Home is Cypress River, Manitoba, which he describes as a \u201csmall town of about 50 people in the middle of nowhere,\u201d one hour southeast of Brandon and two hours southwest of Winnipeg. His family\u2019s farm is five minutes out of town and has passed through multiple generations of Carels now. His grandfather was one of 12 kids, and his dad, Ryan, has helped turn it into a family-run business that now has 500 head of cattle. They used to work in dairy, but these days they\u2019re a growing beef operation.<\/p>\n
When calving is done, they can now have as many as 1,000 cows on the farm at a given time. Carels jokes that all he has ever thought about is farming and hockey.<\/p>\n
In the offseason, he spends his days tagging cows, checking on the herd and cutting hay on the tractor. If the family needed him to, he could run the farm on his own \u2014 and will when his hockey career is over. He has helped birth cows in minus-10 Celsius temperatures in May. In season, he\u2019s constantly calling home to check in on the farm and getting pictures from his dad and his mom, Stacy, of all of the new babies.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, when he had his first call with player development coach Bill Sullivan, who runs Sullivan Hockey doing video work with prospects, he\u2019d already done 5-6 hours on the farm that day. They introduced themselves and did some video, and then Sullivan asked him what he was doing for the rest of the day. Carels answered matter-of-factly, \u201cWell, I\u2019ve got to go back out. What are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s quick to say there\u2019s \u201cfor sure\u201d a line between his game and the farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat attitude and that edge comes from the farm because if you don\u2019t have that, you might get ran over by a cow,\u201d Carels said with a smile.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CarelsFarm-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Carels out in the fields of his family\u2019s farm. (Photos courtesy of the CHL)<\/p>\n
Others see it, too.<\/p>\n
Many can see it in the raw strength of his 6-foot-1.5, 202-pound frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis guy\u2019s turning into a specimen,\u201d Lamb said.<\/p>\n
Lamb also sees it in his down-to-earth, respectful, hardworking nature and says, \u201ca lot of who he is on and off the ice has been shaped by the farm upbringing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just how he lives, it\u2019s how he was brought up, it\u2019s how his family was brought up before him. He\u2019s a kid in the summer who works. He gets up out of bed, and he\u2019s a part of the operations. And he\u2019s a hockey player also. He doesn\u2019t forget about his workouts and his dedication to the game. I think all of that really frames him well,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cA lot of these kids nowadays don\u2019t have to do that; all they do is work out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sullivan sees it in the pride he takes in standing up for his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much farm in him, and I see so much blue collar in his game,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cYou can see his upbringing stylistically in his game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last summer, Carels would wake up at sunrise to work on the farm and then make the drive to skate at the Winter Club in Winnipeg (with a quick pit stop post-skate for some racket sports with his buddies before returning to more chores on the farm in the afternoon) or with Evolution Hockey in Brandon.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also the second-youngest of five kids, and it \u2014 the farm and hockey \u2014 is in all of them. Ethan, the oldest, played Jr. A in Manitoba. His oldest sister, Jayden, is currently playing at the University of Jamestown. His other older sister, Kadence, played and now runs the farm and \u201cis an accountant already.\u201d And his younger sister, Kendra, plays for the U18 Female Buffaloes at Pilot Mound.<\/p>\n
Growing up in Cypress River, there was only single-A hockey, with teams slotted into gold, silver and bronze tiers. Carels\u2019 team always started in silver, but he said they usually had enough good players to work their way into the gold division. He didn\u2019t play AA hockey until 2019-20, and that season got canceled just a few months in by the pandemic. He didn\u2019t play his first top-level minor hockey until after the pandemic, when a hockey academy opened 45 minutes south of Cypress River in Pilot Mound.<\/p>\n
His first season at the Pilot Mound Hockey Academy was their first season with a U15 team, and they weren\u2019t very good. In his second season on their U15 team, though, he registered 32 points in 20 games, and Lamb drafted him with the 15th pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very mature for his age, he was the best player on his team, he played defense and not just offense, he played aggressive, he cared about his zone, and he was on a lesser team, so he really stuck out,\u201d Lamb said of what he first saw in Carels. \u201cAnd his skating was one of those things that really grabbed us right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last March, on a phone call with The Athletic, Lamb said of Carels, \u201cHe\u2019s weighted to the offensive side.\u201d He also lauded him as a 16-year-old who was second on his team in ice time and \u201can all-around player (who\u2019s) a real good skater, has a real good head on his shoulders, and can really see the plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he started with the offense.<\/p>\n
Eight months later, when anyone talks about his game \u2014 whether it\u2019s scouts, those around Carels, or Carels himself \u2014 that\u2019s not where they start.<\/p>\n
Sullivan starts with the pride Carels takes in defending. Then he describes him as a confident sponge who wants information \u2014 to know why and how the positives are working, and also the intricacies of how he can be better. Together, both Sullivan and the Cougars staff have worked with Carels to improve his stick placement and make more of his plays in stride instead of while standing, all in an effort to turn small nitpicks into strengths.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t need to teach him how to bring it and be tenacious. That part, Sullivan insists, is in his DNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite part of his game is that he\u2019s mean,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cHe\u2019s not window-dressing-mean. He\u2019s legit mean. He finishes his checks with bite, and he\u2019s never standing next to somebody; he\u2019s giving it to somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carels said he sat down early on with Playfair to talk about the importance of defending, details and putting yourself in good ice as a defender, and that those fundamentals have become pillars of his game over time.<\/p>\n
He models his game after Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson, and now describes himself as a two-way defenseman with a lot of attitude to his game around the net and in the corners who shuts down plays early and can quickly move the puck but has worked to expand his game offensively this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve really pushed defense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And yet when he left for Canada\u2019s camp, his 29 points in 28 games were sixth among all WHL defensemen in scoring.<\/p>\n
According to Sullivan, that offense has also importantly come in a variety of forms.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has production in transition joining the rush, he has production leading the rush, he has production from well-placed shots from the blue line, so he\u2019s showing that he can produce in different ways,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CARELS-James-Doyle-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Carels has 29 points in 28 games this season for the Cougars. (James Doyle \/ WHL)<\/p>\n
He also wears an \u201cA\u201d and has played 30-32 minutes per game in every situation this season.<\/p>\n
Hockey Canada took notice of all that.<\/p>\n
Ask Millar about Carels, and he starts with his strength, his maturity and his \u201ccomplete, good-all-around\u201d game.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time we saw him, he just got better and better,\u201d Millar said. \u201cEven though he\u2019s 17, he pushed his way to get this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the last two years, fellow Team Canada invitee and Prince George goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen has seen it all first-hand in front of him with the Cougars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s just a really good two-way defender,\u201d Ravensbergen said. \u201cHe understands the game, he\u2019s really physical, and he\u2019s really mature and confident for his age. He\u2019s super strong, and he\u2019s got a great work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n
So has Canada assistant coach Brad Lauer, who is in charge of the defense this year and also coaches against Carels in the WHL as the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs. Lauer lauds his maturity, his significant workload, his size, his good feet and the heaviness of his game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe plays a game that can calm things down,\u201d Lauer said.<\/p>\n
Coming into camp, some felt he had a leg up to make the team over Verhoeff and the more veteran Ethan Mackenzie and Jackson Smith. And in camp, he has started alongside Maple Leafs first-rounder Ben Danford on what looks like the team\u2019s early third pairing.<\/p>\n
If he makes the team, Carels plans to play a reliable, defensive, penalty-killing role.<\/p>\n
Lamb doesn\u2019t just think he\u2019s ready for that; he knows\u00a0it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe cares about a 200-foot game. It\u2019s not all about points. And all coaches, we all speak the same language and say the same things, and he just gets it already,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cHe\u2019s ahead of most kids in that area \u2014 on playing his position.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the World Juniors, Sullivan expects him to do it in the NHL for a long time, too. He works with first-round picks like James Hagens, Lynden Lakovic, Bill Zonnon, Henry Brzustewicz, Trevor Connelly and Quentin Musty, but thinks Carels might actually have \u201cthe highest basement\u201d of any of his clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be taking my son to see him play in the NHL for the better part of two decades, and I think for the better part of that you\u2019ll see Carson Carels within a top four,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cAnd then within that top four is going to be up to him. (But) that\u2019s who you want when it comes to April and May in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 With reporting in Calgary and Lethbridge, Alberta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario \u2014 Carson Carels was sitting in the dressing room at Victoria\u2019s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. He\u2019d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-348865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}