The Philadelphia Flyers star centre has been waiting in limbo to see if he will suit up in what may be the most anticipated hockey tournament ever in Canada. Unfortunately, he found out on Monday that his services would not be needed.
Cater was at the top of the list of replacement players for Canada’s men’s hockey entry at the 2010 Winter Olympics and was flown to Vancouver to possibly replace Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks. But Getzlaf has recovered from a high ankle sprain and will be ready to go when Canada opens their Olympic schedule against Norway on Tuesday.
The teams had to set their rosters on Monday and can’t make any
replacements during the tournament.
"Obviously, I wanted to make the team on the first go-round," Carter, a 25-year-old native of London, ON, told the Philadelphia Enquirer last week. "Just to get the call is pretty exciting."
Carter played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 2001 through 2005. He helped Canada win a pair of gold medals at the World Juniors.
Carter’s pain is obviously Getzlaf’s gain.
Getzlaf missed two games with the Ducks but returned to the lineup on Sunday and scored a goal and two assists against the Edmonton Oilers.
“We gave him every opportunity to show he was healthy and he delivered on that,” Team Canada Executive Director Steve Yzerman told ESPN.com on Monday.
“He flew in last night and our doctors examined him and did some thorough testing on him. They expected it to be a bigger issue but were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't nearly as severe as we first feared.”
Canada finished seventh at the Winter Olympics four years ago in Turin, Italy.
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