Carson Carels had a pretty busy start to June for several reasons.
He spent a week in Buffalo at the NHL Scouting Combine, and then got to watch Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
But when he went home, it was time for some real work, and it had little to do with skates, sticks and pucks.
Being No. 3 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters doesn’t exempt him from chores on the family farm.
“We’re actually mid-calving season right now, so there’s about 10-15 calves every day on the ground,” Carels said. “It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been a lot of fun just being back and helping Dad and smiling about it.”
The Carels family farm in Cypress River, Manitoba, is a beef ranch with about 500 head of cattle, so there’s a lot of work to be done, especially at this time of year.
“I’ve helped a few calvings this year, but I think they’ve all been really smooth,” Carels said. “All the feeding of the cows and everything’s pretty hard work as well, and that’s kind of what we’ve been doing.
“Then, on the side as well right now, I have about 50 goats that have about 70 babies on the ground, so it’s been a lot of fun. Those little things jumping around are pretty cute too. So, makes it enjoyable.”