in the NAHL. He currently has a .907 save percentage with a 2.67 goals-against-average. The 17-year-old earned the Midwest Division Star of the Week in late-October after stopping 69 shots and winning two games.

Wishart has split time in net with his teammate so far for most of this season, who is also a Division I prospect; Adam Gajan (who just recently committed to Minnesota Duluth). Gajan recently was called up to the USHL though so Wishart may see more minutes coming his way in the future.

Currently, the Chippewa Steel are in the top half of their division with a 16-12 record. You can look for Wishart to compete with the Steel for the rest of the 2022-23 season.