Carey Price grew up in Anahim Lake, a small community in north British Columbia, with his sister Kayla and his parents Lynda and Jerry. His mother is chief of the Ulkatcho, and the first woman to be elected in the First Nations in British Columbia. His father is a counselor and goalie coach with the Tri-City Americans.
Price started to learn hockey around the age of five, with his father as a teacher. He started playing organized hockey at the age of nine. His father had a pilot permit and would fly them to the arena. On days when weather didn’t permit flying, they would make the six hour trip by car.
The Hockey Years
In 2002, Carey joined the Williams Lake team in the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association (BCAHA), where he played 48 games in one season.
The following year, the young netminder entered the WHL with the Tri-City Americans. He played in that organization for five years, and particularly stood out during the 2006-2007 campaign, earning the title of Goalie of the Year in the CHL.
Price lifting Calder Cup. Photo: Hamilton Bulldogs
After the Americans were knocked out of the playoffs, Price inked his first contract with the team who drafted him, the Montreal Canadiens. He immediately joined the Hamilton Bulldogs. He played two regular season games with them before the AHL playoffs kicked off. Price registered an impressive 15 wins, six losses and two overtime losses, maintaining a .936 save percentage and a 2.06 goals against average. His outstanding performance lead the Bulldogs to their first Calder Cup. Carey Price was the recipient of the Jack A. Butterfield trophy for most valuable player in the AHL playoffs.
Following his stellar play with the Bulldogs, Price joined the Habs at the start of the 2007-2008 season. He played his first NHL game on October 10th 2007, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Canadiens won that match 3-2 and Price stopped 26 shots. In January 2008, Price was sent down to the AHL for what turned out to be a brief stay, as he was called up again after Habs traded away Cristobal Huet in February. Price was appointed Habs number one goalie and helped them finish first overall in the Eastern Conference. After shutting out the Boston Bruins in game 7 in the first round, Price lost three of the four games he played against the Philadelphia Flyers, who knocked Habs out of the playoffs.
The 2008-2009 season was more of a challenge for Price. He was sidelined for nearly two months with an ankle injury sustained in December. He got back between the pipes in January and Montreal barely squeezed into the playoffs, finishing 8th in the Eastern Conference. They were once again up against the Boston Bruins, who this time, sweeped the Canadiens in four games. Price gave up at least four goals in every game he played and ended the playoffs with a 4.11 goals against average.
During the Centennial game on December 4th 2009, Price was brilliant stopping 37 of 38 shots the Bruins put on goal. Habs won that game 5-1. The joy was short-lived for Price, who lost his number one title to Jaroslav Halak. Jaro’s spectacular performances enabled Habs to have a deep run into the third round of the playoffs. Carey started one match in those playoffs, allowing four goals.
The following summer, both Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak were without contracts. As a surprise to some, the Canadiens decided to offer Price a two year contract worth $5,5M.
In 2010-2011, Price got back on track. He won 38 games out of the 72 he started, ranking him first in goalie wins. Of those 38 wins, eight were shutouts. Habs got into the playoffs and found themselves facing the Bruins again. Price maintained a .934 save percentage and a 2.11 goals against average, but Tim Thomas got the upper hand and Bruins won the series in seven games.
Price was confident at the start of the 2011-2012 campaign. He maintained good stats, but the lack of scoring power on the team didn’t provide much support and the Habs ended up playing one of their worst seasons, finishing 15th in the East and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The netminder missed the last four games of the season due to a concussion, the result of a collision with teammate David Desharnais during practice.
In July 2012, Carey Price signed a six year, $39M contract with the Canadiens. It is the most lucrative contract ever given out by the Habs since their debut in 1909.
Hockey Firsts
First Game: October 10, 2007 against Pittsburgh Penguins
First Win: October 10, 2007 against Pittsburgh Penguins
First Shutout: February 16, 2008 against Philadelphia Flyers
Canadiens First Game: October 10, 2007 against Pittsburgh Penguins
Canadiens First Win: October 10, 2007 against Pittsburgh Penguins
Canadiens First Shutout: February 16, 2008 against Philadelphia Flyers
Personal Life
Carey lives with his long time girlfriend, Angela Webber. He still has the same close group of friends he did in grade school.
Random/Fun Facts
The Montreal netminder is a huge country music fan. He plays guitar and knows Johnny Cash’s repertoire very well. The album everyone must have in their collection is Eric Church’s Sinners Like Me, says Carey.
Image: Michael Wigle/QMI
As a child, Carey also played soccer, basketball, and did some rodeo. This is what he owes his athletic abilities to.
Like a lot of us, Price is a bit of a geek: he likes science fiction books and enjoys playing video games.
Price used to be sponsored by a Ford dealership from the Montreal area. Now, he has signed contracts with Under Armour and Reebok Hockey. He also shot an ad for Harry Rosen, a Montreal boutique.
His vehicle of choice is a pickup truck. The brand doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s a pickup!
Price has a stitched Bible verse inside his blocker. “I can do all things through Him who strenghtens me,” a sentence that summarizes how Carey approaches hockey and life.
It’s a well-known fact that fans like to taunt visiting players in their building. The funniest thing Carey ever saw was a gigantic poster of himself with a pacifier in his mouth.
Carey Price on Twitter: @CP0031
Career Regular Season Stats
Season
Age
Tm
Lg
GP
W
L
T/O
GA
SA
SV
SV%
GAA
SO
MIN
2007-08
20
MTL
NHL
41
24
12
3
103
1282
1179
.920
2.56
3
2413
2008-09
21
MTL
NHL
52
23
16
10
143
1513
1370
.905
2.83
1
3036
2009-10
22
MTL
NHL
41
13
20
5
109
1244
1135
.912
2.77
0
2358
2010-11
23
MTL
NHL
72
38
28
6
165
2147
1982
.923
2.35
8
4206
2011-12
24
MTL
NHL
65
26
28
11
160
1914
1754
.916
2.43
4
3944
Career
NHL
271
124
104
35
680
8100
7420
.916
2.56
16
15957
Career Playoff Stats
Season
Age
Tm
Lg
GP
W
L
T/O
GA
SA
SV
SV%
GAA
SO
MIN
2007-08
20
MTL
NHL
11
5
6
0
30
304
274
.901
2.78
2
648
2008-09
21
MTL
NHL
4
0
4
0
15
123
108
.878
4.11
0
219
2009-10
22
MTL
NHL
4
0
1
0
8
73
65
.890
3.56
0
135
2010-11
23
MTL
NHL
7
3
4
16
242
226
.934
2.11
1
455
Career
NHL
26
8
15
0
69
742
673
.907
2.84
3
1457
International Play
In 2007, Carey lead Team Canada to Gold in the World Junior Championships. He won the six games he started and maintained a 1.14 goal against average. His performance earned him the Most Valuable Player title and a spot on the All Star Team in the tournament.
