Carter Ashton

Carter Ashton
Ashton with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012
Born (1991-04-01) April 1, 1991 (age 33)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams		 Rögle BK
Toronto Maple Leafs
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Lada Togliatti
Severstal Cherepovets
Dinamo Riga
Leksands IF
NHL draft 29th overall, 2009
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2009–present

Carter Ashton (born April 1, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Ashton was drafted 29th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL entry draft. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Playing career

Junior

Ashton was drafted by the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the first round, seventh overall, in the 2006 WHL bantam draft.[1] He appeared in two games with the Hurricanes in the 2006–07 season, earning no points. Ashton's rookie season in the WHL was in 2007–08. He played only 40 games, missing significant time due to injury. During the WHL playoffs that season, Ashton helped the Hurricanes reach the finals of the WHL playoffs.[2]

Ashton had a breakout season in 2008–09, appearing in 70 games with the Hurricanes and scoring a team-high 30 goals while adding 20 assists for 50 points, which was the fourth-highest total on the club. In the post-season, Ashton appeared in 11 games, earning three points.[1] During the 2008–09 season, Ashton played for Team Cherry in the CHL Top Prospects Game.[3] After the season, Ashton was selected 29th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL entry draft. He attended training camp with the Lightning and the team signed him to an entry-level contract on October 2, 2009.[4]

Ashton began the 2009–10 season with the Hurricanes, and after recording 13 goals and 26 points in 28 games, the Hurricanes traded him to the Regina Pats.[5] With Regina, Ashton had 11 goals and 25 points in 37 games, as the Pats failed to qualify for the playoffs. On December 10, 2010, Ashton was traded to the Tri-City Americans.[6]

Professional

In the 2011–12 season, on February 27, 2012, Ashton was traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenceman Keith Aulie.[7] Ten days later, on March 7, 2012, Ashton made his debut with the Maple Leafs and played in his first NHL game in a 3–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[8] He played 15 games with the Leafs in his first season and 32 games in the 2013–14 season registering 3 points. He also played 24 games registering 23 points with the Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate Toronto Marlies. He was re-signed to a one-year two-way contract worth $850,000 in July 2014.[9]

On November 6, 2014, Ashton was suspended for 20 games, without pay, for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Ashton claimed to have unknowingly ingested a banned substance while using an un-prescribed inhaler for exercise-induced asthma. The suspension came with a mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment.[10] At the time, he had played in three games for the Maple Leafs and did not register a point. He had also played in 24 games for the Marlies and accumulated 23 points.[11] On February 6, 2015, Ashton was traded from the Maple Leafs back to Tampa Bay in a deal that included David Broll and a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2016 entry draft from the Lightning.[12]

On July 21, 2015, as a restricted free agent from the Lightning, Ashton signed with the Russian club Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[13] After two seasons with Torpedo and having established himself in the KHL, Ashton moved to fellow KHL club, HC Lada Togliatti, in a trade for the final year of his contract on June 2, 2017.[14] At the completion of the 2017–18 season, Ashton left Lada as a free agent, signing a two-year contract with his third KHL club, Severstal Cherepovets on June 15, 2018.[15]

Ashton played four seasons with Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League from 2020 to 2024 and then on October 21, 2024, he signed a one-year contract with Rögle BK in the same league.[16]

International play

Medal record
Representing Canada Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place USA 2011

Ashton played for Team Saskatchewan at the 2007 Canada Winter Games which were held in Whitehorse, Yukon.[17] He also played for Team West at the 2007 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, where he served as an alternate captain on the team that won the bronze medal.[17]

After his rookie season in the WHL, Ashton played for Team Canada at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, helping the team to a gold medal. Ashton finished the tournament with one goal and two assists in four games, including a goal in the gold medal win against Russia.[18]

He was later invited to take part in Canada's 2011 national junior team selection camp [19] Carter played for Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Buffalo, New York. He finished with one goal and two assists as Canada won the silver medal.

Personal life

Ashton's father, Brent, played in 998 NHL games in a career that spanned from 1979 to 1993. His father held the record for the most traded player in NHL history until the record was tied by Mike Sillinger. Carter was born in Winnipeg during his father's stint with the Jets.

Carter is close friends with Luke and Brayden Schenn, Jared Cowen and Jimmy Bubnick from their minor hockey days in Saskatoon.[1]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Carter Ashton warming up in his first AHL game with the Toronto Marlies
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2006–07 Saskatoon Contacts AAA SMHL 41 28 38 66 99 3 3 5 8 6
2006–07 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 40 5 4 9 21 19 0 1 1 12
2008–09 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 70 30 20 50 93 11 1 2 3 15
2009–10 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 28 13 13 26 52 — — — — —
2009–10 Regina Pats WHL 37 11 14 25 57 — — — — —
2009–10 Norfolk Admirals AHL 11 1 0 1 6 — — — — —
2010–11 Regina Pats WHL 29 16 11 27 44 — — — — —
2010–11 Tri-City Americans WHL 33 17 27 44 62 10 3 5 8 4
2010–11 Norfolk Admirals AHL — — — — — 2 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Norfolk Admirals AHL 56 19 16 35 58 — — — — —
2011–12 Toronto Marlies AHL 7 2 1 3 8 6 1 2 3 8
2011–12 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 15 0 0 0 13 — — — — —
2012–13 Toronto Marlies AHL 53 11 8 19 67 9 3 2 5 4
2013–14 Toronto Marlies AHL 24 16 7 23 30 12 4 5 9 16
2013–14 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 32 0 3 3 19 — — — — —
2014–15 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Toronto Marlies AHL 12 4 4 8 8 — — — — —
2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 29 3 11 14 61 3 0 0 0 7
2015–16 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 46 13 10 23 61 9 0 0 0 33
2016–17 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 59 18 10 28 48 5 0 0 0 4
2017–18 Lada Togliatti KHL 6 2 1 3 4 — — — — —
2018–19 Severstal Cherepovets KHL 36 9 5 14 26 — — — — —
2019–20 Dinamo Riga KHL 62 15 10 25 39 — — — — —
2020–21 Leksands IF SHL 24 13 6 19 16 4 1 0 1 0
2021–22 Leksands IF SHL 52 7 15 22 18 3 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Leksands IF SHL 37 5 6 11 26 3 0 0 0 4
2023-24 Leksands IF SHL 26 4 4 8 6 6 0 1 1 4
NHL totals 54 0 3 3 32 — — — — —
KHL totals 209 57 36 93 178 14 0 0 0 42
SHL totals 139 29 31 60 66 16 1 1 2 8

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2008 Canada Western U17 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 5 6 2
2009 Canada IH18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 1 2 3 0
2011 Canada WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 1 2 3 6
Junior totals 17 3 9 12 8

Awards and honours

Award Year
WHL
CHL Top Prospects Game 2009 [3]
AHL
Reebok/AHL Player of the Week (October 2–9) 2011
Reebok/AHL Rookie of the Month (November) 2011 [20]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Carter Ashton, Regina Pats". Western Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  2. ^ "Carter Ashton player profile". Western Hockey League. 2012-03-04. Archived from the original on 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2012-03-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ a b "Five WHL Players selected in 1st Round of 2009 NHL Entry Draft". Western Hockey League. 2009-06-26. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  4. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning signs Carter Ashton". 2009-10-02. Archived from the original on 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  5. ^ "Regina Pats get NHL prospect in multi-player trade with Lethbridge Hurricanes". Regina Leader Post. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2010-01-15 – via Canada.com.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Big move between Pats and Americans". Western Hockey League. 2010-12-10. Archived from the original on 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  7. ^ "Leafs trade Keith Aulie to Lightning". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 2012-02-27. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013.
  8. ^ McGran, Kevin (March 8, 2012). "Carter Ashton makes Maple Leafs debut, injuries pile up". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  9. ^ Johnston, Mike (July 16, 2014). "Leafs re-sign Ashton to one-year, two-way deal". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Maple Leafs' Ashton suspended 20 games". National Hockey League. November 6, 2014. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  11. ^ "Leafs forward Ashton suspended 20 games for violating drug policy". Global News. The Canadian Press. November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Lightning acquire Carter Ashton, David Broll from Leafs". National Hockey League. 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-06.
  13. ^ "Torpedo agree to terms with Cater Ashton" (in Russian). Championnat.com. 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  14. ^ "Carter Ashton in Lada" (in Russian). HC Lada Togliatti. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  15. ^ "Carter Ashton joins Severstal" (in Russian). Severstal Cherepovets. 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  16. ^ "Ex-Lightning First-Rounder Has New Team In Sweden". The Hockey News. 2024-10-21. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  17. ^ a b "Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  18. ^ "Canada prevail over Russia". Hockey Canada. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  19. ^ "2011 Team Selection Camp: Team Profile". Hockey Canada. 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-01-02.[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Ashton named AHL Rookie of the Month". Tampa Bay Lightning. 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Tampa Bay Lightning first round draft pick
2009 		Succeeded by