Mathieu Carle

Carle was selected by Acadie Bathurst in the first round of the 2003 QMJHL Midget Draft, and stepped right into an important role on the rebuilding Titan. Carle saw regular ice time on the second and third pairings in his first season with the club, picking up a strong 23 points, 11 of which were goals. He earned a spot on the Quebec squad in the under-17 tournament as a result of his play. He tried to work more on his defensive game in his sophomore season, given that he had now inherited a role in the team’s top defensive pairing at only 17, and picked up 33 points, playing in a full schedule.

Carle, a late-1987 birth date, entered his draft year with a bang, getting off to a cracking offensive start, one which saw him actually lead the QMJHL in scoring after the first few games. Carle could not be expected to keep up such a torrid pace as two points a game over the course of an entire season, and cooled offensively, though he still focused on trying to create plays in the other end, unfortunately, to the detriment of his defensive game, which suffered at times over the course of the season. Carle played for the QMJHL team in the Canada-Russia Hockey Challenge, and was also a participant in the CHL Top Prospects Game. 

2006-07: Carle began the season with his old standby, Acadie-Bathurst, but a move sent him to Rouyn-Noranda to finish up the season. In 38 games with the Titans, he tallied 12 goals and 51 points, netting another four goals and 19 points in 25 games with the Huskies. He added another 16 points (6g+10a) in 16 postseason games. He managed to finish third in the QMJHL for defenseman scoring, with a combined 70 points.

Read this 2006 Q&A with Carle

2007-08: After four seasons in the QMJHL, this marked Carle’s first year of pro hockey. In 64 games with Hamilton (AHL), the D-man netted seven goals and 24 points to finish the season.

2008-09: The Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) defenseman netted seven goals and 29 points in 59 games this season. He’ll be back with the Bulldogs next season.

2009-10: Carle saw limited time with Hamilton, only appearing in 31 games but adding 5 goals and 10 assists. He briefly saw action with the Canadiens in 3 games, without registering a point.

2010-11: Carle saw action in 68 AHL games with the Hamilton Bulldogs in his fourth season in the Canadiens organization. Carle led the Bulldogs defensemen with 18 goals and a +19 plus/minus and tied for sixth on the team among all skaters with 18 assists. The Bulldogs reached the AHL semifinals after finishing first in the North Division and in 19 playoff games Carle scored 3 goals with 9 assists and was +8 with 8 PMs. Carle was obtained by Anaheim in a trade with Montreal for defenseman Mark Mitera in July 2011 and signed a one-year contract with the Ducks.